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Order Number 1341322 American finger rings representing bonds of relationships Monfredo, Rachel Jean, M.A. University of Delaware, 1990 Copyright ©1991 by Monfredo, Rachel Jean. A ll rights reserved. UMI 300 N . Zeeb Rd. Ann Aibor, M I 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. AMERICAN FINGER RINGS REPRESENTING BONDS OF RELATIONSHIPS by Rachel Jean Monfredo A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Early American Culture May 1990 © Rachel Jean Monfredo Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. AMERICAN FINGER RINGS REPRESENTING BONDS OF RELATIONSHIPS by Rachel Jean Monfredo Approved: George B a s a lt Ph.D. Professor in charge of thesis Approved: '(zLglcm . Q.. Japres C. Curtis, Ph.D. Sirector of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture Approved: Carol E. Hoffecker, Acting Associate Provost fo uate Studies Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A number of people helped in the process of this project. My first thanks are expressed to my advisor, George Basalla, in the History Department of the University of Delaware, who spent numerous hours pouring over rough drafts, and was continually encouraging and supportive throughout the entire effort. Special thanks are also offered to Neville Thompson, the phenomenal librarian in charge of the Printed Books and Periodicals Collection at the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, who unfailingly answered all of my questions and continually referred me to sources that 'might be relevant." Warm thanks to Patricia Keller, who helped me with the process of picking a topic, developing a thesis, and working through my ideas. I would like to thank all the people who allowed me access to the collections and files of their institutions, or provided me with useful information: James W. Cheevers, United States Naval Academy Museum; Ensign Steve Debus, United States Navy; Jerold P. Girard, United States Coast Guard Academy; Joseph Hom'gan, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Inc.; Peter Clark and Ted Spencer, Pro Baseball Hall of Fame; Tom Snelling, NFL Properties, Inc.; Benjamin Zucker, Precious Stones Company; David Barquist, Yale University Art Gallery; John Platt, Jonathan Schau, and Glenys Waldman, the Masonic Temple and Grand Lodge F. & A.M. of Pennsylvania; Barbara Franco, formerly, Museum of Our National Heritage; Susanne M. Olson, Monticello; Deborah Smith, the Strong Museum; the Public Relations staffs of Jostens, Inc., the Diamond Information Center division of N.W. Ayers, and the Jewelers Circular Keystone; Bob Buckley and the c*aff at Buckley's Photo Lab; and Frank Levy and Anne-Marie Schaaf, fellow fellows in the iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Winterthur Program in Early American Culture. I would especially like to thank the staff of Winterthur Museum; I think I performed research in almost every division, received extensive help from numerous people, and I am afraid of leaving anyone out if I attempt to list all the names- -so to all of you, thank you very much. For all the people who patiently listened to me rave about rings for the last year, I would like to express my thanks to my classmates in the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture; Ken Ames, who encouraged me to interpret material culture using my psychology background; Pat Elliott in the Office of Advanced Studies; my parents, Frank and Miriam Monfredo; Ellen Barber; and Kory Berrett, who listened to endless ring stories over games of cribbage at lunch. And finally my warmest thanks to Harold, without whose enduring love, support, and wonderful sense of humor, none of this would have been possible. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. viii INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 RINGS EXCHANGED BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS............................ 7 Wedding, Engagement and Friendship Rings ................. 7 Mourning R in g s ................................................................ 21 CHAPTER 2 RINGS WORN BY GROUPS OF INDIVIDUALS............................... 32 Fraternal R ings ................................................................... 32 Class R ings ...................................................................... 49 Sports R in g s...................................................................... 59 CHAPTER 3 COMPARATIVE INTERPRETATIONS OF R IN G S ........................ 69 Public and Personal Meanings of R in g s ........................... 69 Personal and Social Identity Through R in g s .................... 75 Conclusion ...................................................................... 80 FIGURES 81 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 130 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Signet Ring Designs, Josten's 1989 College Ring Catalogue, p. 4 .... 82 Figure 2 Gold Wedding Ring, 1776 .......................................................................... 83 Figure 3 Gold Gimmel Rings 1791,1795,1834 ...................................................... 84 Figure 4 Gold Posy Ring, ca 1785 .............................................................................. 85 Figure 5 Gold Posy Ring, ca 1705-25 and Gold Mourning Ring, 1720 ..................... 86 Figure 6 Posy Ring, ca 1750-1800 ........................................................................... 87 Figure 7 Friendship Ring, ca 1780-1820 and Friendship Pin, ca 1785-1820 . 88 Figure 8 Gold Mourning Ring, 1693 .......................................................................... 89 Figure 9 Gold Mourning Ring, 1766 .......................................................................... 90 Figure 10 Mourning Ring, 1745 91 Figure 11 Gold Mourning Ring, 1740 .......................................................................... 92 Figure 12 Mourning Rings, ca 1780 .............................................................................. 93 Figure 13 Mourning Rings, early nineteenth century .................................................. 94 Figure 14 Mourning Ring, 1828 and Mourning Pin, 1834 ......................................... 95 Figure 15 Fraternal rings, Eagle Regalia Co., Twentieth Anniversary Catalogue. 1923, p. 2 8 ................................................................................................... 96 Figure 16 Masonic Blue Lodge Ring, ca 1930 ............................................................. 97 Figure 17 Progression of Masonic Orders ...................................................................... 98 Figure 18 Masonic Fourteenth Degree Ring, ca 1930 ................................................ 99 Figure 19 Masonic Thirty-third Degree Ring, 1 9 1 5 ....................................................... 100 Figure 20 Masonic Thirty-second Degree Ring, 1904 ................................................ 101 Figure 21 Masonic Thirty-second Degree Ring, 1874 ................................................102