Artifact: Folding fan
Materials: Ivory sticks, mother-of-pearl button
Dimensions: Length of guard: 11 1/2 in.; Spread: 21 in.
Date: 1760
Origin: England
Collection: LACMA
License: Public Domain
Ledger Entry: Ivory Fan
Department: Accessories
Customer: Captain Lewis Ellzey
Ledger Page: 30
Imported From:
Product Description
Originally an East Asian invention, the folding fan was an important accessory for both upper and middle classes. While quite handy for cooling off in a heated ballroom, fans could also be printed with riddles, maps, dance steps – the ideal conversation piece. Finished fans could have European or Asian designs, or be made up of only carved sticks. Making a fan could also be a global effort. Fan sticks of ivory were often imported from China to Europe, where master craftsmen decorated them. Variety in material and design gave Early Americans a lot of choice.
Citation: Linda Baumgarten. What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America (New Haven: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in association with Yale University Press, 2002), 45.;
Historical Price: 3 shillings, 10 pence; Modern USD: $43
Product Variations
The databases record five fans ranging from six pence for an unspecified fan to four shillings six pence for an ivory form fan.
