Puppet, Hand
Puppet, Hand
Puppet, Hand

Puppet, Hand

Object number2013.2.5
Artist
MediumMetal//Felt/Cotton/Paint
Credit LineGift of Marya Pendro-Thomson
DescriptionHandmade puppet. Face painted peach with black eyes, blue accents around eyes; grey nostrils. Sixteen gold metal stars (some doubled) attached to stems which are glued to head. Yarn used as facial hair as well as head hair. Bells attached to puppet components.Dimensions23 x 10 x 5 in. (58.4 x 25.4 x 12.7 cm)
Inscriptions

Historical NotesHand puppet made by donor Marya Pendro-Thomson's father Andrew Pendro, Jr., a talented and prolific artist. Besides his day job for the Joseph Horne Company, Pendro also taught art at the Western Pennsylvannia School for the Blind. He made this puppet out of clay and plaster of paris, as a teaching tool for his job at WPSB. He had a degree in puppetry as well. Part of a collection relating to the Pendro family. The Pendro family immigrated to New York City in the late 1800s from Austria-Hungary, though the family was primarily of Carpatho-Rusyn and Russian descent. They settled in the Pittsburgh area around 1890, after hearing that there were jobs in the area. The family formed close ties with several institutions in the region most notably the Edgar Thomson Steel Mill and Joseph Horne Company. Shortly after arriving in Pittsburgh, George Pendro began working at the Edgar Thomson Steel Mill. Several other family members worked at the mill including George’s son Andrew, Andrew’s wife Lucy, and Lucy’s father Andrew Wagner. The family also had close ties to the Joseph Horne Company department store. Frank Wagner, Andrew Wagner’s father worked as a boot maker for Horne’s after emigrating from Germany in 1843. Many family members would later work for the company, most notably his great-grandson Andrew Pendro, Jr. who worked in the special events and sign departments from 1963-1981.
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