History & Notes: Helen Hays Underhill owned this lovely feather fan. Born in 1876 in Silver City, Idaho, Helen came of age as Idaho grew into statehood. As a student of St. Teresa's Academy she learned music, deportment, and other skills required of a late 19th century young woman. At the age of 20, Helen married the man who would become Idaho's sixth lieutenant governor, John H. Hutchinson, though the two later divorced. She remarried William Underhill and the two moved to Oregon where they resided until her death in 1945. In 1963, Helen's niece donated this fan to the Idaho State Historical Society.
Description: White ostrich feather and pearl fan. 16 wooden sticks with silver painting feature curled ostrich feathers trimmed in smaller feathers strung with small pearl beads. Cream satin ribbon is threaded through sticks. Metal loop holds sticks together at base and is trimmed in a length of cord with a braided loop and finished with a silk tassel.
Object Number: 1963.119.0001
Object: fan, hand
Category: Personal Gear
Circa: 1890
Materials: feather, metal, wood, satin, beads