Object of the Month

Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site has a large museum collection consisting of thousands of objects, many of which are not regularly displayed in the house's furnished exhibit rooms. Every month, an object will be featured on this page, providing a look at an unusual piece from the collection.

 

With spring in full swing and things blooming in the Longfellow formal garden, we look this month at a book that deals with the Victorian fascination with floriography, or the language of flowers. The Flower Vase, published in 1844, was just one of many books made available to help the public decipher the otherwise hidden meanings associated with different flowers.

The symbolism or hidden meanings associated with different varieties of flower was such a popular trend in the Victorian era that it became its own field, with “dictionaries” and other similar books on the subject being widely published and sold. Individual flowers were ascribed to specific emotions, or associated with certain character traits, with the idea that giving or displaying arrangements of these flowers could be understood to convey a specific message to others versed in this language of flowers. For example, the interior page from this book shown at lower right in the image above connects goldenrod with encouragement. The significance or meaning assigned to each flower could come from any number of sources, including mythology, literature, or even a flower’s own physical characteristics such as color, scent, and medicinal (or toxic!) properties. The symbolism was applied to not only flowers themselves, but also to their representations in art, handicrafts such as embroidery, clothing, and other items.

The book’s author, Sarah Carter Edgarton, was born in Shirley, Massachusetts in 1819. While she did receive some formal education, attending Westford Academy in Westford, Massachusetts for one semester, she reportedly taught herself Latin and French. She went on to be the editor of multiple publications and authored multiple books that delved into the meaning of flowers, including The Floral Fortune-Teller in 1846, which explained how a bouquet of certain colored flowers gathered by an individual could give clues as to their character and prospects both romantic and worldly. Her work allowed to financially support her own family. Edgarton married minister Amory Dwight Mayo in 1846 and moved to Gloucester, Massachusetts, where she died two years later.

This book was given to Mary King Longfellow by her father Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow, Sr. in 1861 when she was nine years old. Alexander was a younger brother of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, making Mary the poet’s niece, and she spent considerable time at Uncle Henry’s home in Cambridge visiting with her cousins, some of whom she enjoyed close relationships with, including traveling with them throughout the U.S. and Europe. Mary would become an accomplished artist later in life, known especially for her watercolor scenes of the Maine coast. It was perhaps she who as a young girl colored in some of the abstract designs found on many of the pages within the book, as can be seen in the image at lower right above.

 

Click here to view past Objects of the Month.