Don’t miss this petite display included with admission for the summer months in the National Historic Register, Wilson-Warner House.
Every society has used hand held fans for the simple purpose of cooling oneself (before electric fans and air conditioning), but implied uses have included fashion, status, religion, etiquette, advertising, and ceremony. There is even a courtship language devoted to the use of fans. The materials and decorations of fans are as diverse as their uses. Fans can tell the stories of the cultures and individuals who used them. Beauty, history, and culture can all be unfolded in the palm of one’s hand.
Mary Corbit Warner (1848-1923), a descendant of the Corbit and Wilson families in historic Odessa, collected and framed these beautiful fans from her world travels and displayed them here in the David Wilson Mansion in the early 20th century. Now back on display in the same house, in an exhibit case, are three of her charming fans with contextual information and a coloring book page illustrating a fan that can be colored at home.