Quite a fan! And what a lot of labor went into making it, with these hundreds of round and star and flower-shaped sequins all sewn onto it by hand, gold lace sewn onto it along the top edge, and carved decoration on the sticks, again highlighted in gold. (I really feel like this fan should feature in an ice skating routine!) I found this and two other antique hand fans together, and might guess they were all once part of Miss Fanny Allen's collection, to whom one of them was inscribed as a gift in 1872. This one I believe dates to right about then as well.
It shows some age, with a bit of tearing to the netting at the far right edge, some staining and loss here and there. But quite a lovely, and sparkly thing still, which would be a fun one to pull out for very special occasions!
9 1/2" across when open; closed 8 1/4" x 1 1/2" x 3/4".
