Textile, woven

Description

This pattern for a stuffed animal toy was printed by the Cocheco Manufacturing Company at their plant in Dover, New Hampshire sometime around 1890. Printed doll patterns became popular around the late 19th century and featured multiple views of animals or other characters, which only had to be cut out, sewn together, and stuffed for consumers to make their own soft toy at home. This pattern depicts a circus elephant draped with a red banner reading “Baby,” presumably its name. Sewing instructions are printed directly on the fabric, with areas on the elephant’s underbody labeled “Take up this seam” and directions in the center simply reading “Sew together and stuff with cotton batting or sawdust.” This object is one of a large group transferred to Winterthur from the American Textile History Museum when it closed in 2017.