Images(2)

Pattern, Clothes

Object number2016.29.3

MediumMetal; Paint; Graphite

Credit LineGift of Polk State Center

DescriptionMetal clothes pattern.Dimensions29.4999 x 11 in. (74.9 x 27.9 cm)
InscriptionsBlack painted stencil on one side "42".
Other side has handwritten graphite text near edge "lap 1 / " / 2 / 1".
Historical NotesThis metal pattern for cutting pants was used at the Polk State Center. When Polk Center opened in 1897 it became the second institution in Pennsylvania built expressly to house and care for people with intellectual disabilities. The 2,000 acre site in rural Venango County allowed access to Pittsburgh via the railroad, but also isolated residents far from their families. Change in the care of people with disabilities over the past 100 years has influenced the lives of the residents and staff at Polk, as well as the surrounding community. This object is part of a collection that documents that important story. Label TextLargely self-sufficient when it opened in 1897, residents at Polk Center participated in “work therapy,” farming the land around the institution, sewing their own clothes, and laboring in the workshops that manufactured everyday goods. This system of unpaid labor by people with disabilities served as the norm in state institutions until challenged by law in the 1970s.

Related institution Polk State Center (founded 1897)

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