Thursday, November 19, 2009

PFF - Mary Chilton - Pilgrim and Silver



This postcard advertises Towle Manufacturing Company's sterling silver pattern "Mary Chilton," patented in 1912. The sampler shown behind the spoons is an adaptation of the old samplers made by young women of the colonial period. The 1620 date is the year the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts; the 1913 date is the date of postcard.

Thirteen-year-old Mary Chilton is believed to be the first female passenger of the Mayflower to land on Plymouth Rock. Her parents died while still aboard the ship, and many of the other Pilgrims died during their first year in America. Those who survived celebrated a successful harvest in 1621 at Plymouth. This celebration is what is known as the first Thanksgiving.


18 comments:

  1. What a lovely postcard, postcardy! thanks for the info! :)

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  2. A great reminder of all we have to be thankful for.

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  3. She didn't have many friends, did she?!

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  4. Thank you for this great information. There must be some story hiding behind the postcard.

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  5. Thanks for sharing. I like the turkey and Statue of Liberty postcard too! Happy Pff.

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  6. Beautiful card and an interesting story. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Have you read the book 'The Night Befor Thanksgiving' It's a real hoot. My boys can't get enough of it. It makes me think of you now:)

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  8. I've visited where they landed in Plymouth. What an incredibly brave group of people they were!

    Wow--makes me thankful for all the luxuries we have--and don't really appreciate because we have had them all our lives.

    Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy PFF!

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  9. Great card for Thanksgiving. I love old samplers so this was a delight for me. Interesting story, too. Happy PFF!

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  10. My mom has a very old sampler framed and hanging in her living room. What a wonderful keepsake from the past! Happy PFF.

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  11. I used to sell sterling silver flatware at a store that no longer exsists......I love how the names of patterns correlate with historical figures.....that was a great one!! Who knew????

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  12. Beautiful sampler and a wonderful holiday card. Happy PFF!

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  13. Nice!

    Mine:
    http://dorincard.blogspot.com

    http://www.cpaphilblog.com/?

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  14. What a beautiful old postcard, and thank you for the history - I'd heard her name before but never heard that she was the first. What a perfect Thanksgiving season post.

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  15. Lovely to learn of the background to Thanksgiving! And it's a beautiful card too.

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  16. Wonderful postcard, thanks for sharing!

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  17. Hello - I am a Mary Chilton descendant and I would love to get a scan of that postcard - could you possibly send it to me via email? My address is richard dot weaver at gmail dot com.

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