Name/Title
Towel, Wallhanging, Christmas: Jingle Bells 270Description
A five-color silkscreen print on off-white linen depicting four types of sleigh in use. Straps of sleigh bells, evergreen trees, clusters of decorative greens, and the first verse each of two traditional Christmas carols, “Jingle Bells”, by James Lord Pierpoint, and “Over the River and Through the Wood”, by Lydia Maria Child complete the composition; see web links.
Four sleigh are illustrated, two for children, one for work, and one for leisure activities:
1. At top left, the smallest sleigh is a child’s carriage sleigh, meant to be pushed by an adult.
2. To the right is a small sleigh meant to be drawn by a pony, which somewhat resembles a dog sled.
3. Central to the design, seen in profile, is a single-seat bob-sled or bob-runner, the utility vehicle of the day (the bobs are the two sled bases, making for easy maneuverability). Painted on the side rail at the back of the sled is “H.J. Sprow”, Wert’s maternal grandfather who lived from 1863 to 1911.
4. At lower center, a cutter is shown as it was meant to be used: as a leisure vehicle. Cutters have one or two seats and were typically drawn by a single horse.
This towel/wallhanging was introduced in a 1964 Fall & Christmas brochure as a “last minute addition to our towel line”. It also appears in the brochures “Fall and Christmas 1965, Robert Darr Wert/Country Prints”, and “Country Prints by Robert Darr Wert and Neighbors”, c.1966; see images.
This is one of over sixty designs sold by Country Prints to Stevens Linen Associates of Dudley, Massachusetts, in January 1969. From that point onward, the designs were produced by Stevens with all reference to Robert Darr Wert and Country Prints removed. Many of these designs continued to be produced by Stevens throughout the 1970’s and some into the 1980’s.
In a memo from Fritz Kaufhold (Country Prints business manager) to Bob MacKay (Stonelea Mills/Stevens Linen Associates) dated February 12, 1969, Fritz notes of its sales, “Seasonal — fair.”Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Robert Darr WertRole
ArtistManufacturer
Country PrintsDate made
circa 1964Time Period
20th CenturyPlace
Location
Gill MA.Continent
North AmericaNotes
Top edge is a rod pocket to accept a dowel rod for hanging; remaining edges are hemmed.Inscription/Signature/Marks
“© wert by hand”, lower left corner; “PURE Linen COUNTRY PRINTS”, lower right corner.Dimensions
Height
29-1/2 inWidth
16-1/4 inMaterial
Bleached Linen, Textile InkColor
Brown, Black, chartreuse, Red, Dark Green
