Thanksgiving is a holiday steeped in Americana, and what captures that better than the classic cover illustrations of The Saturday Evening Post? Illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, who was born in Germany, studied art in Paris and opened an art studio with his brother in Chicago, created some of the magazine’s most famous holiday covers, including the annual New Year Baby.
Some antique arts fade in popularity but are never truly lost. Embroidery is one of them. There are surviving examples of embroidered fabric that date back thousands of years. By comparison, the embroidery of 17th and 18th-century Europe and Colonial America seems much more modern. This was the heyday of the craft. It had grown increasingly accessible to amateurs and was established as an important part of women’s education.
Queen Mary II, who co-ruled England with her husband William III from 1689 to 1694, was known for the crewel embroidery practiced at her court. “Crewel” is a broad term for embroidery made with wool thread. Many types of stitches are used and designs often have images like flowers and animals in vibrant colors and thick textures. The furniture and decoration style known as William and Mary came to the American colonies a little later than the monarchs’ reign in England; the American William and Mary period is generally considered to have lasted from about 1690 to 1720. This, of course, included embroidery. William and Mary furniture experienced a revival around the 1930s.
This vintage mirror, which sold for $600 at Leland Little Auctions, was made about that time. Its frame features crewel embroidery in the style of the 17th to 18th century, with traditional plants and animals as well as a couple in period costumes.
Q: I am closing an old country store. All the decor was made up of old antiques. I have two “wooden molds for barrels or baskets” and would like to know if they are worth anything.
