Chapter: What We Can't Live Without

Child's Cradleboard

"Gentle sounds lull baby to sleep"
1920s Cradleboard with woven quill & bead work, tinkling thimbles, copper & metal cones Cradleboard

Story

This 1820s cradleboard fender exhibits an extraordinary level of artisanship, incorporating both woven quillwork and beadwork. Tinkling cones made from copper and other metals, and small thimbles would have produced a gentle sound as the mother walked with the baby strapped snugly in place.

This artifact was collected by William Kempt in the 1820s during his stay at Red River and has been part of the Hudsons Bay Company Museum Collection since 1934.