Laura Ingalls Wilder's Gold Pin
July 21, 2015 8:56 AM Subscribe
I have been searching for years for an image of the gold pin that Almanzo gave Laura when he returned from New York on Christmas Eve. Has anyone ever seen a picture of it? The description from These Happy Golden Years is:
"She lifted its lid. There in a nest of soft whitecotton lay a gold bar pin. On its flat surface was etched a little house, and before it along the bar lay a tiny lake,and a spray of grasses and leaves."
If anyone knows, these people will.
the book is fiction.
The events in the books are fictionalized, but more real than not. So many other things mentioned in the books (the china shepherdess, the bread plate that survived the fire, the calling cards) are real and documented there isn't any reason that this should not be as well.
The Pioneer Girl Project may also be able to help.
posted by anastasiav at 9:18 AM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
the book is fiction.
The events in the books are fictionalized, but more real than not. So many other things mentioned in the books (the china shepherdess, the bread plate that survived the fire, the calling cards) are real and documented there isn't any reason that this should not be as well.
The Pioneer Girl Project may also be able to help.
posted by anastasiav at 9:18 AM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
It might have been lost in the fire that destroyed the Wilder home. The only thing they were able to save was the plate that said "Give us this day our daily bread."
posted by jgirl at 9:32 AM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jgirl at 9:32 AM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
So I just finished the annotated autobiography ("Pioneer Girl") - which I highly recommend BTW - and the pin wasn't one of the items covered.
posted by handful of rain at 9:35 AM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by handful of rain at 9:35 AM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: She does mention it in Pioneer Girl, but there is no annotation on it. I didn't think of the fire--that is very likely what happened to it.
I've wanted to get a tattoo of it for as long as I can remember. I suppose I will have to get a tattoo artist to create an interpretation of it.
posted by earlygrrl at 10:01 AM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've wanted to get a tattoo of it for as long as I can remember. I suppose I will have to get a tattoo artist to create an interpretation of it.
posted by earlygrrl at 10:01 AM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I've wanted to get a tattoo of it for as long as I can remember. I suppose I will have to get a tattoo artist to create an interpretation of it.
There is a nice interpretation of it here.
posted by beagle at 10:15 AM on July 21, 2015 [6 favorites]
There is a nice interpretation of it here.
posted by beagle at 10:15 AM on July 21, 2015 [6 favorites]
Response by poster: There is a nice interpretation of it here.
This just made my life. Thank you, Beagle! I swear I've searched for it so many times in so many ways--I should have just come here first.
posted by earlygrrl at 10:22 AM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
This just made my life. Thank you, Beagle! I swear I've searched for it so many times in so many ways--I should have just come here first.
posted by earlygrrl at 10:22 AM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
There's always Garth Williams' illustration of it in the book—while it's just an interpretation, Wilder approved of his drawings for her series generally (don't know if she specifically approved each one).
posted by peachfuzz at 11:10 AM on July 21, 2015
posted by peachfuzz at 11:10 AM on July 21, 2015
You might look in antique Sears or Wards catalogs for those years. Many have tried to figure out what Laura's engagement ring looked like, and the 1884 Wards catalog provided what looks like a good bet.
posted by jgirl at 12:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 12:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: There's always Garth Williams' illustration of it in the book—while it's just an interpretation, Wilder approved of his drawings for her series generally (don't know if she specifically approved each one).
The illustration for that section is Laura letting Almanzo in the door. I don't believe there was ever an illustration of the pin itself. [Going through copy of THGY to confirm.]
posted by earlygrrl at 12:25 PM on July 21, 2015
The illustration for that section is Laura letting Almanzo in the door. I don't believe there was ever an illustration of the pin itself. [Going through copy of THGY to confirm.]
posted by earlygrrl at 12:25 PM on July 21, 2015
I wonder if it's illustrated in the original Helen Sewell/Mildred Boyle edition. Alas, it's $60 on eBay, a bit too much for me.
posted by Melismata at 1:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Melismata at 1:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
I don't believe there was ever an illustration of the pin itself.
You are right, of course - just checked myself - but I'm freaked out because I see it so clearly, as one of the small illos used at the end of chapters. I even remember always being frustrated that it wasn't how I wood have pictured it, in this weirdly specific but obviously false memory it's oval, not a bar. Sorry for the false hope!
posted by peachfuzz at 3:51 PM on July 21, 2015
You are right, of course - just checked myself - but I'm freaked out because I see it so clearly, as one of the small illos used at the end of chapters. I even remember always being frustrated that it wasn't how I wood have pictured it, in this weirdly specific but obviously false memory it's oval, not a bar. Sorry for the false hope!
posted by peachfuzz at 3:51 PM on July 21, 2015
Response by poster: ...I see it so clearly...
So do I! That's why it drove me insane that I've been unable to find it.
So I just finished the annotated autobiography ("Pioneer Girl") - which I highly recommend BTW - and the pin wasn't one of the items covered.
I just checked Pioneer Girl again, and all she says is he gave her a gold bar pin--no description. Maybe that part is fictionalized, which would break my heart because it is one of the most memorable moments in the book for me. The Little House books are the reason I love to read. When I was in second grade, the school librarian took me out of Reading class, took me to the library, handed me a copy of These Happy Golden Years, and told me to enjoy. I got to read in library every day after that. My dad used to tease me by asking if a girl called Laura lived in my room because I was always taking about her. "Daddy, you won't believe what Laura did last night!" "Last night" because I had stayed up reading under the covers with a flashlight.
Thank you for all the help finding the pin!
posted by earlygrrl at 8:51 AM on July 22, 2015
So do I! That's why it drove me insane that I've been unable to find it.
So I just finished the annotated autobiography ("Pioneer Girl") - which I highly recommend BTW - and the pin wasn't one of the items covered.
I just checked Pioneer Girl again, and all she says is he gave her a gold bar pin--no description. Maybe that part is fictionalized, which would break my heart because it is one of the most memorable moments in the book for me. The Little House books are the reason I love to read. When I was in second grade, the school librarian took me out of Reading class, took me to the library, handed me a copy of These Happy Golden Years, and told me to enjoy. I got to read in library every day after that. My dad used to tease me by asking if a girl called Laura lived in my room because I was always taking about her. "Daddy, you won't believe what Laura did last night!" "Last night" because I had stayed up reading under the covers with a flashlight.
Thank you for all the help finding the pin!
posted by earlygrrl at 8:51 AM on July 22, 2015
A fictionalization of what might have happened to Laura's pin is the premise of Bich Minh Nguyen's (lovely) novel Pioneer Girl. No pictures of it (though I'd like to think the cover was inspired by the description of the pin), but I'd guess that if anyone's ever come across a proper illustration, it'd be Nguyen.
posted by mixedmetaphors at 4:23 PM on July 22, 2015
posted by mixedmetaphors at 4:23 PM on July 22, 2015
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posted by beagle at 9:09 AM on July 21, 2015