Country Living USA – September 2019

COUNTRYLIVING.COM / SEPTEMBER 2019 sƄ

Called a “gift—or vision—

drawing,” Tree of Life was

painted in 1854 by

Sister Hannah Cohoon.

Within each community,

members were

organized into families of

50 to 100. In keeping

with their strong belief in

complete equality of

the sexes, each family had

two female eldresses

and two male elders at

its helm.

Skilled craftspersons, the

Shakers innovatively

created “little conveniences”

to make work more

efficient and joyful, such as

this multiuse adjustable

cloth winding device (left).

Lidded Garden Seed Box

Mount Lebanon Shaker Society

Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon Collection

Two-Drawer

Sewing Stand

Enfi eld, Connecticut

Shaker Community

Shaker Museum | Mount

Lebanon Collection

WHAT IT’S WORTH:

$300 to $25,000

“Made only for their

own use, the rarity

and pretty form of

these innovative tables

make them highly

desirable,” says Karen.

“More built-in

conveniences means

higher value.”

SEED CONTAINERS

WHAT IT IS:One of the Shakers’ most prosperous

revenue sources was their garden seed business.

Its labor-intensive process off ered daily jobs

for members of all ages and abilities, while its low

expenses equaled large profi ts. After they

collected, washed, bagged, and labeled all varieties

of seeds, designated Shaker peddlers would deliver

them in BRIGHTLY LABELED DISPLAY BOXES

to general stores and agricultural depots, with the

agreement they would split the profi ts with the

merchant. While the individual seed packages were

letterpressed by members in the community, the

COLORFUL CHROMO-LITHOGRAPHED BOX LABELS,

or “SHOWBILLS,” were usually printed

by outside sources due to available equipment.

SEWING TABLE

WHAT IT IS:Work was of utmost importance

to the Shakers, and they often modifi ed their

furniture to help make their work more

enjoyable. Case in point, tripod sewing tables

meant for two, such as the one at right, had

DRAWERS THAT OPENED IN BOTH DIRECTIONS.

While furniture made prior to the 1860s was

usually painted, later pieces were also VARNISHED

and started to display some VICTORIAN

INFLUENCES in leg styles and detailing.

WHAT IT’S WORTH:

$100 to $4,000

“The more intact and graphic the label, the higher

the value,” says Karen. Also keep an eye out

for individual seed packs and unused box labels,

which fetch around $100 to $200.

Their adopted name,

the Shakers, came in

response to their fervorous

dancing during worship,

believed to be a physical

response to being infused

by the Spirit of God.

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