Towel (Decorated hand towel)

Description

Mary Magdalena Damy Fenstermaker made this decorated hand towel, sometimes called a show towel, in 1839 in Lancaster County, Pennsylania. The towel is made three plain weave linen sections. The top and bottom section contain inscriptions. The top panel features a symmetrical design naming Mary as the maker of the towel, and that it was made November 14, 1839. The fact that the inscription spills outside of the cartouche and wraps around the flowering tree below it suggests that the panels were embroidered before the inscription was worked. The central linen section is the largest. Four rows of symmetrical motif are broken up by chevron/zig-zag decorative borders. The motifs are primarily flowering trees with birds and pots/urns of flowers. The bottom and smaller of the rows is made of up a geometic star flanked by facing stags and dogs. The bottom section of the towel features and inscription noting the marriage of Henry Fenstermaker and Mary in 1837. Mary's name is also spelled differently. A decorative border and self-fringe can be found at the bottom of the towel. These towels were decorative and used as symbols of the household. Many women only made of these towels in their lives, during adolescence in prepartion for married life. They were first displayed on stove-room doors, but as German Americans adopted central-hall style floorplans, the towels moved upstairs to the bedroom door.