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Whose Common: 1750-1850

Richard Bushman

Bushman, Richard L. The Refinement of America: Persons, Houses, Cities. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.

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Needlework Visual Elements
Visual Elements
Because the use of needlework indicates that the image was meant to display social taste, its visual composition is important to consider within the context of 18th-century refinement practices. In fact, visual images of female anglers appeared on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1700s (Pappas 2015, p. 1). These "fishing lady" images appeared a century after John Donne's poem, The Bait, was penned in 1633; Donne's poem was a meditation on courtship, casting a suggestive metaphor that positions women in the role of the fisher while men are helpless fish. Fishing functioned as a metaphor for women patiently "luring" men with their looks and their feminine accomplishments, with the ultimate goal being a successful and advantageous marriage (Pappas 2015, p.1). Needlework Picture directly engages with this relationship by placing a fishing lady toward the center of the image. "The elegantly dressed man" is "paying court" to the "finely attired" woman, who turns her head to listen to his address while her body faces the fish on her line (Pappas 2015, p. 2). This visual appears to reference the fishing metaphor by offering a parallel relationship between the fish and the man behind the woman. As he attempts to court her, she catches hold of the helpless fish.

A significant undertone of the metaphor is the "ultimate goal." The woman's pursuit of a successful and advantageous marriage, by luring men with her looks and accomplishments, suggests that the fishing lady would be attempting to impress suitors with her appearance and practices. In this instance, her clothing is colorful and would have been regarded as fine attire. In the 18th century, dress signaled rank and character as surely as posture did, where its value was derived from the feel, the cut, and the expense of the material (Bushman 1993, p. 69). While the gentry did not invariably dress in vibrant colors, their clothes had stronger hues that the poor could not replicate with their vegetable dyes (Bushman 1993, p. 70). As is evident in the image, her vibrant and finely made attire indicates that she is a woman of means. Because her clothes reflect her rank, character, and taste, they contribute to her attempt to lure suitors through appearance. The elegantly dressed gentleman that is courting her appears to match the genteel standard for fine attire.

Additionally, the act of fishing also signifies social virtue. Fishing was not just a way for young women to be out in public in fashionable clothes so as to be seen by potential suitors, but an activity that evidenced their industry, virtue, and patience, contributing to their status as desirable candidates for marriage (Pappas 2015, p. 23). Thus, angling allows the fishing lady to publicly exhibit attractive characteristics for marriage amongst folks in the upper class. Both in the act of fishing and her appearance, the fishing lady in this embroidery suggests a desire for a marriage that would uphold her status as an individual with a refined background.

To the side of the embroidery is a couple strolling together. Their hands are interlinked and their clothes appear to be of a similar quality to those of the fishing lady and her suitor. Behind them are colonial buildings amidst rolling hills, likely alluding to domestic life (Pappas 2015, p. 2). Given that the couple is walking toward the colonial buildings whilst also moving away from the pastoral landscape, the couple might be moving toward domesticity in their relationship.

Toward the bottom of the image is a mounted huntsman. Surrounding him are several dogs chasing a deer. Given the centrality of the fishing metaphor to the picture, this might signify his "hunt" for a wife (Pappas 2015, p. 2). Overall, the embroidered image utilizes nature to establish iconography that suggests themes of youthful courtship. The relationship between humanity and nature in this instance is consciously drawing upon metaphors to portray nature in a pastoral and upper-class context.

In the middle of the 18th century, land substantiated the upper class with social and economic wealth by offering rich resources and vibrant scenery. Pastoral imagery was an expression of sociopolitical power because agriculture was the primary source of employment and wealth (Ruff 2015, p. 77). Artistic depictions of the landscape exhibit social power because the land itself was imbued with value. The concentration of wealth and beauty ushered in a more romantic conception of the landscape amongst the elites, in which the boundaries between nature and humanity merged (Ruff 2015, p. 81). Upper-class relationships with nature romanticized the pastoral landscape, which is a characteristic that can certainly be attributed to Needlework Picture.

To the other side of the picture is the imagery of humans harvesting crops while sporting genteel attire, as deer and birds can be found behind them. People did not conceive of nature as a separate entity away from the affairs of humanity and the inhabited world in the first half of the 18th century (Baetjer, Rosenthal, & Denver Art Museum 1993, p. 32). Landscape artwork typically was idealized and artificial before environmental thought transformed around the 19th century (Baetjer, Rosenthal, & Denver Art Museum 1993, p. 31). As is commonly found in this period, Needlework Picture offers a romantic depiction of Boston's natural landscape. The juxtaposition of humans with leaping deer and swooning birds in the same lush landscape conveys a sense of fantasy (Pappas 2015, p. 2). By emphasizing fantasy in this depiction of human relationships with Boston's natural environment in the colonial era, this embroidery plays into romantic conceptions of the landscape. Additionally, this romantic portrayal discloses the sense of fantasy that was tied to genteel courtship practices in the 18th century (Pappas 2015, p. 2). Needlework Picture draws upon a romantic conception of nature that was common amongst 18th-century elites. It did so to further substantiate the fishing metaphor and to uphold the romantic fantasies that accompanied the courtship ideals of an upper-class artist. Thus, the embroidery intertwines human practices with lush pastoral visions of the Boston landscape to serve its purpose of tasteful 18th-century imagery and to evince the artist's gentility.
Plate, 1820-1825 "Plate" is a blue-transfer printed pearlware plate. It was made by a pot-working business in Longport, England, called John Rogers & Son. The business was originally founded by a pair of brothers, named John and George. However, George passed away in 1815 and John also passed away in 1816. John Rogers's son, Spencer, then inherited the business. Spencer renamed the business John Rogers & Son and continued the potworks until 1842 (The Transferware Collectors Club, The Winterthur Museum, & Historic New England 2017). A print of Boston Common and the State House consumes most of the plate while a floral border is printed along the outside edge. Cows are shown grazing on the Common's grass. Behind the cows are a few individuals strolling by sheep and a boy with a wheelbarrow. This depiction of Boston Common conveys the landscape's pastoral nature in the early 19th century (Historic New England).

Material Composition

This plate is considered to be a pearlware relic with a blue transfer-print upon it. It is one of a few Boston Common prints that John Rogers & Son commissioned. Pearlware was introduced in 1779 by Josiah Wedgwood as an alternative to porcelain ware, creamware, and earthenware by covering creamware fabric with a blue-tinged glaze (Sussman 1977, p. 105). Pearlware emerged as a response to the demands of the market; by the 1770s, the market for undecorated creamware was declining so Staffordshire potters sought a new product (Miller & Earls 2008). The initial product that potters came up with was called "China-glaze," which was meant to replicate Chinese porcelain patterns. However, the China-glaze imitation wares could not compete with the original porcelain wares. Wedgwood's pearlware emerged as the temporary solution to the pressures of the market (Miller & Earls 2008). While pearlwares with blue painting on them were the most common type of porcelain pottery found in the early 19th century, printed wares were the most expensive and most limited (Miller & Earls 2008). Because transfer-printed pearlwares were expensive and uncommon compared to alternative ceramic products, "Plate" was a valuable piece of decor in early 19th-century America.
Transfer prints became the favored decoration of pearlware plates in the 19th century, resulting in the growth of matching serving sets (which cost considerably more to acquiesce) (Sussman 1977, p. 109). "Plate" is one pearlware ceramic out of a larger set that uses the same print of Boston Common, including tea bowls and soup plates.

Produced in Longport, England, the plate was crafted by potters from Staffordshire County. Staffordshire was known for its pottery manufacturing district, colloquially referred to as "The Potteries" (The Transferware Collectors Club, Winterthur Museum, & Historic New England). The conditions of the potteries were variable in the early 19th century. While many of these spaces were occupied by masters and apprentices, child labor was not uncommon; in some rooms, great numbers of children would be congregated to work together while there were other potteries that may have only employed one or two children (Birks). From the medieval period, the potteries catered to local markets. However, England's imperial endeavors in the early modern period introduced new markets for these potters. By the late 17th and 18th centuries, Staffordshire products were found across the Atlantic in the American colonies (The Transferware Collectors Club, Winterthur Museum, & Historic New England). In the 1810s, Staffordshire potters were ready and eager to resume trade with American importers after the duration of the War of 1812 had crippled their access to a vital market for the industry. For a brief period following the conclusion of the War of 1812, a heightened demand for the ceramic trade occurred after renewed American connections to the Staffordshire pottery trade (The Transferware Collectors Club, Winterthur Museum, & Historic New England). In the late 1810s, John Rogers & Son was given an order for "blue printed dining ware, new dark pattern, State House" (The Transferware Collectors Club, Winterthur Museum, & Historic New England). Consequently, it is likely that this plate was imported from the potteries in Staffordshire in the midst of a renewed Atlantic trade for ceramic serving sets. John Rogers & Son manufactured "Plate" and sold it to American importers as a part of a larger set of dining ware.
Imported serving sets were generally distinctive to wealthy households. Although much of the Massachusetts population ate with forks and knives in this period, most ate from coarse earthenware, wood, or pewter; only a tiny portion of the population dined on imported porcelains (Bushman 1993, p. 78). As matching ceramic serving sets were expensive and unique to the upper class, the material composition of "Plate" suggests that a family with wealth owned it.
Plate Display & Performance Display & Performance

Because of their expensive values and limited availability, a matching culinary set likely belonged to a genteel home in the 19th century. Visitors would have found remarkable differences between ordinary homes and genteel houses in both the menu items and the dinnerware (Bushman 1993, p. 74). Gentility regulated dining as much as it did the body, including the wish to keep food clean; the spirit of refinement placed people on chairs at tables, giving each individual utensils, and put food on platters and serving bowls (Bushman 1993, p. 76). Consequently, middle- to upper-class families would have been eating at dinner tables with serving platters in the late 18th century and early 19th century. However, only a tiny portion of the population of Massachusetts would have dined on porcelains (Bushman 1993, p. 78). Because porcelain dinnerware was primarily found amongst only the wealthiest of Bostonians, matching transfer-printed pearlware ceramic dinner sets would have been exclusive to a family of means. Such a set would uphold the wealthy family's refined interests and facilitated genteel behavior at dinner; along with these dining instruments, genteel bodies were expected to adhere to proper dining etiquette while sitting at the table and participating in the act of eating (Bushman 1993, p. 76). Due to this phenomenon, this imported plate would have been a tool to support the mechanism of genteel dining expectations. By guiding eating principles and human bodies, it upheld its owner's refinement and social status.
Needlework Picture Display & Performance

Display & Performance

Needlework Picture is a large embroidery (about 21 inches tall and 58 inches wide) that was passed down through the Lowell family and was on display at Elmwood in the 19th century (Historic New England). Because of its size and function at James Russell Lowell's home, the embroidery likely served as a "conversation piece"; polite people often displayed conversation pieces in their homes to facilitate socializing, with the understanding being that guests could react to the pictures and discuss them (Bushman 1993, p. 87). Conversation pieces were generally paintings of domestic scenes, exhibiting the taste of its owner (Bushman 1993, p. 87). The display of conversation pieces upheld upper-class gentility and expedited social practices. Consequently, the performance of Needlework Picture as a displayed work of art inevitably assisted the Lowell family's endeavor of upholding their social status. Indeed, the Lowell family rose to prominence in Boston by the 19th century and continued to establish itself as an accomplished family after Francis Cabot Lowell brought the first power loom to the United States (Amory 1947, p. 43).

Ultimately, the embroidery's depiction of the landscape and its motifs of domestic courtship were put in social performance by being on display for the Lowell family. Though the original artist is unknown, the use of an embroidered approach to create romantic depictions of the landscape and 18th century courtship practices pushed its viewers to recognize the Lowell family's higher status in Bostonian society.