Toy cradle

1820-1830

Measurements

8-1/4 in x 12-1/2 in x 6-1/8 in

Materials

White pine

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Mrs. Charles Lee Reese Jr.

Accession Number

1971.1455

Inscription

An ink-on-paper label glued to the underside of the cradle, reads, "This dolls cradle was originally / the property of Sarah Elizabeth Hurd, / born March 27. 1817, died September / 14th 1838, the eldest child of William / and Sarah Barber Hooker Hurd, of Newton / Lower Falls, Massachusetts.  It was / used by Harriett Hurd Curtis Clark, / [and] / by her presented to her namesake [illegible] / Harriet Hurd Curtis, daughter of Frederick / William and Sara Corbit Curtis in 1[illegible]"

Condition Notes

The sides below the hood are cracked across the short grain; the right side is repaired inside the hood with a metal tab.

Provenance

According to the provenance recorded on the label, the donor, Mrs. Reese, née Harriet Hurd Curtis (1903-1971), received the cradle from her maternal grandmother and namesake, Harriett Lorinda Hurd Curtis Clark (1823-1917), mother of her father, Frederick William Curtis (1858-1911) who married Sara Clarke Corbit (1871-1952).  The illegible date on the label must have been sometime from about 1910, when the donor was 7, to 1917, when her grandmother died. 

Comments

A stain covers the toy cradle, coloring the pale pine a darker reddish-brown.  The doll cradle resembles baby cradles that changed little from the early 18th century until the mid 19th century.  The detailed history records the gift of the toy from grandmother Harriett, who was a sister of the original owner, Sarah Elizabeth Hurd.  The family then lived in Newton Lower Falls.  Grandmother Harriet later moved to Delaware.