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DU PONT WINTERTHUR MUSEUM by Jessica June Eldredge Spring 1999 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. Copyright Jessica June Eldredge 1999 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1396003 UMI Microform 1396003 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. "IN THEMSELVES A TEXTILE MUSEUM": THE FORMATION OF THE TEXTILE COLLECTION AT THE H.F. DU PONT WINTERTHUR MUSEUM by Jessica June Eldredge Approved: Gary KulikP'Ph.D Professor in cnarge of thesis Approved: Jaifieb C. Curtis, Ph.D. :tor, Winterthur Program in Early American hiltfure Approved: _ .C John/b. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. Vide/Provost for Academic Programs and Planning Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the following Winterthur staff members: Margaret Fikioris, former Conservator of Textiles, Charles Hummel, Curator Emeritus, Susan Swan, former Curator of Textiles, and John A. H. Sweeney, Curator Emeritus, for providing their first-hand recollections of the early days of the Museum and contributing their thoughts about the textile collection. Thanks also to Dilys Blum, Curator of Textiles at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, who shared her knowledge of early textile scholarship and collecting. I thank my advisor, Gary Kulik for providing direction and insight. I would also like to thank other Winterthur staff members who made this project possible, including Pauline Eversmann who supplied advice and assistance with early drafts of the work, Grace Eleazar and the Registration Division, Richard MacKinstry and Jeanne Solensky in the Downs Collection, and Heather Clewell of the Winterthur Archives. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Linda Eaton, Winterthur Textile Conservator, who encouraged me to undertake this thesis topic and provided endless enthusiasm and assistance with carrying it out. 1 1 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Finally, I would like to thank ray family, my friends, and my classmates. I would especially like to thank my husband, Gifford Eldredge, and it is to him that this thesis is dedicated. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES............................................. vi ABSTRACT ................................................... vii INTRODUCTION................................................. 1 Chapter 1 FORMATION OF THE TEXTILE COLLECTION, 1923-1951----- 6 2 TEXTILE DEALER ALICE BALDWIN BEER................. 17 3 WINTERTHUR MUSEUM COLLECTION, 1951-1969.......... 32 CONCLUSION.................................................. 43 FIGURES ..................................................... 45 APPENDIX A: TEXTILE DATABASE CATEGORIES.................... 53 APPENDIX B: TEXTILE CATEGORY SUMMARY....................... 55 APPENDIX C: TOTAL TEXTILE PURCHASES, 1923-1951............ 56 APPENDIX D: SOURCES FOR TEXTILE PURCHASES, 1923-1951....... 57 APPENDIX E: TEXTILE PURCHASES FROM ALICE BEER............... 60 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................ 63 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. Stereoscopic view, Walnut Room, 1935............. 45 FIGURE 2. Stereoscopic view, Dancing Room, 1935........... 46 FIGURE 3. Undated view of Blackwell Parlor................ 47 FIGURE 4. Side chair, 54.534.............................. 48 FIGURE 5. Settee, 59.1877................................. 49 FIGURE 6. Fragments of a dress, 69.4700................... 50 FIGURE 7. Side Chair, 59.69............................... 51 FIGURE 8. Fragments of a dress, 69.2481................... 52 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT This paper examines the way that Henry Francis du Pont purchased and used textiles from 1923 until 1969, specifically considering such aspects as patterns of collecting and sources for these objects. The thousands of textiles acquired, now part of the Winterthur Museum, are widely acknowledged as one of the finest collections in the United States. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to examine the formation of the textile collection in the context of period scholarship and to begin to explore the relationship of the documentary evidence of these objects to the textiles that are in the collection today. I have created a database of more than 1,800 textiles acquired by du Pont from 1923 to 1951 including such information as dates of acquisition, sources, prices and descriptions of the textiles. For these purchases, du Pont worked with nearly 250 different dealers and shops and I will examine du Pont's relationship with one individual dealer who specialized in textiles, Alice Baldwin Beer. I have also created a database of textiles accessioned by the Winterthur Museum between 1952 and 1969. Utilizing these databases and related correspondence, this paper discusses the nature of the textile collecting over the time period under cons ideration. vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. There axe two currents in du Pont's collecting: the early acqusitions that reflect folk-inspired taste as demonstrated by hooked rugs and other objects deemed suitably "American," and the later purchases that display a tendency toward refined European textiles used to decorate rooms at Winterthur. A closer examination of the history of these European woven textiles reveals a shift in perception about their collection and use. As the Winterthur Museum came into being, a different type of activity and attitude regarding these objects began to emerge. Instead of recyclable commodities, textiles came to be seen as examples of material culture with intrinsic worth. viii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION On my first visit to Winterthur, I was presented with an intriguing bit of information. When my tour group arrived in the anteroom to the formal dining room, our guide pointed out a chair and told us that it was upholstered with fabric from an eighteenth-century dress and further, that the museum had in storage many dresses, otherwise intact, but with chair seats cut out of their skirts. The mental image created by this statement, of a gown with the shape of a chair seat missing from its skirt, was both disturbing and compelling. Like many other stories of Winterthur lore, this engaging tale raises several interesting questions. Did these objects actually exist? If so, how and why did this happen? This thesis is an attempt to move beyond the anecdotal approach to the textiles at Winterthur and toward a more documentary understanding of their history. There is not a body of scholarship that deals with the genesis and development of collections of historic textiles 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. in this country, either public or private.1 Traditionally, textiles themselves have not received as much scholarly attention compared to other areas of the decorative arts. They often cannot be tied to a definite maker, have been used and reused