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Clothing and Hygenic
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One of the
most intriguing artifacts recovered from the site is a
souvenir mug from the “Octagon Building”.
The origins of this mug are unknown. The transfer-printed
decoration illustrates two pairs of well dressed people
standing outside a fenced building complex, which features
a Greek Revival gate as its entrance. Two shadowy shapes
behind the fencing appear to be a large goose and an unidentified
animal. The Octagon Building may have |
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Octagon Building Mug
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been part of an agricultural fair
orexposition. It has also been suggested that the complex
depicted in the illustration is the gate to Hyde House,
near Cooperstown.
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Artifacts
associated with hygiene or medicine were prominent in
the assemblage, especially in the privy/trash pit feature.
These included chamberpots, a basin and decorative ewers,
a bone tooth brush, and several medicine bottles. Among
the latter were Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, Dr. Atwood’s
Jaundice Bitters, Dr. Thompson’s Eye Water, and
Professor Wood’s Hair Restorative. |
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Ceramic Vessels |
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Hardware and Notions |
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Clothing
artifacts were more rare, which is common in a nineteenth
century domestic sheet midden. This artifact group included
shoe fragments (leather, nails, shoelace eyes), buckles
from suspenders and garters (including some with fancy
decorations), and buttons. Among the button assemblage
was an Indiana Militia button (1867-1895). As there
was no known connection between the Carneys and Indiana
or the military, it is possible that this button was
acquired second-hand, possibly on a recycled garment.
Button recycling was not always practiced by the Carneys,
however, as a cluster of milk glass buttons were found
in the privy pit and a cluster of matching cuprous buttons
were found in Unit 32. These |
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buttons were probably attached to
a discarded garment which has long since disintegrated.
The cuprous buttons were especially interesting, as they
were all made by H.A. Jones, an Ithaca merchant. |
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