deer hide, blackened; moosehair, white, blue and red; silk ribbon, red (very faded now); thread, linen.

These moccasins are made of blackened deer hide, embroidered in white, blue and red moosehair. The moosehair stitching is all the couching stitch-- the thread holding the moosehair in place is visible through with a magnifying glass. There are ca 52 puckers, and the is vamp sewn in a strange way: it overlaps the pucker instead of sewing inside out. This is not usually seen in this early style.The ankle flaps are divided, with a gore joining the ankle flaps to the foot. There is a Y-shaped heel seam. The vamp is long and narrow and extends to form the tongue. Two long, narrow gores, joined by the continuation of the heel seam, support deep down-turned ankle flaps divided and rounded off at the heel. The PRM object catalogue entry describes this as Hatt X northeastern pattern.

The floral patterns are very naturalistic-- the pattern could be described as three rounded lobes with white scalloped edging, with small three lobed red flowers at the center of each scallop.

These moccasins are important for diagnostic comparison. They are dated to 1827 and have naturalistic rather than stylized floral motifs.

These moccasins were collected by Lieutenant Henry Nixon by 1827.

Collected by Lieutenant Henry Nixon in 1827. Given to the Pitt Rivers Museum by Miss Nixon, of 13 Norham Road, in 1887. The accession record states that in addition to the moccasins, Miss Nixon donated four spoons or ladles from North America, a bark vessel from North America, a knife for removing fat from skins from North America, Seaweed horsewhip from Berbice, West Indies, Necklet of wooden beads or rosary Thug from India, a leather pouch from North America, and a piece of gum from New Zealand.

This record was created as part of a Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures (GRASAC) research trip to the Pitt Rivers Museum and British Museum, December 8-22 2007, funded by a grant from the International Opportunities fund of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Present: HB, RP, JM, CW, LP, AC, AS, SL.

researchers present: Heidi Bohaker (HB), Al Corbiere (AC), Stacey Loyer (SL), Janis Monture (JM), Laura Peers (LP), Ruth Phillips (RP), Anne De Stecher (AS), Cory Willmott (CW).