Case, Needle
Poplarware needle case, Canterbury, NH
ca. 1955
Description
Woven poplar needle case trimmed in white kid leather. Pink satin ribbon holds the case together and is tied in a bow at top of case. Interior of case has four pieces of pink colored wool with zigzag style edges for needle storage.
Notes
Museum records indicate that this set of needlecases were acquired from and made at Sabbathday Lake, ME. However, the weave pattern suggests that the poplar was woven at Mount Lebanon, which is characterized by the straight, solid lines of the threading rather than a twill or top/bottom alternating weave. According to Michael Graham, director of the Shaker Museum at Sabbathday Lake, the bow at top is characteristic of work made at Canterbury, NH. Also, he believes that woven poplar that remained at Mount Lebanon after its closure in 1947 was given to or purchased by the Shakers at Canterbury, also suggesting that these pieces originated at Canterbury, not Sabbathday Lake.