Charm Bracelet for Elizabeth Marsteller Manufacturer: Binder Brothers (American, founded 1893)
Manufacturer: A & Z Chain Company (American, 1902–1970)
Manufacturer: TC (American, active ca. 1960–65)

1961–63

American Decorative Arts

By appointment, Wurtele Study Center

The gold charms on this bracelet record a young couple’s courtship: their first date, their first and second Christmases together, her twenty-first birthday, his making the varsity baseball team, and every six-month anniversary over three years. The couple, Stuart Gordon and Elizabeth Marsteller, were students at the University of California, Berkeley, and their courtship captures aspects of postwar American culture, including informal rites of passage like "pinning," where Stuart presented Elizabeth with his fraternity pin as a declaration of "going steady,"" or publicizing their romantic relationship.

Medium

14-karat gold with enamel and glass

Dimensions

1 1/2 × 8 5/8 in. (3.81 × 21.908 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Elizabeth Marsteller Gordon

Accession Number

2008.166.1

Geography

Manufactured in New York, New York, Retailed in Berkeley, California

Culture

American

Period

20th century

Classification

Jewelry

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Elements purchased by Stuart M. Gordon and assembled by the donor, 1961-1963; donated to Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn. October 2008.
Bibliography
  • "Acquisitions 2009," in "State of the Art: Contemporary Sculpture," special issue, Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2009), 128–29, ill
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

charm bracelets

Inscriptions

Bracelet clasp marked: "BB" [incuse, in interlocking circles] and "14k"\r\nBaseball marked: "14k LLP / STANF '61 / S. GORDON"\r\nDisk with Christmas tree: "14k / TC" [stamped in rectangle] "Merry / Christmas / #2 / Stu" [engraved script]\r\nHexagon: "Happy / Annual / LSFD" [engraved script]\r\nDisk with rose: "14k / TC" [stamped in rectangle] "More Than / 2 Years Ago / Less Than / Tomorrow / Forever / Stu / 9-22-63" [engraved Roman]\r\nDisk with flower basket: "14k / TC" [stamped in rectangle] "More Than 21 / Less Than 23 / Happy 22" [engraved Roman]\r\nDisk with diamond star: "More than / 1 1/2 Years Ago / Less Than / Tomorrow / Stu" [engraved Roman] "A&Z 14" [stamped]\r\nCherub: "Precious / 2 1/2" [engraved Roman] "14k / TC" [stamped in rectangle]\r\nDisk with filigree: obverse: "EAM" [engraved Roman]; reverse: "1 [three-lines high] Life / Beth / Moonriver" [engraved Roman] "A&Z 10k" [stamped]\r\nC-charm: obverse: seal of University of California, Berkeley; reverse: "Happy 21 / Stu" [engraved Roman] "10k" [stamped]\r\nLozenge, reverse: "[alpha omega] / STUART M. GORDON / 10.3.59 / 62" [engraved Roman]\r\nTree: obverse: "Merry / Christmas" [engraved script]; reverse: "Stu / 12-25-61" [engraved script] "CCC 14K" [stamped]\r\nDisk with filigree: obverse: "EAM" [engraved script]; reverse: "More than / 3 yrs ago / less than / tomorrow" [engraved script] "14k LA[illegible]DE" [stamped Roman]\r\nPlain disk: obverse: "Beth" [engraved script]; reverse: more Than / 6 Mos Ago / Less Than / tomorrow / Stu" [engraved Roman] "14k" [stamped]

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

View IIIF manifest

The International Image Interoperability Framework, or IIIF, is an open standard for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. Visit iiif.io to learn more

Linked Art

API response for this object

Linked Art is a Community working together to create a shared Model based on Linked Open Data to describe Art.