Fridge List for Fall 2019

Kimberly Alexander 

Upcoming Talks for Fall 2019:

Treasures Afoot: Shoe Stories from the Georgian Era 

and

Fashioning the New England Family

September 9, 7:00pm

Wiggin Memorial Library and Stratham Historical Society, Stratham, NH

Fashioning the 18th Century New England Family

https://www.library.strathamnh.gov/library-info/pages/calendar

September 28, 2:00pm

Massachusetts Historical Society 

Workshop/Free but registration required

Primary Sources for Fashion & Costume History Research

With Kimberly Alexander, University of New Hampshire and Sara Georgini, MHS

Antique textiles, images of historical figures, and material culture hold a wealth of information that can enrich personal stories, explain relationships, and contextualize the world that people occupied. However, these sources can seem daunting to explore. Two experts on fashion and material culture will guide you through unraveling the stories woven into history’s fabric. This workshop is part of MHS Remember Abigail programming, and Boston Fashion Week

https://www.masshist.org/calendar/monthly,mo=2019-09,path=#juniperCal

October 1, 6:30pm

Malden Historical Society, Malden, MA

Shoes and Their Stories[part of the Elisha Converse  2020 Exploring the Industrial History of Malden series]

https://www.maldenhistoricalsociety.org/home/events-projects/

October 16, 7:00pm

Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, MA

“1 gowne 6 petticoats 1 pair body’s’: Dressing in Early New England


https://pilgrimhall.org/museum_events.htm#October

October 25-27

The Honourable Cordwainers' Company35th Annual General Meeting with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, VA

‘Shoes for the Southern Trade’: Northern Complicity & the Shoe Trade in the Early Republic

http://thehcc.org

November 3, 1:00pm

Durham Historic Association

Buying Shoes and Purchasing Patriotism: The Politicization of Footwear, 1760s-1770s

https://www.ci.durham.nh.us/community/durham-historic-association

Leverett Family Petticoat Returns to Colonial Williamsburg

The Leverett family quilted petticoat, reproduced from a pattern created by pricking the design onto muslin, has been returned to the makers at the Margaret Hunter Shop, Milliners and Mantuamakers at Colonial Williamsburg. 

The pricking was in the collection of Massachusetts Historical Society, along with a written description (left by a family member) which noted it was a pale blue silk with silk thread used for the quilting, which gave it the impression of light ‘tissue.’ The recreation of the petticoat was a collaborative project between the Massachusetts Historical Society and Colonial Williamsburg, and was created for display in the exhibit entitled Fashioning the New England Family, on view from October 2018-April 2019. 

Fashioning the New England Family, www.masshist.org
Mannequins by Astrida Schaeffer

It is now safely in the hands of Mistress Whitacre, where it will be used for educational and interpretive purposes. It was entirely hand sewn by the milliners and mantua-makers.

For information on the project, see: 

http://www.silkdamask.org/2018/10/a-quilted-silk-petticoat-bridges-past.html

For information on the exhibition, see:

https://www.masshist.org/fashion

For an interview with Jared Bowen of Open Studio on WGBH:

https://www.wgbh.org/program/open-studio-with-jared-bowen/fashioning-new-england-small-mouth-sounds-and-more

A Baptismal Apron Embroidered by Mary Woodbury, c. 1735

I thought you might enjoy the story connected with this baptismal apron, c. 1735. Currently on view in Fashioning the New England Family at the Massachusetts Historical Society (10/2018-4/2019; www.masshist.org), it was embroidered by Mary Woodbury (1717-1748) of Beverly, Massachusetts.[1] 

All images are courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society; photographer, Laura Wulf.

Using familiar 18^thcentury iconography inspired by Asian motifs -- vases/urns of exotic flowers, flying phoenix/hoho birds--it is replete with silk and metallic threads, as well as small spangles. The primary stitches are flat and satin stitches. The colors are still bright against an extremely fragile silk ground. Born on March 3, 1717, the maker may have attended a female academy in Boston. 

She married Dr. Benjamin Jones on March 3, 1736/7.  She died the day before her 31^stor 32^nd  birthday. The baptismal apron was most likely made for her own child, embroidered when Mary was around age 18-19. After her death on March 2, 1748, her belongings were carefully saved for her daughter, Lydia, by Dr. Jones' second and third wives.  Lydia later married the Rev. Thomas Lancaster, who was minister of Scarborough, ME. from 1775 to 1831.

A baptismal apron such as this one, was worn by the infant. The term "apron" appears to be used in the 17th century and into the early 18th. Changes in baptismal practices - the move away from full immersion -- allowed for the better known Christening dress or gown to supplant the earlier ensemble, which often included the apron, a bib, mitts, and cap. The use of bearing cloths in the 17th and 18th century was also common. The example embroidered by Mary Woodbury has proportions closer to the apron than the square bearing cloth. Further, her family had settled in Massachusetts in the 17th century, likely continuing the practices from home. A full ensemble from the Victoria & Albert Museum may be seen here: ‪react-text: 204 Victoria and Albert Museum /react-text :‪react-text: 207 http://collections.vam.ac.uk/.../baby-clothes-unknown/

1. Accession # 0168

Given by the grandchildren of Dorothy Lancaster Libby, through Charles Thornton Libby of Portland, ME, on August 5, 1931.

References   MHS Proceedings64; 346

2. A second, and very unusual, example of her work, also survives at the Massachusetts Historical Society – a painting of Pocahontas. This may well be the first representation of Pocahontas by a woman. For more, see https://www.masshist.org/database/1747

A Quilted Silk Petticoat Bridges Past and Present

Looks can be deceiving.  Here, what at first glance seems to be a lovely eighteenth-century petticoat, is actually a brand-new reproduction, commissioned for an exciting new exhibit—“Fashioning the New England Family”—now open at the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston. (masshist.org) As the guest curator, it has been a delight to have had this opportunity to work with so many talented individuals over the last three years of research, planning, and design. The MHS has become a second home. 

         This pale blue, silk taffeta, quilted petticoat was reproduced by the team of Janea Whitacre and Christina Johnson, aided by Rebecca Starkins and Sarah Woodyard. They make up the Historic Trades and Skills Milliners and Mantua-makers of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (ColonialWilliamsburg.com 2018).  Working from a pattern in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society, given by Alice (Scott) Brown Knight Smith in 1953, they created an exemplary garment that bridges the past and present.

         The new quilted petticoat has its roots in a story that stretches back to the late seventeenth century. In 1953 the Society received a traced (or pricked) pattern of the quilting design of a petticoat, said by the donor to have been bought in Holland by Sir John Leverett for his first wife, Hannah Hudson. The original petticoat came to the donor’s husband, Hannah’s descendant through her only surviving child. The pattern was first pricked onto paper from the petticoat by the donor in 1896.  After the original petticoat burned in the aftermath of San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake she transferred the pattern to a piece of muslin to give to the Society. We were able to use her tracing to commission the mantua makers of Colonial Williamsburg to recreate this quilt pattern for display. 

         The opportunity to take the flat pattern and have it ‘come to life,’ to once again have a form or body, which occupied a space, was of intense interest to Anne Bentley, MHS Curator of Art and Artifacts, and to me. But this vision was only realized through the efforts of the Milliners and Mantua Makers, Historic Trades & Skills of Colonial Williamsburg at Colonial Williamsburg. Their reproduction is splendid. Two years in planning —the outcome exceeded expectations in every way, thanks to their dedication, talent, skill and in-depth knowledge, in combination with the talents of Schaeffer  Arts Costume Exhibition & Care.(SchaefferArts.com) The petticoat is shown with mid-18^th century brocaded stays, possibly Italian.

         Like many stories connected to family relics, Mrs. Smith’s account of the original petticoat became problematic as we began to examine it in detail. The purported original owner, Hannah Hudson Leverett, died in 1643. How then can we explain the fact that, at present, the earliest documented extant petticoats with this type of quilted design dates from c1720s…more than seventy years after Hannah’s death? This is one of those mysteries that beg to be unraveled with further research, which is ongoing as of October 2018.

Exhibition Design: Spokeshave Design, Will Twombly, Watertown, MA.

Graphic Design: Orr Studio, Mary Orr, OrrStudioOnline.com

Photography: Laura Wulf, MHS photographer; Kimberly Alexander

Mannequins: Astrida Schaeffer, SchaefferArts.com

Two Refashioned Silk Dresses

Photograph by Laura Wulf @Massachusetts Historical Society

Exhibit Teaser: Two refashioned silk dresses will be featured in the forthcoming exhibition at the Massachusetts Historical Society (https://www.masshist.org) ‘Fashioning the New England Family’ which opens October 2018. The lush, emerald green dress on the left began as Spitalfields silk damask wedding dress, worn by Rebecca Tailer [Byles] for her Boston wedding to Reverend Mather Byles, in 1747. It was altered, clumsily, c.1830s-40s, most likely for a costume or fancy dress event. Her matching shoes are extant and will also be on view.

Photograph by Laura Wulf @Massachusetts Historical Society

Unfortunately, we do not know who made or wore the well-constructed pale green silk dress on the right. It shows the hand of a skilled dressmaker and most likely has a New England connection. Examination by costume historian and mannequin maker, Astrida Schaeffer, revealed the possibility that the original c1830s dress was replete with popular pouf sleeves, which were painstakingly remade for the 1840s.

Photograph by Laura Wulf @Massachusetts Historical Society

Photograph by Laura Wulf @Massachusetts Historical Society

Guest Curator, Kimberly Alexander, Ph.D.

MHS Curator, Anne Bentley

Photographer, Laura Wulf

Both dresses are shown on custom mannequins made by Astrida Schaeffer of Schaeffer Arts. (http://www.schaefferarts.com/)

Fashioning the New England Family, Massachusetts Historical Society

MassFashion: Fashioning the New England Family

Massachusetts Historical Society

October 2018 – March 2019

I am delighted to announce that I am serving as the Guest Curator for ‘Fashioning the New England Family’ which will be on view at the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA. from October 2018-March 2019. (https://www.masshist.org) Working with the MHS Curator, Anne Bentley, we are planning a exhibition which will place numerous garments and accessories on public view for the first time in MHS history. In addition to the exhibition there will be an accompanying catalog.

As America’s first historical society, the Massachusetts Historical Society has collected family archives since 1791. Textiles form an important part of these family stories but, due to their different storage requirements, have largely been divorced from their familial ties. Fashioning the New England Family will reknit the family stories with their textiles.  Exploring textiles and clothing, we read them as primary source material enabling us to trace patterns of consumption and trade, examine clothing as political and social statement, and to compare and contrast men’s political-economic sphere to women’s. A particular collecting strength is found in the items preserved from the 17th and 18^th centuries, largely represented in the MHS collection by Boston’s elite families. Very few of these items have been publicly exhibited. While the importance of luxury goods continues in the 19^th century, we see an increase in the availability of specialized garments and accessories through all strata of society and from a wider range of sources. During this period (and continuing beyond the Colonial Revival) the importance of “ancient” textiles frequently acquire icon status and serves to connect the next generation about the importance of family history. 

Four primary themes comprise Fashioning the New England Family:

I.               Petticoats and Politics  (Presidents Gallery)

II.             The Embellished Gentleman (Hamilton Room)

III.           Clothing “The Quality” 18^th c. and 19^th c. (Oliver Room)

IV.           Homespun & Handsewn (Alcove off of Oliver Room)

For additional information on clothing and accessories found in the exhibit, see:
http://www.silkdamask.org/2016/08/an-exceptional-embroidered-silk.html

http://www.silkdamask.org/2016/09/a-pocketbook-for-benjamin-stuart-1763.html

http://www.silkdamask.org/2016/07/abigail-adams-and-her-dimity-pocket.html

I am also pleased to author the catalog which will accompany the exhibition.

Stay tuned for more details and exhibition teasers.

Rachel Hartwell's Belle Époque Evening Dress

This frothy, feminine 1890s Belle Époque evening dress was worn by Rachel Hartwell (Pfeiffer). According to a family note, included with the dress, it was purchased with money she earned from teaching school. It is in the Hartwell Clark collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS). [1]

The bodice is an effusive affair of lace, silk, chiffon, and multi colored beads, while the skirt is simple but with a subtle pink stipe running through the silk (impossible to pick up with my phone camera) and a ruffled hem with pink silk peeping out. 

It was the perfect ensemble for a young, stylish unmarried woman. [2] Rachel married in 1896, and the MHS has her London-made wedding gown in their collection, the subject of a future post.

The evening dress is in need of conservation and is currently being evaluated by an experienced textile conservator.

Rachel Hartwell (1868-1905) was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, USA and attended Wellesley College. She graduated in 1891. While taking classes at Harvard in the summer of 1892, she met her future husband, George Pfeiffer. They were married 28 December 1896 and traveled Europe extensively. She died on 28 January 1905 in childbirth, leaving behind the couple’s only child, Hilda. She was 37 years of age.

Stay tuned for more to come on this, and other garments, from the Hartwell-Clark collection.

Many thanks to MHS Curator, Anne Bentley, and the MHS staff for their ongoing assistance.

1.     The Hartwell-Clark collection is currently unprocessed. For additional information, see: http://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fa0194

2.     For more on 1890s fashion, see: http://www.vintagevictorian.com/costume_1890.html