I'm about to list this fan on ebay and suddenly realized I'm not sure that the fabric is cotton. What kind of fabric would not fray over 100 years or so when not hemmed? Is this fan as old as I think? Circa 1880 or so? Has the fabric darkened or discolored over the years? Any comments are welcome.
For that sort of use, I expect the fabric would have to be stiffened, maybe soaked in celluloid or some such. Is that possible? Could explain why there's no fraying.
Yes, in the US these are known as Jenny Lind fans. This type of fan was used from mid-19th century until early 20th. I agree, the material was stiffened. Many fabric fans were, often simply with starch. Some had paper in between two layers of fabric to get the right folds. I think the colour is pretty close to the original. Since yours is relatively simple, no decorations, and made in the US, it is difficult for a European to put a specific date on it. It could be slightly later, maybe ca 1900, but let's wait for an American voice. We never had US fans here, except for NA ceremonial fans.
They did, but they didn't call them Jenny Lind fans, since she wasn't that well known here. She spent most of her career in the US. I think this shape fan could be a Continental European invention, maybe French, and Jenny Lind could have started the fashion in the US. The ones we see here are more decorated though, often with sequins. I like this simplicity, and a nice colour combination.
Yikes, I wasn't aware that there was anything "Jenny Lind" besides bed frames and the singer, herself!
It looks like it has a fine linen texture to me... yes, stiffened. I didn't know there were Jenny Lind fans either! Leslie