Handkerchief owned by Harriet Tubman

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Object Details

Date: 1870s - early 20th century

Created by: Unidentified
Owned by: Harriet Tubman, American, 1822 - 1913

Caption: Harriet Tubman escaped the bonds of slavery as a young woman in the early 1800s. She returned to the South many times as a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad to lead other African Americans to freedom. During the Civil War, Tubman served as a spy, nurse, and cook for Union Forces. In 1863, she helped free more than 700 African Americans during a raid in South Carlina - A feat that earned her the nickname "General Tubman." Tubman's collar and handkerchief are decorated with finely worked lace prized by 19th-century Americans.
Description: A square handkerchief made of machine-woven off-white linen or cotton with three borders of machine-made lacework. The innermost and outermost lacework motifs are bobbin lace designs of a chain with one thick and one thin link on a mesh ground. Between these two chain motifs is an embroidered stylized leafy vine between cutwork in a star pattern. The borders are seamed in each corner of the handkerchief, with pleats in the outermost layer at the corners. Stains on the creases are likely from storage, but several appear to be accidental stains from use.

Place used: Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, United States, North and Central America

Topic: African American; Activism; Clothing and dress; Emancipation; Freedom; Self-liberation; Slavery; Social reform; Women

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Slavery and Freedom Objects; Clothing - Fashion and Historical
Exhibition: Slavery and Freedom
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Charles L. Blockson

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2009.50.40.3

Type: handkerchiefs

Restrictions & Rights: Public domain; Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Medium: cotton
Dimensions: H x W: 11 1/4 x 11 1/4 in. (28.6 x 28.6 cm)

Metadata Usage: CC0

GUID: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5a76261af-3cae-4c8d-959a-b0d04a16e9b4

Record ID: nmaahc_2009.50.40.3