A Silk Damask Sack-Back Dress, c. 1760s: Margaret Hunter Shop Milliners and Mantuamakers

Detail of silk damask

Apprentice Abby measuring 

Journeywoman Sarah taking advantage of daylight for sewing

I was very fortunate to be able to spend time recently at the Margaret Hunter Milliners and Mantuamakers at Colonial Williamsburg, watching the construction of a sack back dress (a robe à la française) of gold silk damask. It is based on an original held in the Charleston Museum collections, dating from the mid to late 1760s.

To watch the skilled work of the apprentices and journeywoman, under the masterful eye of Mistress Janea, was a true education for me, as well as the dozens of onlookers who packed into the shop.  Word had spread quickly that there was a dress being made and visitors were anxious to see the how the “gown in a day” project was proceeding.

Mistress Janea offers instruction 

As the first cut was made into this rich buttery yellow gold silk damask, I actually felt a pang of fear – I could not imagine cutting into the textile with such deft certainty. Over the weekend, I observed the first cutting of the fabric, the creation of the sleeves, the extensive pleating which went into the self fabric robings, the mock up of the stomacher, and the sack back (from which the dress derives its name), falling from the neckline and trailing elegantly behind. As the dress on which it is based, it is unlined.

Sleeves and trim

Self fabric robings with trim applied

On my final day, I was able see the gown fitted for Journeywoman Sarah. Due to the bustling activity in the shop and the level of detail required for the dress, the work was not yet complete when I left Colonial Williamsburg, but I will share finished views when they are available. (For additional in-progress shots, follow the shop on FaceBook, Twitter or Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/TheMargaretHunterShop?fref=ts)

Note the deep pleats for the sack back, the play of light on the silk

Fitting the dress

A few tidbits shared by the mantuamakers: 

The estimated cost of the fabric at the time would have been about 10-12 shillings per yard; approxiamately18 yards were needed for the dress

It would take about 30-40 hours to construct, most time would be devoted to the trim

The estimated cost would have been approximately 10-11 shillings for “making up”

The dress was designed to be worn over small pocket hoops

The extras are known as snips

I spend a good deal of time reading about historic garments, but nothing compares with actually seeing the handwork involved for garnering a deeper understanding.

Many thanks everyone at the shop – Janea, Sarah, Abby and two very talented and poised interns, Fiona and Lily -- and to friend and colleague, Susan Holloway Scott of Two Nerdy History Girls (http://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com) for introducing me to this creative group. I am already planning my next trip!

For more about the shop and its activities, see

http://whatsnew.history.org/2014/03/margaret-hunter-millinery-shop-celebrates-60th-anniversary-at-conference/

An Autumnal Evening Dress, Worth, c. 1877

The seasonal reflection of autumn captured by Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1895) in this evening dress is inspired, reveling in fall's glories. The coppery bronze silk, with large pattern repeats of oak leaves and acorns, convey autumnal colors and theme. 

Due to the monochrome palette, the leaves appear to be tumbling across the dress, just as windswept leaves danced outside the door of the wearer. The realistic treatment of the leaves brings to mind the strictures of John Ruskin and "truth to nature."

The dress was donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art via the estate of Mrs. Pierpoint Morgan in 1925, the year that she died. Mrs. Morgan spent long periods of time in France, and although the public record associated with the garment does not mention it, it is highly likely that the dress was created for her for the fall 1877 season. Worth's clientele was the gliterati of the 19th century - by 1860, he was designing for the fashion-forward Empress Eugénie, in 1867, Bostonian Isabella Stewart Gardner became a client, followed by New Yorkers including Mrs. J. Pierpont Morgan, Mrs. William Astor, Jr., and novelist Edith Wharton.

All images courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art
For additional information, see:
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/81619?rpp=20&pg=1&ft=*&who=House%2Bof%2BWorth&img=1&imgno=9&tabname=label

A Charming Pair of Red Victorian Stockings

A short post, a trifle: Wouldn't these be a bright spot in your wardrobe on cool, cloudy days? There is something cozy and charming about these Victorian stockings.  Cherry red cotton knit stockings are embroidered with floral details, c. 1860s+. The cotton is sturdy yet soft. Examination reveals a channel runs across the top of both - most likely to contain garters. A subtle seam runs up the back.

Photo courtesy of www.Trouvais.com

Photo by author

While they may not compete with these delightful French cotton stockings (c. 1870s) and their bounty of cherries, they have just enough embellishment to make them special.

Image, courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

So You Like Samplers? Schoolgirl Needlework of Northern New England, Saco Museum

"Industry and Virtue Joined": Schoolgirl Needlework of Northern New England

May 9 - October 4, 2015

Curated by Leslie Rounds, Director, Dyer Library and

Tara Raiselis, Director, Saco Museum

From the Saco Museum: After the Saco Museum's successful 2013 sampler exhibit, "I My Needle Ply With Skill," and the book by the same title, the museum has been recognized as an important repository for and center of scholarship on northern New England samplers and silk embroideries. This spring and summer the museum offers a second exhibit on schoolgirl needlework, with extensively researched and documented samplers and silk embroideries from Maine and New Hampshire. 

Miss McClave, silk thread on linen sampler detail, c. 1835 (possibly Lyme, NH)
Courtesy Private Collection 

More than 130 important northern New England samplers are on exhibit including forty-one samplers from Maine and ninety-five from New Hampshire. Notable Maine needlework in the exhibition includes two almost identical samplers completed by twins Flavilla and Mary Jane Barker in Portland in 1818, reunited for the first time in nearly 190 years, as well as works from the schools of the Misses Martin and Rachel Hall Neal. "Industry and Virtue Joined" also features what is most likely the largest group of New Hampshire samplers ever gathered together in a single room. The exhibition includes twenty-one samplers from Portsmouth, significant examples of schoolgirl needlework from the Canterbury area and Pinkerton Academy in Londonderry, as well as many beautiful works from small towns across both states.

A full-color catalogue of the exhibition will be published mid to late summer 2015. Don't miss this chance to see never before exhibited samplers from the tail end of the 18th century through the mid 19th century and learn about the female academies in which they were created. 

Miss Cutter, Detail of silk embroidery from "The Lily and the Rose"
Courtesy Maine Historical Society 

For additional details:
http://dyerlibrarysacomuseum.org

Dolly Hancock: Romance, Wedding Shoes & Revolution, August 1775

His choice was very natural, a granddaughter of the great patron and most revered friend of his father. Beauty, politeness, and every domestic virtue justified his predilection.

--John Adams on the marriage of Dorothy and John Hancock

Dolly Hancock's London-made wedding shoes. Courtesy, The Bostonian Society

Dorothy Quincy and John Hancock married August 28, 1775 at Fairfield, Connecticut, the Thaddeus Burr estate. Their wedding was held against the backdrop of the start of the American Revolution. According to family tradition and based on the style of the shoes, it is possible that she wore these delicate London-made, cream silk, low-heeled shoes. The cordwainers were Bragg & Luckin.. 

Their wedding occurred while John was on recess from 2nd Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where he oversaw the war effort as President. John's widowed aunt, Lydia Henchman Hancock, was a close friend of the Burr family and spent much time at their estate. Evidence suggests she played a major role in overseeing the relationship and encouraging the marriage.

For more on the wedding and the Burr Estate, see "Burr Mansion: A Love Story" by Cathryn Prince, November 2013 in http://allthingsliberty.com/2013/11/burr-mansion-love-story/

John Hancock's Table: Turtles, Pineapples and the Paradoxical Politics of 1768

You will always find items both useful and intriguing at the Massachusetts Historical Society (www.masshistory.org). One tasty tidbit, from the Hancock family papers, is a bill of sale dated 27 June 1768, from Oliver Wendell of Boston to John Hancock. It is bill for six turtles (a weight of 234 pounds) and eighteen pineapples. The total bill came to 16 pounds, 19 shillings. Such exotic fare was shipped from the West Indies and sold (usually dockside) to inns and tavern keepers and representatives of wealthy clientele in Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, and so on.  

Courtesy, Massachusetts Historical Society, Hancock Family Papers

During the late 18th century & into the 19th,  Mr. Julien promoted the many benefits of turtle soup to his Boston clientele.

These were heady days for Hancock, caught up in the events that would lead ultimately to the Revolution and independence from Great Britain.  By the late spring of 1768 (with the Lydia/Liberty incidents unfolding), Hancock was allied with Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty in organizing resistance to the new taxes imposed on America in the infamous Townshend Duties.  In May, he had been elected to Governor Francis Bernard’s Council, the upper house of the Massachusetts legislature, only to have the people’s choice vetoed by Bernard.  Still, that same day, voters elected him to the House of Representatives.  Two weeks later, he would be elected Major of the Cadets, a new branch of the Massachusetts militia.

Such honors required a gentleman of Hancock’s station to demonstrate his gratitude through celebratory banquets and fetes.  That Hancock was planning festivities at this time of some sort is evident in Oliver Wendell’s bill for exotic fare, especially as the bill appears to several imposing sea turtles, no doubt to be served as a delicacy - turtle soup . Pineapples too had been long associated as luxury items and their appearance at Hancock's table would have heightened the sense of it being a significant celebration. Hancock's uncle, Thomas, had died by this time, leaving the 'Hancock Mansion' to his nephew-- a perfect place for entertaining with his Aunt Lydia as hostess.

For further reading:

Two excellent articles - and everything you could want to know about turtle and mock turtle soup from the University of Pennsylvania Museum:

http://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/PDFs/51-3/schweitzer.pdf

and Uncovering Hidden Lives: 18th Century Black Mariners:

http://uncoveringhiddenlives.com/2014/08/15/turtles-turtle-soup-and-class-at-sea/