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2020.610.1, Darner and Needle Case
Darner and Needle Case
2020.610.1, Darner and Needle Case

Darner and Needle Case

Dateca. 1865
Owned by Elizabeth Morris Canby Rumford (1848 - 1933)
OriginAmerica; owned in Delaware
MediumWood
DimensionsOL: 4 ¼”; OW: 1 ¾”; Diam: 6 7/8”
Credit LineGift of Beatrix T. Rumford
Object number2020.610.1
DescriptionThis is a light-weight brown wooden hand tool known as a darning egg. It consists of a rounded end with a 3 1/8” long turned hollow handle. The handle terminates with a conical shaped finial, which pulls out of the handle to reveal a chamber for storing sewing needles. The detached finial measures ¾” long.
Label TextMany people today in industrialized nations would not think to mend the worn heels of their socks or stockings, but in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the cost of textiles made this a necessity. Darners were simple, but very useful, hand tools with rounded ends that made the mending process much easier. They speak to the value of textiles and the concept of "making do" during this time. This darner was owned and used by Elizabeth Morris Canby Rumford (1848-1933), a member of a significant mid-Atlantic family.
ProvenanceA hand-written note by the donor states: "Turned wood darner and needleholder. Source unknown, ca. 1860. Shaped like a mushroom. Handle finial unscrews revealing compartment for needles. Belonged to Elizabeth Morris Canby Rumford (1848-1933). OH: 2: OW: 4 1/4"."
Owned and used by Elizabeth Morris Canby Rumford, the darner descended to her oldest son, Samuel Canby Rumford (1876-1950); to his son, Lewis Rumford, II; and finally to his daughter, Beatrix Rumford, who donated the darner to the museum.

History of owner:
Elizabeth Morris Canby Rumford was born in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware to Samuel Canby (1811-1875) and Elizabeth Clifford Morris Canby (1813-1892). She married Charles Grubb Rumford (1841-1901), and together they had two children: Samuel Canby Rumford(1876-1950) and Lewis Rumford (1877-1961). She died on September 26, 1933 and is buried at the Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware.