In the 18th and 19th centuries, 来自富裕的新英格兰家庭的年轻女性可以进入学院学习, 除了传统的学术追求, 他们可以学习各种形式的装饰艺术. At these schools, 年轻女性可以接受绘画等艺术方面的指导, waxwork, Japanning, painting on glass, quillwork, feather-work, and ornamental needlework. Among these endeavors, quillwork such as Mary Woodbury’s stands out, not only for its complexity and beauty, 但从制作一本书所需材料的成本来看，除了学费之外. Brandy Culp, writing of the Wadsworth Athenaeum’s sconce他估计，生产它的成本可能高达2000美元(相当于今天的货币)!

At its most basic, Quillwork(也叫quillling或quillery)是徒手或围绕羽毛笔将窄条纸卷成紧卷或松卷的过程, gluing, then pinching the edges to make teardrops, eyes, and other shapes将中心向上推出卷来制作 cone shapes然后将这些微小的形状组合成像玛丽那样精致的设计. Although these days, 人们可以买到狭长的纸条和各种颜色的纸来制作图案, 18世纪的女学生可没那么容易. In her Young Ladies School of Arts 汉娜·罗伯逊在1767年发表的一篇文章中描述了这个过程的一部分:

Filligree is very pretty work, and when executed with judgment, will last hundreds of years, 可以用来代表各种各样的人物，比如野兽, birds, houses, flowers, trees, coats of arms, &c. 首先要做的是在纸上染上你选择的各种颜色, let it be glazed over; then delivered to a book-binder to be gilded and cut in very narrow slips; after which your own judgment, or a pattern, will direct you, 你是打算买画框还是镜框, boxes, &c. … Take care not to let any of the glue fall on your work after the filligree is laid on; because it will dim the gilding …

然而，鹅毛笔只是玛丽辛苦工作的开始. 每朵闪闪发光的花都是一片一片地做成的. 虽然确切的过程很难确定, 当时的人造花是用蜡制成的, gum Arabic, or isinglass. 其他当代鹅毛笔作品用蜡像装饰, shells, 和其他材料(参见“进一步阅读”，以获得其他机构馆藏作品的链接)。.

这些羽毛笔作品的复杂和美丽体现了创作者的年龄. According to Hannah Robertson, “I know it by experience, 八、九岁的孩子将比一生中任何时候都能更好地学会养花, 十岁和十一岁学播种[缝纫]比早学好.“我们不确定玛丽创作这幅画时的确切年龄, but probably younger than one would think.

Who was Mary Woodbury?

Mary Woodbury was born in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1717, 乔赛亚和莉迪亚(赫里克饰)的女儿, 他们都是马萨诸塞州北岸创始家族的后裔. In 1737, she married Dr. 贝弗利的本杰明·琼斯，一位杰出的医生. 1748年，玛丽在她生日的前一天去世，留下了四个不到10岁的孩子. Her husband remarried twice, yet held on to her sconce and other artworks, 然后通过他们的女儿莉迪亚家族传承下来，并于1931年交给了MHS.