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Extraordinary Scroll Illustrating Gilded Age Social Engagements Louisa "Lulu" Marston Gibson Pratt (1858-1910), Worcester, Massachusetts, 1879
2 – 12 August 2025, 12:00 EDT
Online, Skinner Marlborough, MassachusettsUS$800 - US$1,200
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Extraordinary Scroll Illustrating Gilded Age Social Engagements
Louisa "Lulu" Marston Gibson Pratt (1858-1910), Worcester, Massachusetts, 1879
pencil and ink drawings on three sheets of wove paper, laid on muslin and wound over two wooden bobbins, in padded presentation box
sheet approx. 4 3/4 x 195 in.
bobbin diam. 2 1/2, ht. 7 1/2 in.
box wd. 5 7/8, dp. 8 1/4, ht. 3 1/4 in.
The handmade paper scroll depicts twenty scenes that took place in January 1879, annotated with the names of places and participants. Recurring characters include the artist, Miss Lulu Gibson of Bristol, Rhode Island, and the scroll's intended recipient, Harrison "Harry" Hayford Child (1858-1930), who met through Gibson's cousin, Marion Virdal Lincoln (1862-1938), of Worcester. Another noted figure is Child's older sister, Anna Julia Child Bird (1855-1942), who was a leading advocate for women's suffrage together with Marion Lincoln.
Activities include staging "shadow pictures" and a performance of the popular ballad Nancy Lee inside the Lincoln family home at 5 Oak Street. The group also shops for wigs, ice skates at Salisbury's Pond, rides in horse-drawn sleighs, and forms a roller-skating party at H.H. Bigelow's indoor rink. Four frames are devoted to the Worcester Light Infantry Ball at Mechanics' Hall, and another four to a concert of the Amherst College Glee Club at Westborough Town Hall.
Gibson entitled the work "Philopena," referring to an eponymous game described in J.R. Bartlett's 1848 Dictionary of Americanisms as follows: "Fillipeen or Phillipina. There is a custom common in the Northern States at dinner or evening parties when almonds or other nuts are eaten, to reserve such as are double or contain two kernels, which are called fillipeens. If found by a lady, she gives one of the kernels to a gentleman, when both eat their respective kernels. When the parties again meet, each strives to be the first to exclaim, Fillipeen! for by so doing he or she is entitled to a present from the other." Gibson evidently initiated the game with Child at the Light Infantry Ball and lost, inspiring this clever and treasured souvenir of their brief courtship.
pencil and ink drawings on three sheets of wove paper, laid on muslin and wound over two wooden bobbins, in padded presentation box
sheet approx. 4 3/4 x 195 in.
bobbin diam. 2 1/2, ht. 7 1/2 in.
box wd. 5 7/8, dp. 8 1/4, ht. 3 1/4 in.
The handmade paper scroll depicts twenty scenes that took place in January 1879, annotated with the names of places and participants. Recurring characters include the artist, Miss Lulu Gibson of Bristol, Rhode Island, and the scroll's intended recipient, Harrison "Harry" Hayford Child (1858-1930), who met through Gibson's cousin, Marion Virdal Lincoln (1862-1938), of Worcester. Another noted figure is Child's older sister, Anna Julia Child Bird (1855-1942), who was a leading advocate for women's suffrage together with Marion Lincoln.
Activities include staging "shadow pictures" and a performance of the popular ballad Nancy Lee inside the Lincoln family home at 5 Oak Street. The group also shops for wigs, ice skates at Salisbury's Pond, rides in horse-drawn sleighs, and forms a roller-skating party at H.H. Bigelow's indoor rink. Four frames are devoted to the Worcester Light Infantry Ball at Mechanics' Hall, and another four to a concert of the Amherst College Glee Club at Westborough Town Hall.
Gibson entitled the work "Philopena," referring to an eponymous game described in J.R. Bartlett's 1848 Dictionary of Americanisms as follows: "Fillipeen or Phillipina. There is a custom common in the Northern States at dinner or evening parties when almonds or other nuts are eaten, to reserve such as are double or contain two kernels, which are called fillipeens. If found by a lady, she gives one of the kernels to a gentleman, when both eat their respective kernels. When the parties again meet, each strives to be the first to exclaim, Fillipeen! for by so doing he or she is entitled to a present from the other." Gibson evidently initiated the game with Child at the Light Infantry Ball and lost, inspiring this clever and treasured souvenir of their brief courtship.
Footnotes
Note
Louisa Gibson was the aunt of popular turn-of-the-century artist Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944), originator of the iconic Gibson Girl. Louisa Gibson also worked as a professional illustrator, but the arts infused her everyday life from a young age. According to a family historian, "Aunt Lulu" was endowed with "talents far beyond her education. She played the piano with unusual style and a natural touch, reading notes rapidly and correctly. Her ability to draw was even more remarkable, and in later life brought her much renown. She illustrated all her trips with delightful humor and ability ... Her pencil could create very amusing likenesses, and her sketch book accompanied her on all occasions ... She could converse intelligently with any man on most subjects and yet found the prattle of girls amusing. She made many visits during the year but always kept her mother informed by illustrated letters," (Josephine Gibson Knowlton, Longfield: The House on the Neck, p. 240-1).