Coffeepots, all bequest of Henry Francis du Pont, 1959.2068;1959.2072; 1965.1673.

Tinware objects with lively, bright colors and hand painted with fruit, flowers, birds, and borders were once ubiquitous in the young United States. The base material, sheet iron coated with tin, provided an appealing surface for painted or punched ornament to be applied. At first glance, it may look like amateur artwork, but this exhibition examines the professional and practical roots of a material that is still produced by artists today.

Toy cradle, made by James Spencer’s toy manufactory, New York, New York, 1829–61. Museum purchase 1970.70.

The story of antique tinware may be surprising. Useful household objects were created by tinsmiths for myriad home and work purposes, such as to keep paperwork or tobacco dry and safe, to hold dry or liquid cooking ingredients, or to support a candle for light. Tinware objects that survived were often decorative ones, although, unpainted, shiny white tinware was once even more prevalent. American painted tinware has origins from lands as far away as China and Japan.

Mug, probably Mid-Atlantic, 1850–70. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1965.1520.

During that time of developing the sea-born trade, imported lacquerwork and other goods from Asia became very desirable to European consumers who could afford them. Experiments in Wales and England led to “japanned” varnishes and colorants that could be baked directly on to the surface of tinware, creating opaque, dark coatings that resembled more expensive imported lacquerwork. Soon after, the colors and designs prevalent in local decorative arts were added with oil paints to “flower” or enhance tinware’s appeal to markets in Europe and America. This Western process was generically called “japanning,” and Americans used the term to describe all manner of painted and varnished items.

End Shop, Winterthur Museum

This pocket-size exhibition highlights the collection of decorated tinware that Henry Francis du Pont acquired from antiques dealers in New England and Pennsylvania, particularly from Ephrata, Lancaster, Carlisle, and York. Rooms in the museum, as seen in the End Shop (pictured), display tinware grouped by color. These beautiful, hand-painted objects feature decorative techniques that have been in use from the early 1700s to today.

This exhibition is on view beginning May 18 in the Winterthur Fellows Gallery.

In the months ahead, Winterthur Unreserved will feature a series of map-themed blog posts in conjunction with the exhibition Common Destinations: Maps in the American Experience (on view now through January 5, 2014). This unique exhibition features a fascinating array of maps and map-related objects primarily from the museum and library collections. It is the result of a collaborative effort between guest curator Dr. Martin Brückner from the University of Delaware and scores of Winterthur employees and students working behind the scenes.

Guests take in the objects at the Common Destinations opening

Long before there was a National Geographic magazine or Google Earth, maps were central to the social and commercial activities of Americans. Winterthur’s new exhibition, Common Destinations: Maps in the American Experience, explores the importance of maps in everyday life; how men used them at home and abroad; how women and children engaged with maps to foster family ties; and how maps became the social glue that would bind a people of strangers into a community during times of change and development.

From the early 1500s, maps introduced the American continent to European explorers and colonists. After the American Revolution, they shaped the image of the new nation. During the 19th century, maps documented westward expansion, civil war, and the closing of the frontier.

Pocket globe, Holbrook Apparatus Manufacturing Co., Wethersfield, Connecticut; 1830–59, Line etching with watercolor on paper and wood. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1967.522

In six sections that feature giant wall maps and tiny pocket globes, hefty folio atlases and fragile map handkerchiefs, the exhibition highlights the rise of American maps from rare collectibles to popular objects available to American citizens of all backgrounds.

The objects in this post represent a small selection of the more than 100 objects in the exhibition, intended to whet your appetite and encourage you to visit in person. A variety of family activities and special map-related programs will be offered at the museum throughout the duration of the exhibition. Check the Web site often for upcoming programs.

The Washington Family, Edward Savage, 1798–1805, Oil on panel. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1961.708

Sociable Maps in Parlors and Pubs

Maps were a visible and vital part of social life in early America. They could be found hanging in taverns, shops, town halls, and train stations, as well as in private homes. In such settings, they fostered dialogue among friends and strangers, prompting people to ask for directions, engage in polite conversation, test geographic knowledge, play geographical games, or, as illustrated by the Washington family, to simply enjoy one another’s company.

Land survey of New Castle County, Drawn by Isaac Stevenson, New Castle County, Delaware; 1803
Ink and watercolor on laid paper. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1957.642a,b

Indoors, Outdoors: Men and Their Maps

Historically, maps have been considered the province of men. In America, it wasn’t monarchs and ministers but farmers and merchants who depended on maps to govern and stay connected. Circulating in a culture in which social status was defined by land ownership, maps were at once useful and symbolic objects illustrating male identity and self-worth.

L’Amérique, Jean Lattré
Paris, France; 1779–80, Engraving with watercolor on paper, pasteboard, wood, brass. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1965.2116

Upstairs, Downstairs: Maps in a Woman’s World

Contrary to popular notions today, American women were deeply invested in maps, mapmaking, and map displays. Female academies and mothers who home-schooled their children held competitions in map drawing and map reading. Needlework samplers and embroidered maps were staples of interior decoration in parlors, studies, and bedrooms. In public, fashion-minded women used map fans or handkerchiefs as accessories when celebrating military victories or national holidays. Maps also provided the kind of “useful entertainment” through which women and children could not only bond at home but also treat themselves to rare moments of carefree “travel.”

A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of New England, Probably drawn by Braddock Mead, Published by Thomas Jefferys, London, England; 1774, Etching and engraving with watercolor on wove paper. Museum purchase 1974.169

Before the Revolution: Science, Pictures, and Baroque Maps

In the years before independence, colonists supported the ideals of the Enlightenment, including the project of mapping the world. As a result of new scientific and commercial surveys, a different generation of maps entered the American marketplace. Yet, pictures were not banished completely; they were simply relegated to the map margins. Elaborately engraved cartouches reveal features that resonate with decorative designs popular during the baroque period of the 1700s.

The United States of America Laid Down From the Best Authorities, Agreeable to the Peace of 1783, Published by John Wallis, London, England; 1783, Etching with burin work and watercolor on laid paper. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1968.517a,b

National Maps: Building a New Community

American map culture changed dramatically after the Revolution. Following the Peace of 1783, citizens demanded more maps showing North America and the new nation, and entrepreneurs responded in kind. The 1783 map by John Wallis, The United States of America, was one of the first published in Europe to recognize the new nation’s independence.

Maps and Masses: Cartography in the Industrial Age

Colton’s Atlas of America, George Woolworth Colton, New York, New York: J. H. Colton, 1856. Printed Book and Periodical Collection G1100 C72PF

Westward expansion, immigration, and military conflicts made the study of maps a priority in the lives of men, women, and children during the antebellum decades and beyond. Major surveying projects and advances in printing technology—such as the invention of lithography and the steam-powered rotary press—turned maps into an industrial product. Mass production ensured universal access, and maps were transformed into a flexible consumer good.

This exhibition is presented by M&T Bank and DuPont

Supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and with support from Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP and Office of the Provost, University of Delaware.

For more information, please call 800.448.3883 or visit winterthur.org/commondestinations.

Catharine Dann Roeber, PhD, is a Curatorial Intern at Winterthur