Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Bachman, Mary.
Title:	Mary Bachman Antique Comb Collection
Inclusive Dates:	1850-1969
Quantity:	3 linear ft.
Abstract:	Hair combs, decorative and functional, dating from the mid-19th to mid-20th century.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

Mary Bachman is a member of the Antique Comb Collectors Club and editor of their newsletter. She is also the author of Collector's Guide to Hair Combs: Identification and Values (1998).

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Mary Bachman Antique Comb Collection consists of 21 combs and hairpins. Most were made in the United States, but the collection also includes a few from France, England, China, and Indonesia. Materials include brass, silver, horn, ivory, and celluloid. Most are hand-made, and date from 1850-1969 although one undated item, from China, may be considerably older.

Identification numbers and descriptions in the inventory below are taken from supplemental information provided by Glenn Beall (see files).

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Arrangement of the Collection

No particular order.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Three of the items (002, 007, and 020) are broken. Exercise extreme care in handling, so as not to lose pieces or cause further damage.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Related Material

A copy of Mary Bachman's book, Collector's Guide to Hair Combs: Identification & Values (1988) has been sent to Rare Books for cataloging. Please refer to Libraries Search to locate this item.

See also the Mary Bachman Papers. Special Collections Research Center has several other collections related to hair combs, as well as a considerable amount of material related to plastics history and production generally. Please search our collections to locate other collections related to plastics and industrial design, and refer to Libraries Search to locate cataloged publications. Please also visit the Plastics Collection Website.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Subjects

Genres and Forms

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Mary Bachman Antique Comb Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mary Bachman, 2019.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: MRC
Date: 14 Feb 2019
Revision history: 26 Mar 2019 - filename changed, related material added

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Inventory

	Combs
Oversize 1		High back comb 1890-1920 - American?, celluloid, openwork, hand-cut (ID#: bachman_m_001)
Oversize 1		High back comb 1850-1920 - Chinese, ivory, openwork with dragons, hand-cut (ID#: bachman_m_003)
Oversize 1		High back comb 1810-1910 - American?, celluloid, openwork with blue and green rhinestones, hand-cut (ID#: bachman_m_004)
Oversize 1		Low back comb 1810-1950 - injection molded comb with cut steel header; comb is likely not the original one (ID#: bachman_m_006)
Oversize 1		Three-tooth hair pin 1890-1910 - clarified horn teeth with gilded filigree brass header (ID#: bachman_m_013)
Oversize 2		High back comb 1890-1910 - stainless steel, sheared and embossed (ID#: bachman_m_005)
Oversize 2		Small low back comb 1890-1910 - American?, cow horn with paint and gilt accents, handmade (ID#: bachman_m_009)
Oversize 2		Two-tooth hair pin 1960s - French?, celluloid acetate injection molded teeth, decorated with gilt leaves, beads, seed pearls, rhinestones (ID#: bachman_m_010)
Oversize 2		Two-tooth hair pin 1960s - American, polystyrene injection molded teeth, decorated with gilt leaves and rhinestones (ID#: bachman_m_011)
Oversize 2		Two-tooth hair pin - French, polystyrene injection molded teeth colored to resemble tortoiseshell, decorated with rhinestone, beads, polystyrene flowers (ID#: bachman_m_012)
Oversize 2		Two-tooth hair pin 1920 - steel wire teeth, Art Deco style celluloid header decorated with rhinestones and paint (ID#: bachman_m_014)
Oversize 2		Two-tooth hair pin 1920-1940 - injection-molded polystyrene teeth, purple and maroon Art Deco style header (ID#: bachman_m_015)
Oversize 2		Single-tooth bodkin unknown - Chinese, brass tooth, brass header with kingfisher feathers (only a few remain) and carved brown jade design (ID#: bachman_m_016)
Oversize 2		Case comb 1890-1915 - silver case and back decorated with hand chasing, celluloid teeth colored to resemble tortoiseshell (ID#: bachman_m_018)
Oversize 2		Five-tooth comb [1925?] - novelty comb with lion's head, likely injection molded and then chrome-plated (ID#: bachman_m_019)
Oversize 3		High back comb 1900-1930 - American?, celluloid, openwork with blue and green rhinestones, hand-cut (ID#: bachman_m_002)
			RESTRICTED: Broken. Exercise extreme care in handling, so as not to lose pieces or cause further damage.
Oversize 3		Low back comb mid-1800s - British?, horn with faceted jet accents, handmade (ID#: bachman_m_007)
			RESTRICTED: Broken. Exercise extreme care in handling, so as not to lose pieces or cause further damage.
Oversize 3		Low back comb mid-1800s - British?, wire frame with faceted jet accents (ID#: bachman_m_008)
Oversize 3		Folding case comb - Chinese, silver case, silver comb with rods individually set (ID#: bachman_m_017)
Oversize 3		Grooming comb - Sumatran, cast brass header with Islamic filigree work, clarified horn teeth colored to resemble tortoiseshell (ID#: bachman_m_020)
			RESTRICTED: Broken. Exercise extreme care in handling, so as not to lose pieces or cause further damage.
Oversize 3		High back comb 1850-1890 - American?, horn, two pieces attached with small glass rivets (ID#: bachman_m_021)

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