Man's Moose Hair Roach Hair Ornament

From card: "Roach is of hair of the mane of the moose in two parallel lines tied to a base strip of fine red spruce root. Two deerskin hair ties in front. Pendant feathers (too small and fragmentary to be identified by Division of Birds), rattlesnake rattle and three deer dew claws at back. Mr. Akers' letter of April 9, 1953 states that this specimen belonged to K. C. Gurney, an old guide of Indian descent. It has been passed down in his family for generations, and presumably was of Anasagunticook (Arosguntacook) Indian origin. They were a subdivision of the Abnaki residing on lower course of Androscoggin River, Maine." Illus. Pl. 2.42, p. 64, in Bourque, Bruce J., and Laureen A. LaBar. 2009. Uncommon threads: Wabanaki textiles, clothing, and costumes. Augusta: Maine State Museum in association with University of Washington Press, Seattle and London. Roach is identified there as probably dating to mid-eighteenth century.

7 Jul 2021

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