Skip to main content
Frame of Mystery
Frame of Mystery

Frame of Mystery

Original Owner (American, 1836 - 1902)
Maker (American, 1836 - 1902)
Date1858
MediumWood, fabric, paper playing card, black thread, and metal hardware
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height including hanging loop x width x depth): 16 1/2 x 12 1/8 x 5/8in. (41.9 x 30.8 x 1.6cm)
ClassificationsEquipment
Credit LineThe Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund
DescriptionWooden frame with a piece of brown fabric outlined by undulating orange paper. The fabric is folded to create slots; a playing card, the nine of spades, sits in one of the slots. Two pieces of black thread attach to the top of the card, at the upper tip of the two spades at the top of the card. The thread runs through a small hole drilled through the frame's backing. A paper tab is attached to the ends of the thread; pulling on the tab will pull the card out of the fabric slot on the front.

A piece of plywood in the back of the frame supports the fabric. It is held in place by three horizonal strips of black metal; one near the top of the frame, one in the middle, and one near the bottom. A small metal loop screwed into the top of the frame allows it to hang.
Object number2007.4.1.18
On View
Not on view
Buttonholer
Greist Manufacturing Company
1956-1962
Set of Trick Playing Cards
Albert G. Walker
1858
Set of Trick Playing Cards
Albert G. Walker
1858
Child's Boots
Doctor Krell's
about 1905-1915
Gift of Richard T. Steele and Robert Savage, 1958.66.0  © 2004 The Connecticut Historical Socie…
Benjamin Newberry
1800-1810
Deck of Playing Cards
Albert G. Walker
1858
Gift of the Richard Welling Family,  2011.465.16  © 2013 The Connecticut Historical Society.
Richard Welling
Knife Box
William Rogers Manufacturing Company
1873-1898
Portable Desk
Tiffany & Company
1869
"Elm Hills Golf" Game
Pasquale H. Maffeo
patented 1946
Deck of Playing Cards
Albert G. Walker
1858
Gift of the Estate of George A. Long, 1959.91.6a-c, Connecticut Historical Society, No Known Co…
Gray Telephone Pay Station Company
1907-1920