Cindythings Chrystal Dunninger Museum Page 7

This piece is a very exotic hand-embroidered silk textile with a plain linen backing stamped both CHINA in blue and MADE IN CHINA in red on the back. It measures 16 1/2 inches long / nearly 42 cm long, by 5 3/4 inches / 14 1/2 cm wide. Bordered with black and narrower green borders, the embroidery is done on a piece of flame colored silk, and depicts roses and leaves and maybe some bugs. At some point it was wet, and some of the water spotting on the back has stained the linen backing in places. The front is also slightly stained from being wet, but for what seems like a very old piece, it seems in pretty good shape. It would be beautiful framed behind glass.

Now here is a really fun little item. This is a traveler's laundry line kit. The case is red- and black-dyed very soft, thin leather, with a black snap. Open it, and it folds out to reveal at the bottom a pocket that holds a flat red Bakelite plastic spool with a twine laundry line wrapped around it, and above that, a strap that holds four little red Bakelite clothes pins and two red Bakelite thumb tacks for tacking the line up to a hotel wall, with their points pressed into a little cork held under the center of the strap. This is such a cute, clever little thing. It doesn't look to have been used, because the twine is perfectly wrapped around the spool and the cork barely has any holes in it, but it is without question very old, indeed. A fun little gizmo. Measures 2 5/8 inches wide by 2 inches tall or 6 1/2 cm by 5 cm closed, 5 5/8 inches or 14 1/4 cm long opened out. The little clothes pins are 1 5/8 inches or about 4 cm long.

Another ingenious little item, this is a sewing kit. The gold plastic thimble on the end of the cream colored plastic case unscrews for use, and out comes a narrow spool with black, cream, tan, and rose threads. Pop off the tiny clear plastic plug on the end of the spool, and you've found your needle, left conveniently threaded with a piece of black thread by Chrystal. A mend to a fancy black evening dress, no doubt. Printed in black on the cream case is The Lancey House, Pittsfield, Maine, James Murphy, Mgr. The Lancey House was a celebrated historic inn with restaurant built in 1868, burned down once, rebuilt, and then finally burned down again in 1965. Just in case you want to keep this kit handy, there's a hole in the case, for putting it on a chain or string. It measures 2 3/4 inches, or 7 cm long. Here it is. Please don't prick your finger.