Artist: UnknownTitle: TchotchkeDate: 1970s?Culture: Turkish (?)Provenance: Bought by my grandparents probably on vacation in Turkey in the 1970s My grandfather is an endless source of inspiration for me. Many of the things that fascinate me about American culture relate to him in some way--to the world he would have been a part of. I loved … Continue reading No. 22: Turkish Souvenir
Artist: Unknown/Olive May McQuown Title: Autograph Book Date: 1884 Culture: American, Remington, Indiana Provenance: Olive McQuown's sister (or cousin?) Anna (my great-grandmother), passed this on to her daughter Elma (my grandmother) who passed it on to my mother. It ended up with me after my mother's death. As far back as I can remember, my … Continue reading No. 15: Heirloom Autograph Book
Artist: Unknown Title: Collection of School Awards Date: 1998 Culture: American Provenance: Awarded to EAH in her senior year of high school High school looms large in my memory, as I guess it does for many people. But aside from one tattered old t-shirt, a collection of five or six diaries that I kept religiously … Continue reading No. 14: High School Awards
Artist: Willa Cather & Houghton Mifflin Company Title: My Ántonia Date: 1918; copyright renewed 1977 Culture: American Literature Provenance: Given to EAH by her mother in July of 1987 I recently found myself thumbing through my old copy of My Ántonia and felt an unexpected ache. I'm sure this is partly because I associate the … Continue reading No. 13: My Ántonia
Artist: Nature/Various Title: Bouquets I have received Date: 2020 and before Culture: Nature Provenance: Gifts over the years Is there anything more sumptuous and life-affirming than a bouquet of fresh flowers? They can transform a room. They are luxuriant and fragrant and ever changing with their tight blossoms that open into lush blooms that eventually … Continue reading No. 12: Flower Bouquets
Artist: St. Patrick Title: Wedding Dress Date: 2009 Culture: American (maybe Spanish?) Provenance: Purchased at Brides ‘n Maids, Santa Rosa, CA in 2009 Ten years ago Wednesday, two imperfect people married in a nearly perfect place. They said "I do" in front of a roaring fire in a 1920s fishing lodge tucked into the woods … Continue reading No. 11: Wedding Dress
Artist: Unknown Title: Perfume Set Date: 1993 Culture: American Provenance: Given to EAH by her aunt on her thirteenth birthday When I turned thirteen—something as a younger child I always denied would ever happen, deeming all teenagers to be evil incarnate—I was living in a small town in Illinois. I was at a new school … Continue reading No. 10: Perfume Set
Artist: Unknown, Moscow street artist Title: The Russia House Matryoshka Dolls Date: ca. 1991 Culture: Russian Provenance: Made to order in Moscow by EAH's father as a gift In a past that feels so distant that it seems impossible that I could have lived it, my family lived in Soviet Moscow where my dad was … Continue reading No. 9: The Russia House Matryoshka Dolls
Artist: WubbaNub Title: Pacifier with Stuffed Elephant Date: 2019 Culture: American Provenance: Purchased at Target by EAH for her wee daughter If you think about it, our relationships with our babies are unusual since most other relationships are founded on a shared history—family that you've known since you were born or friends you've had for … Continue reading No. 8: Elephant Pacifier
Artist: Steinway & Sons Title: Piano Bench Date: 1950s Culture: American Provenance: Gifted (along with piano) to EAH's mother in the 1950s by her father and then gifted to EAH by her father in 2017, after her mother's death. When my mother was a child—I'm fuzzy on exactly when—my grandfather bought her a baby grand … Continue reading No. 7: Piano Bench
Ellen A. Hurst 