There’s a lot to love about this sweet handmade box chock a block full of stubby crayons once owned by the Robbins family of Lexington, Massachusetts. The paper wrapping the outside of the thin paperboard is block-printed with tiny black … Continue reading
Online databases are incredible tools. While my museum career has mostly focused on textiles, dress, and ethnographic materials, I never know what is going to inspire me when I search mfa.org, metmuseum.org, emuseum.history.org (Colonial Williamsburg), and so forth. There was a … Continue reading
In 2002, the MFA Boston acquired the Leonard Lauder large collection of Japanese postcards. The most thrilling images are Taisho illustrations, with their bold block colors and imagery that was modern and traditional at the same time. All have a … Continue reading
I’ve loved this plate ever since finding her while working at the MFA, Boston. Styled after Marie Antoinette, the equestrienne rides uncommonly astride a speckled horse. En francais: “Jeune Dame montant à cheval; elle est habillée en homme avec un … Continue reading
This trained gown and petticoat combination, held by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has always appealed to me. The rustle of the light silk and the drawstring pulling the fullness against the body in front, paired with its soft … Continue reading