Papers handsomely cut by Miss Martha Ann Honeywell, who was born without hands

Object Status:

Unlocated

Primary Source Reference:

Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 22

Additional Source Text:

"And using only 3 toes of one foot to cooperate with her mouth in which she holds the cissars & by which she employs the needle together with her toes." Aurora. General Advertiser (Philadelphia), 12 Oct 1807 adds: "she holds the paper or work in her toes, and the scissors or needle in her mouth, occasionally clearing the thread, &c. with the stump of her arm: likewise her shoes, which exactly resembles the diminutive shoes of the Chinese ladies."

Notes:

Martha Ann (sometimes Anne) Honeywell (1786-1856) was an American disabled artist who produced silhouettes using only her mouth and her toes, often in public performances. An example is pictured here, as well as a broadside announcing an exhibition of her work. The Peale Museum probably had another work by Honeywell, as Lot 185 in the 13-14 October 1869 sale of "Peale's Museum Relics" owned by Montroville Wilson Dickeson (1810-1882) was described as "Painting, executed at the Museum, with the mouth, by Miss Honeywell" (p. 7).