Historic Hood River
Turn up the AC
Notes
Grace has selected this beautifully decorated fan for this summery Monday:
This hand-painted, silk-screened fan with a carved handle belonged to Mrs. R.E. Scott of Hood River. While we know little about Mrs. R.E. Scott, her husband was a prominent local figure in the early 20th century. He was a friend of Samuel Hill and hosted Booker T. Washington in a 1913 visit to Hood River.Â
The intricate fan is signed by Billotey, a family of recognized French artists, some of whom painted fans. The Billoteys were primarily active from the late 19th through the early 20th century. One family member, Louis Leon Eugene Billotey, worked for the Duvelleroy fan house, which supplied fans to European courts and royalty, notably to Queen Victoria. Google Arts & Culture shares a fascinating digital exhibit about 19th-century fans, where Billotey fans are a highlight:  Luxury & Excess: Mid-to-Late Nineteenth Century Fans — Google Arts & Culture
While there is little information accompanying the fan in our database, one can imagine the places it has been and the stories it could tell.
L. E.
When I was little, my cousins and I played with fans, pretending we were important ladies with enough time on our hands to sit around and slowly wave a fan on our face.
These were probably used by well established ladies visiting at the theater or in their parlor, not sitting on a wagon, traveling the Oregon Trail in the heat of the summer.
Jeffrey Bryant
My records indicate that Mrs. R. E. Scott was Ione Scholl, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth May (Sulzer) Scholl on 14 May 1874 in Indiana. She died 1 July 1977 in Wasco County, Oregon.
Grace
@Jeffrey Bryant, Wonderful to know her name, thank you!