Desk, Portable

Object Name:

Desk, Portable

Object ID:

2013.012.01

Date:

1864

Description:

Lap desk presented to Civil War nurse Sarah Low (1830-1913) of Dover, NH, by patients and staff of Ward I, Armory Square Hospital, Washington, DC, on January 20, 1864. Rosewood. Rectangular box with hinged cover. Shield-shaped brass plate on cover, engraved, "PRESENTED TO / Miss Sarah Lowe / BY THE / Patients of Ward I / Armory Square Hospital / Washington, D.C." Decorative brass corners on cover. Each edge of body reinforced with three brass plates. Shield-shaped brass escutcheon on front, with keyhole. Writing surface consists of two mahogany panels covered with embossed green felt. Felt was originally one piece but is now separated at joints, so panels are removable. Four interior compartments at front, containing glass ink bottle, key, and two pen nibs. Largest front compartment has removable cover with brass knob. Two interior drawers with ivory pulls, one containing bone ring and ivory stylus. Box contained a carte de visite album presented to Sarah Low by patients of Ward B, now in N.H. Historical Society library collection.

Material:

Rosewood
Mahogany
Brass

Dimensions:

H-5.8 W-16 D-10.25 inches

Provenance:

Sarah Low (1830-1913) was born in South Berwick, Maine, to Dr. Nathaniel Low and Mary Ann Hale. One of seven children, the family moved to Dover, NH, in 1833. Sarah Low undoubtedly learned much about the treatment of the sick from her father and much of her life was spent in the care of friends and family members. Like many patriotic women at the outbreak of the Civil War, Low felt she could best help the Union cause by tending to soldiers wounded in battle. In September 1862 she traveled south to Washington, DC, where she served for two and one-half years as a nurse at the Union Hotel and Armory Square Hospitals under the leadership of Dorothea Dix.

Lap desk contained a red leather carte de visite album, stamped on cover, "MISS S. LOW." The album was purchased by NHHS library. It contains a handwritten note, "This Album was presented to Miss Sarah Low by the Soldiers of Ward B. Armory Square Hospital, on the 20th day of January 1864, as a slight token of their esteem for her services during her ministration as Nurse in that Ward. M.T.C."

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase, Katharine Prentis Murphy Fund

People:

Low, Sarah (1830-1913)

Subjects:

Civil War, Nurses, Hospitals, Hospital wards, Hospitals, Field