valance
date: label: date made
content: estimated 20th century
label: Associated Date
content: 20th century
name: label: user
content: Tuckerman, Walter R.
label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: Valence, pleated swag valance in blue, gold, and black. The fabric of the valance is a gold brocade with a blue and black floral pattern. The reverse of the valance is lined with brown twill. The top edge of the valance has 4 rings sewn into the back lining, there appears to have been a 5th ring which is now missing. The fabric of the valance is pleated horizontally, upwards, with 6 knife pleats. The pleats are angled so the fabric dips lower at the center and up at the side to create swags across the valance. Below the pleats is a convex stripe of blue velvet the mirrors the shape of the pleats. On either side of the velvet is a small cord of blue, gold, and black thread. 1 ½ below the velvet stripe is woven, warp-faced tape that overlays an alternating tied fringe in blue, gold, and black. The sides of the valance are encased in a binding that matches the lining. There is a sash of brocade that hangs down vertically from the left of the valance. It has a velvet stripe that matches the stripe on the main valance. Below the velvet, there is a section of fringe that matches tied tassels the bottom. The back of the sash is whipstitched down the center, there are many small holes around the seam. The fabric is very delicate. There are a few holes at the top of the valance in the brocade fabric. The upper hole is 1 1/8” by 1 ½”. The lower hole is 1 ½” by 1 5/8” they both look like something ate through the layer of fabric. Moth damage could explain the holes in the sash as well.
label: Description
content: This valance (part of a set 234919.0055a-k) was donated by the daughters of Walter Tuckerman, a prominent man in the banking, real estate, and naturalist world of Maryland in the 20th century. In his early adulthood, he was part of the Alaskan Border Survey Commission in 1909. His letters home are full of optimism and wonder at the wilderness of Alaska, he even received the honor of a mountain named after him, Mt. Tuck. After he returned from Alaska, he founded The Bank of Bethesda in Bethesda, Maryland. Tuckerman also led the development of the nearby neighborhood of Edgemoor in Bethesda, Maryland. His daughters donated the drapes with a note stating that they came “from our parent’s house” (page 178 of scanned accession file). It is likely that the house in question was the family home called Tuxeden in Bethesda. Walter Tuckerman's lifelong love of adventure and the outdoors became a love of golf later in his life. he was an active member of his local golf club, and he won many trophies.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: associated place
content: United States: Maryland, Bethesda, Edgemoor
label: associated place
content: United States: Alaska
topic: label: associated subject
content: Exploration and Discovery
label: associated subject
content: Banks
label: associated subject
content: Golf
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
label: See more items in
content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mrs. E. Tuckerman Biays, Mrs. Draper L. Kauffman, Mrs. Robert G. Metters, Mrs. Willard Triest, and Mrs. Robert H. Williams
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.234919.0055c
label: accession number
content: 234919
label: catalog number
content: 234919.0055c
objectType: label: Object Name
content: valance
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: blue, black, gold (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: brocade, velvet (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 33 3/4 in x 23 7/8 in x 3 in; 85.725 cm x 60.6425 cm x 7.62 cm