From Local to Global - Consumption and the Quaker Body

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Stamp, marking Item Info

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Title:

Stamp, marking

Date:

20th century

Description:

Metalcut block for printing, depicting woman wearing bonnet in profile. Belonging to Philadelphia Quaker Women [organization]. Previously cataloged as 0247

Marks/Inscriptions :

Silhouette of Quaker woman

Geographies:

North and Central America;United States

Material:

wood and metal

Provenance:

Probably Philadelphia Quaker Women

Material History:

The silhouette on the metal plate reflects an expansive history of cut-metal production. This was a way of creating images during the 20th century.

Quaker connection:

depics a quaker woman

Object Story, Consumption and Use:

This stamp is from the 20th century, made of wood and metal, and depicts a Quaker woman wearing a bonnet. A silhouette of a Quaker, like this stamp, was used in the elite Philadelphia area to distinguish Quakers from non-Quakers. These silhouettes were popular during the 20th century throughout North and Central America and were created using various methods, such as the scissor method, the pen-knife method, and the brush-washed method. For this specific stamp, the metal was most likely cut to form the silhouette. Silhouettes had many different values and were considered sentimental and decorative. In early 20th-century America, “No old room is quite complete without its silhouette, nor modern room furnished in an old-fashioned manner.” Not only were silhouettes used as markers for distinguishing Quakers vs. Non-Quakers, but also used for sentimental value to remember an individual. The stamp also reflects how Quakers expressed their beliefs and ideas, even though it depicts a woman wearing a bonnet. It is a fairly simple stamp that lacks ornamentation, which aligns with Quaker values. Combining stamping and silhouettes into one object also highlights how Quakers “actually participated in the consumer culture of the major metropolitan areas.” This silhouette, when placed on a stamp, becomes a mass-produced image that emphasizes Quaker's new methods of creating images while maintaining their religious values.

Research Sources:

1. Verplanck, Anne, The Silhouette and Quaker Identity in Early National Philadelphia, Winterthir Portfolio 43:1(2000). 2.. Theodore Lynch Fitz Simons, The Origin of Silhouttes, Arts & Decoration 4, no. 2 (December 1913): 59-61. 3. Virginia Robie, The Decorative Value of the Silhouette,” The House Beautiful 41, no. 1 (June 1917): 350. 4. Virginia Robie, The Decorative Value of the Silhouette,” The House Beautiful 41, no. 1 (June 1917): 350.

Type:

Image;StillImage

Format:

image/jpg

Accession Number:

SC-FHL-R-0324

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Source

Preferred Citation:

"Stamp, marking", From Local to Global - Consumption and the Quaker Body, Swarthmore College, https://swat-ds.github.io/material-culture/material-culture/items/mc015.html