Two of the beaded pincushions in the Fenton History Center collection. The story of the beaded souvenir pincushions begins with the pins themselves. Prior to the industrial revolution, pins and ...

Enter the home of anyone who sews, and you’ll likely find a tomato-shaped pincushion with a small strawberry dangling from it. Both fabric fruits are more than mere decoration. But to understand the ...

The Vault is Slate’s history blog. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @slatevault, and find us on Tumblr. Find out more about what this space is all about here. During WWI and WWII, as one of ...