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Image features a bookmark or stevengraph with a portrait medallion of Abraham Lincoln surmounted by an eagle perched on a shield flag that holds a banner in its beak that reads "E Pluribus Unum." Inscription at top reads: "Assassinated at Washington 14 April 1865," and just below another inscription: "I have said nothing but what I am willing to live by. And if it be the pleasure of Almighty God. To die by. (A Lincoln). Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
Lincoln Bookmark
This post was originally published on July 26, 2018. Stevengraphs are small woven pictures that depict famous buildings, historical events, iconic scenes, and prominent public figures such as members of royal families, politicians and athletes. They were produced by Thomas Stevens (English, 1828–1888), a Coventry weaver who customized the jacquard loom to produce small detailed...
Image features a gold-toned ring with the capital letters L and O (on angle), stacked over the letters V and E, spelling out the word love. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
L-O-V-E
In celebration of World Pride, June Object of the Day posts highlight LGBTQ+ designers and design in the collection. This gilded metal ring bears the motif of one of pop art’s most recognizable artworks. Modeled after Robert Indiana’s LOVE graphics and sculptures, the ring represents an element of popular design that reveals the relationship between...
Image features wallpaper with images and symbols of the French Revolution. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this wallpaper.
French Revolution Wallpaper
This wallpaper from the French Revolution period was one of the early pieces collected by the museum founders. It took me a while to understand how these papers were used as I can’t imagine hanging a political wallpaper in my home today. But the citizens of France felt differently, they thought that the Revolution could...
Headless Highlands Ghost
Beneath a foreboding sky streaked with lightning, a figure wanders through a cemetery.  Barefooted and dressed in a monk’s habit, he seems to be missing something.  Quite literally, it may be his head, whose snarling visage is directed out at the viewer from the crook of this gruesome monastic’s left elbow.  But who is this...
Who Do You Like?
Tammis Keefe (American, 1913-1960) was an influential mid-century textile designer best known for her playful designs, often printed with humorous slogans. One dishtowel in the museum collection features fire engines and the words, “Something’s Burning!,” (1982-79-6) and another, owls and the words “whoooos for dinner” (1982-79-12). Keefe designed this handkerchief with the slogan “I like...
Designing Discussion
Over the next two weeks on the Cooper-Hewitt Design Blog, students from an interdisciplinary graduate-level course on the Triennial taught by the Triennial curatorial team blog their impressions and inspirations of the current exhibition,‘Why Design Now?’. There is no shortage of practical objects in the 2010 Triennial. You will see everything from noble solutions for...