Fruit, Artificial

From Windsor Historical Society

1760 (Date manufactured/created)
1760 (Earliest/Latest dates)

Wax

Wax/Metal

The 5 pieces of wax objects, fruits and a flower,are contained in a 5.75 x 3.5 inch box which reads "Lith O Sketch 12 Scenic Notes" in gold on the side of the exterior of the box. The box is blue on the exterior and lined with tissue paper on the interior. The box is topped with a clear plastic lid taped at two corners that have torn. A tattered and yellowed piece of paper in the box attributes the wax objects to Ann Grant, made in Boston in 1760. The backside of the paper has four pieces of white tape over where the paper was torn. Found inside is one bushel of blue berries, one bushel of straw or raspberries, one lime or lemon, one pear, one flower and several loose blue and strawberries. Also included is a 3 inch long branch with a single small pussy willow attached, possibly this was attached to one of the wax pieces. The bushel of blueberries contains approximatelly 24 irregularly shaped dark balls, each on a piece of wire. The wires are intertwined and wrapped with green thread, yellowed in some places. Berries have fallen off some of the wires leaving the tips exposed. The outer wax shell has fallen off 3 berries leaving a hard brown core exposed. 7 loose berries are in the box. The next bushel of berries are about the size of a raspberry, but have several tiny holes making them appear as strawberries. The 4 berries remaining on the bushel are red and are also attached to wires that have been joined together and wrapped with green thread. 8 tiny leaves wrapped in string, 7 having remaining green wax, jutt out from the main stalk. Some of the berries presearve Ann Grant's fingerprints. 3 loose berries, one damaged, are found in the box. A round yellow/green fruit 4.5 inchs around might be a lime or a lemon. A hole at the top might have been attached to a wire or twig, two lumps are on either side of the hole and one pointed lump is directly beneath the hole. A small brown/green pear about the size of the lime/lemon is pitted in several places and is cracked. Portions of the wax have fallen away at the tip. A stub of the stem remains. The fifth item is a red wax and paper flower. Wires, green thread and paper compose the stem and there are 4 wax tipped projections and 2 paper tipped projections off the stem. The flower is composed of approximately nine irregularly shaped petals and several paper strips in the center.

Accession/ID Number 2003.028.005