Handkerchief owned by Harriet Tubman
date: label: Date
content: 1870s - early 20th century
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
label: Owned by
content: Harriet Tubman, American, 1822 - 1913
notes: label: Caption
content: 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.
label: Description
content: 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: label: Place used
content: Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress
label: Topic
content: Emancipation
label: Topic
content: Freedom
label: Topic
content: Self-liberation
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: Social reform
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Clothing - Fashion and Historical
label: Exhibition
content: Slavery and Freedom
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Charles L. Blockson
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2009.50.40.3
objectType: label: Type
content: handkerchiefs
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: cotton
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 11 1/4 x 11 1/4 in. (28.6 x 28.6 cm)