mortar & pestle
Name/Title
mortar & pestleEntry/Object ID
1995.002.001Description
Clear, glass mortar and pestle belonging to Dr. James E. Shafer., physician and surgeon. He lived at 2815 Woolsey St. and had an office at 2162 Center St. See also Shafer Family (paper) Collection in upstairs archives. History: Dr. James E. Shafer, a native of Stockton, moved to Berkeley in 1905 with his wife Jennie and three young daughters. After two years in temporary quarters, the family settled in a comfortable home at 2815 Woolsey st. in 1908. Dr, Shafer, a physician and surgeon, maintained an office downtown on Center St. for 30 years. The eldest daughter, Mabel, attended the Snell Seminary, UC Berkeley and the California College of Arts and Crafts, eventually becoming a teacher. Lois, the middle sister, was active in local amateur theatricals. She graduated in 1921 from Miss Barnard's Kindergarten Training School and thereafter also became a teacher. The youngest sister, Ruth branched out into secretarial work at the Berkeley General Hospital, but eventually followed her sisters into the teaching profession. The Shafer Family Collection contains many artifacts that paint a fascinating, if incomplete, picture of their lifestyle. Family memebers were interested in the arts and were active theatregoers and movie lovers. They attended the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco and saved all the memorabilia from the fair. Voter registration rolls indicate that Dr. Shafer was a Republican, while the women of his family, including his wife, were listed as Democrats or "Decline to State". This must have led to some lively conversations around the dinner table. Dr. Shafer died in 1941; his wife having predeceased him a few years earlier. Neither Mabel nor Lois ever married or moved from home. Although Mabel died in 1965, one or both of her younger sisters remained in the family home on Woolsey St. until 1994, the family having occupied the same house for 86 years.Made/Created
Date made
1904 - 1930Notes
Date: 1904-1930Lexicon
Search Terms
1910's, medicine and healthLegacy Lexicon
Object Name
mortar & pestleDimensions
Depth
2-1/2 inDiameter
3-1/2 inLocation
E5-2
E5-2