Early Heart Shaped (c. Mid 19th Century) Beaded Iroquois Pin Cushion door buzzer That key is long gone

That key is long gone

I also love the immediacy with which its maker kept right on going to paint the frame in the same palette

The words themselves are really excellent

with a silver toned finish on the flower'shaped push-tip and grip

and the children identified as Joseph Genther and Rodrick (I believe) Sidealle--perhaps fast friends rather than brother and sister

Early Heart Shaped (c. Mid 19th Century) Beaded Iroquois Pin Cushion door buzzer That key is long goneI don't think photos with no sense of scale do justice to this one those beads are tiny, and the pin cushion relatively small, so it feels very fine in hand. And it is definitely an early one, c. 1850s I believe. There is a great blog devoted to early Iroquois (including Seneca) and Wabanaki pin cushions, including many heart shaped examples along the lines of this one, which I believe is Iroquois. Wear to the sides as evident it does appear it was