Yale Center for British Art

Title:
Naval woolwork.
Alternate Title(s):
Naval woolie
Published / Created:
1891.
Physical Description:
1 embroidered panel, with tintype : wool and silk on linen backing ; 38 x 34 cm, in frame 41 x 38 cm
Collection:
Rare Books and Manuscripts
Copyright Status:
Copyright Undetermined
Classification:
Three-Dimensional Artifacts
Notes:
Naval woolworks (or "woolies"), embroidered mementos of a sailor's service, were common from the mid-19th century, and were generally made to be hung in a family parlor. The tintype, introduced in 1853, was a cheap, simple, and quick method, popular both in Britain and the United States, of capturing an image on a metal plate. As the plate of black painted iron was not terribly fragile and was easy to cut to mount in an album or frame in a piece of needlework, it was common by the end of the 19th century for "woolies" to incorporate a tintype of their creator. Cf. A.J. Lewery's Popular art, past & present (1991).
Exhibition History:
A Decade of Gifts and Acquisitions (Yale Center for British Art, 2017-06-01 - 2017-08-13)
Subject Terms:
Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Sea life -- 19th century. | Fabric pictures -- Great Britain -- 19th century. | Wall hangings -- Great Britain -- 19th century. | Sailors as artists -- Great Britain -- 19th century. | Seafaring life -- 19th century. | Naval career -- Great Britain -- 19th century. | Voyages and travels -- 19th century.
Form/Genre:
Tintypes (prints) | Embroidery (visual works)