Flower Tokens - Friendship Album Made by a Young Man for His Beloved, Completed by his Mother After His Untimely Death

Item Details

New York, J.C. Riker, ND, 1840s, Hardcover

Fair

A touching collection of sentiments recorded by Silas R. Howe and his mother, Harriet, for Eliza C. Vaughan (or Vaughn) in a 7.5" x 6" autograph album published by J.C. Riker and illustrated with 6 hand-colored lithographs by Frances Flora Bond ("Fanny") Palmer ("one of the most important women artist-lithographers of nineteenth-century America," according to the Winterthur Museum website). The lithographs are anthropomorphic flower illustrations inspired by J.J. Grandville’s Les Fleurs Animées (1830).

Born in Poultney, Vermont in 1827, Silas died tragically at the age of 17 when the gun he was cleaning misfired. The July 1844 incident, which took place aboard a ship while Silas was in the employ of a Detroit hardware merchant, is described in a newspaper clipping affixed to one of the first pages of the album. One the same page is written "Silas R. Howe's Album. Presented to Miss Elisabeth Vaughan by his mother, H. Howe, Poultney, January 17, 1845." It appears that Silas began making entries in the album (likely when first separated from Eliza), and his mother added to it before presenting it to Eliza six months later.  

Silas began writing in the album with a clear statement of his intent: "This little book intended for a special purpose has the sincerest desires accompanying it that instead of its being carelessly treated that it may receive a careful perusal from Eliza C. Vaughan, in whom is embodied loveliness, beauty, modesty, all that is virtuous." 21 additional pages have manuscript entries -- a combination of original compositions and quotations recording typical sentiments of the period relating to love, religion and morality, and death and the afterlife. A few pages have erasures, seemingly to lines that specifically mention Eliza. We can only speculate, but suspect that these may have been done by Harriet to remove sentiments expressing too much ardent affection. Eliza appears to have done as Silas wished and made a very careful perusal of the contents, as the book is heavily worn (boards detached, lacking backstrip, many leaves or gatherings loose from the text block) and presumably much treasured.