tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11314930307771154572024-02-18T17:50:00.119-08:00Commitment to CostumesSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-35427361537006399082014-06-07T12:51:00.000-07:002014-06-07T12:54:43.650-07:00Got Telegraph Codes?After the flurry of activity surrounding the secret code discussed in my <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2014/02/mystery-message-big-pictures.html" target="_blank">last two</a> posts, I caught a cold and spent my sick day continuing research. Thanks to fellow bloggers in Germany, I was armed with the knowledge that the forgotten papers from my bustle dress pocket represent a telegraph code.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKP9Kpxr5M3crpDa_t0JVMS5ckZYRtEi4nhbU2fta2yhz6fMb8xGBH54CLCNglPbCdleeddH022HZHfHlKKgSg6qEh6VbT4Mw1bRMkp0UREp-C1EhojCpMTHhjhe8CYvQKHs6PYXls_ZS/s1600/ABC_1883.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKP9Kpxr5M3crpDa_t0JVMS5ckZYRtEi4nhbU2fta2yhz6fMb8xGBH54CLCNglPbCdleeddH022HZHfHlKKgSg6qEh6VbT4Mw1bRMkp0UREp-C1EhojCpMTHhjhe8CYvQKHs6PYXls_ZS/s1600/ABC_1883.jpg" height="400" width="242" /></a></td></tr>
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Telegraph code books were put out by many </div>
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different publishers, sometimes for the general </div>
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public and sometimes for use in specific </div>
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commercial interests such as cotton trading, </div>
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mining, railways, etc.</div>
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The numbers represent how many words are on each line, since people were charged by the word when sending telegraphs. The slashes in blue were probably made by the person sending the telegraph as each line was completed. Each word represents a phrase, and the phrase can be found by looking up the word in the right telegraph code book.<br />
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As for what the message actually says, well that's still a mystery. I sat in bed with my cold for hours pulling up old telegraph code books on Google books and then looking for some of the words that appear in my message: event, none, lining, etc. Occasionally I even found those words and the phrases they represent. But alas, none of the books I looked at had all of the words I needed.<br />
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It turns out there are thousands of telegraph code books. Apparently the owner of my dress knew that the person she was writing to had the same book for decoding purposes. If only the first word was some clue as to which book was needed! But no such luck. Only some telegraph code books are available online, and the one I need doesn't seem to be among them. I could go into D.C. and spend hours at the Library of Congress to see if they have the book I need, but the problem is I have this other obligation, commonly known as a 'job', and people actually expect me to make the time to show up there. And so, months later, I am still unable to follow up with the complete solution to my mystery. I'll keep an eye out for code books, and I'll keep checking them, but for the time being, I'm putting this investigation to rest.<br />
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-87984423959367984182014-02-18T17:33:00.000-08:002014-02-19T03:59:10.228-08:00Mystery Message: The BIG Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As a follow up to yesterday's entry on <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2014/02/bennetts-bronze-bustle.html" target="_blank">Bennett's Bronze Bustle</a>, I'm posting the nonsensical notes from the hidden pocket again in the biggest size blogspot allows. I hope it helps. There's still no answer to what the message means, but it has been sent to the NSA's National Cryptologic Museum, reddit, and of course all of my Facebook friends. Given some of the responses, I should clarify that despite words like "Vicksbg" that spark thoughts of the Civil War, there is no way the dress with the message in the pocket dates to the 1860s. Every element of the skirt and bodice was originally crafted to create a mid-1880s look. If there was any possibility that it was an 1860s gown altered to adopt a bustle-era look, I would say so. I'm much better at spotting that kind of thing than I am at code breaking. But no, I'm afraid the dress is two decades too late to be carrying a secret Civil War message. As soon as someone figures out what the message actually does say, I promise to post the big reveal. This seems to spark a lot of interest, so for the first time since I initially read the note I'm actually optimistic that the mystery will be solved. Thanks everyone for the help!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pfUsTqoRqyrnMj2Amy8nNXyUvr2SDPKSP7jfIn53QQDJ6_bej_-VStbuZ0A4AorQBnJEU8ockRbbuf4zJ2R9uVKP_sjmF7f4Gf4FVQo_jBserkIAKgs7tFqOrzYG1ahplKVg3CPzic_g/s1600/Bustle+Code+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pfUsTqoRqyrnMj2Amy8nNXyUvr2SDPKSP7jfIn53QQDJ6_bej_-VStbuZ0A4AorQBnJEU8ockRbbuf4zJ2R9uVKP_sjmF7f4Gf4FVQo_jBserkIAKgs7tFqOrzYG1ahplKVg3CPzic_g/s1600/Bustle+Code+1.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgf8ADM4efftkGtPQmjoB-W36PJvRAjVHFOXjParLZaPRmgOB5X_3dVhVToaaPH67rWgFVvVFBBnRVwGq7-HgM9GRK4yUpiTv3qgrkvr4B-R7pOWNYM6IUP81mKkPCg7PHSf04NNfassnG/s1600/Bustle+Code+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgf8ADM4efftkGtPQmjoB-W36PJvRAjVHFOXjParLZaPRmgOB5X_3dVhVToaaPH67rWgFVvVFBBnRVwGq7-HgM9GRK4yUpiTv3qgrkvr4B-R7pOWNYM6IUP81mKkPCg7PHSf04NNfassnG/s1600/Bustle+Code+2.jpeg" /></a></div>
<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-26767342876535272002014-02-17T11:01:00.000-08:002014-02-17T14:01:12.128-08:00Bennett's Bronze Bustle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0_R7JzUtWbpC_cd4KJBbHb6xC__CQEZHdYwc0XpODHWFNNM8awkAv3ho_GXZMBIGNgoytwO-zVUui_JdjAsPJLmA0U2w_p-M2HBbErBawH11D79UaXOGiqrqg_1cbZHob3qclOTZtPeY/s1600/Three+views.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0_R7JzUtWbpC_cd4KJBbHb6xC__CQEZHdYwc0XpODHWFNNM8awkAv3ho_GXZMBIGNgoytwO-zVUui_JdjAsPJLmA0U2w_p-M2HBbErBawH11D79UaXOGiqrqg_1cbZHob3qclOTZtPeY/s1600/Three+views.jpg" height="365" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Mid-1880s two-piece bustle dress of bronze silk with striped rust velvet accents and lace cuffs. I tend to not get silk garments like this because A) they are out of my price range and B) silk can be particularly hard to care for. If the silk starts to decay and shatter there is nothing to be done about it, so this dress will always be a storage challenge. I was afraid to even steam it for photos for fear of causing a permanent stain if the steamer accidentally dripped on it. It looks pretty spectacular even wrinkled though, so I'm glad I broke my 'avoid silk' rule.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-kfyLkLmI1L2fLlMgplhryMQX2vonQwHYOivxvgOAEKsoxu6gPKDXuz9ZC6m8izaNAZYSV5YMyd4Jocu0lLrYKq96iOV01NT9DBTHUFmD9Ju3eJySUHQ-5fkOjLvhYaBT_LTrM2WoDhJ/s1600/Button+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-kfyLkLmI1L2fLlMgplhryMQX2vonQwHYOivxvgOAEKsoxu6gPKDXuz9ZC6m8izaNAZYSV5YMyd4Jocu0lLrYKq96iOV01NT9DBTHUFmD9Ju3eJySUHQ-5fkOjLvhYaBT_LTrM2WoDhJ/s1600/Button+detail.jpg" height="640" width="348" /></a></td></tr>
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Original metal picture buttons with the motif of a despondent Ophelia </div>
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from Shakespeare's <i>Hamlet</i>. Disclaimer: I am no expert on button </div>
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motifs, but I found one on <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/169076816/ophelia-from-shakespeares-hamlet-button" target="_blank">Etsy identified as Ophelia</a> and it seemed</div>
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right to me. </div>
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This is the second post I've started on this dress that I bought over Christmas break. I scrapped the first because it was all about how I found the dress at an antique mall and then agonized over the purchase because I didn't NEED it and didn't know where I'd store it, and it was more than I generally spend... blah, blah. But then I got bored with my own defensiveness and it occurred to me that it's rather pointless to justify the acquisition to anyone interested enough in costume to read this blog. Duh. So without shame, I present to you the <i>mystery</i> of Bennett's Bronze Bustle! What's so mysterious? Read on my friends, I promise this one is worth it.<br />
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On its face, this is a textbook mid-1880s silk bustle dress. There is some typical wear and age damage, but no silk shattering- woot! Also, the original buttons were never removed, which is pretty remarkable since so many picture buttons were long ago distributed to various button collectors. I found a single button with the same "Ophelia" motif for sale on <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/169076816/ophelia-from-shakespeares-hamlet-button" target="_blank">Etsy for $15</a>. If each of the 18 buttons on this bodice is worth that than I could make a profit on the buttons alone! Well, not really since I never actually sell anything from my hoard, but still... Oops, defensiveness creeping in again. Moving on.<br />
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The bustle itself is ingeniously structured to achieve the proper level of puff thanks to built-in channels for flexible bustle wires, and a system with a back closure for the main skirt plus a front closure for the rear portion of the silk over-skirt. Strategic tacking with matching thread keeps the bustle bunched in all the right places.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOPIb0y4IajfPrYUck_ISWXbI0UM6hyCMo1hC5tBAoaKm0O8P6SCcEFDQRTLi4INFRhX-YbMJP7o_dZlI38ZRoG7k1XmrY9-RGfSaYOEUdquNXEe79AlUrhA3HmVBw6Nye_mGUcsDipIS/s1600/Bustle+Structure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOPIb0y4IajfPrYUck_ISWXbI0UM6hyCMo1hC5tBAoaKm0O8P6SCcEFDQRTLi4INFRhX-YbMJP7o_dZlI38ZRoG7k1XmrY9-RGfSaYOEUdquNXEe79AlUrhA3HmVBw6Nye_mGUcsDipIS/s1600/Bustle+Structure.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The skirt has built-in channels for a flexible bustle wire so the dress could be worn without an additional under-bustle. These channels are then covered by a portion of the silk over-skirt that attaches with a front-closure belt strap.</td></tr>
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The fitted bodice lacks built-in boning and would have relied on a corset to take its intended shape.<br />
Most of the dress is machine stitched, but the buttonholes were sewn by hand. Old stitch scars on the bodice show how the dress was altered to let out about a half inch on each sleeve and two side seams. I can't even imagine having something so tight fitting that such an alteration would be worth the effort.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3y02_HWx5HiCciOsqS6Fv8efWoCsAmbbEjXpPfXiTFv3U2CNlbLaVQ5tVVHTrUhjkCeJ8IoA5rs5gXWayQjzowzPYWKUccWYkGLxuWfgCF025BVWRdJMwDlxBqQhJM5w2za5HsPKNVxc/s1600/Alteration+Detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3y02_HWx5HiCciOsqS6Fv8efWoCsAmbbEjXpPfXiTFv3U2CNlbLaVQ5tVVHTrUhjkCeJ8IoA5rs5gXWayQjzowzPYWKUccWYkGLxuWfgCF025BVWRdJMwDlxBqQhJM5w2za5HsPKNVxc/s1600/Alteration+Detail.jpg" height="348" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The sleeve and two side seams at the waist have been let out, but the silk is unforgiving and still shows the old stitch lines. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr42El3xqjBGpJCXSPd2S4eH4hkbDFQNnWWhvxYPbc_LQA7K1k-cu0lFTJVeEqDDhHvK2WtWACxtM-htJmpUMLsfpHlWSvTYbobPI79ik_lW9fFjoBoEfIxyoQGgBmnGs27kEV3Vv1C_WQ/s1600/Bodice+with+Name.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr42El3xqjBGpJCXSPd2S4eH4hkbDFQNnWWhvxYPbc_LQA7K1k-cu0lFTJVeEqDDhHvK2WtWACxtM-htJmpUMLsfpHlWSvTYbobPI79ik_lW9fFjoBoEfIxyoQGgBmnGs27kEV3Vv1C_WQ/s1600/Bodice+with+Name.jpg" height="400" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
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The name "Bennett" is sewn into the </div>
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bodice on a small paper tag.</div>
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In addition to general structural observations and old seam lines, the usual post-purchase inspection I give all of my vintage dresses yielded three unexpected discoveries that made me ever so happy. First, when I undid the buttons for the first time to look at the bodice lining, there was a paper tag sewn into the back with the name "Bennett" handwritten on it. A name! I LOVE signed garments. Bennett is a pretty common name and there was no other provenance, so I don't expect I'll ever discover the specific Bennett who wore this. Still, the signature emphasizes an indirect connection with a person, not just a dress. Way cool.<br />
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Discovery #2 was a bustle pin still <i>in situ</i> where it strategically pulls up a layer of the over skirt and exposes the hem ruffle for a little peek-a-boo with onlookers. As an archaeologist, I am especially excited about this because these little pins show up on excavations of 19th-century sites. There is one Baltimore laundry site in particular where drainage pipes were found absolutely clogged with pins, buttons, and other clothing attachments- as if launderers put the clothes through the rough washing process however they were delivered, even if removable pins were still on them. So now I know how some of those pins might have been used. Hellooooo artifact reference collection! Can I write this purchase off on my taxes now? Okay, probably not, but it was still worth it because the real mystery was yet to come.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWbLUV4J7CV_kY1DOx8hKgR2NhkCDzUU9BZTcP8tN9S1QAfbPnqaYEsyL1DCF1M8tgqYax1qwn6SArXzaHxROL1mLVkP9PmbVFR1MGarfAGOae1W0o-V4aLTC2Lwwu0jObGLnmuK0r6SA/s1600/Bustle+Pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWbLUV4J7CV_kY1DOx8hKgR2NhkCDzUU9BZTcP8tN9S1QAfbPnqaYEsyL1DCF1M8tgqYax1qwn6SArXzaHxROL1mLVkP9PmbVFR1MGarfAGOae1W0o-V4aLTC2Lwwu0jObGLnmuK0r6SA/s1600/Bustle+Pin.jpg" height="502" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">A bustle pin about an inch long remains in place on the skirt. The pin is covered by the draped skirt it holds as well as the outer-most over-skirt, but it still boasts a decorative front. Such pins seem to have been worn in abundance if archaeological evidence of 19th-century laundry sites are any indication, but this is the first time I've seen one left in place.</td></tr>
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The third discovery arose when I turned the skirt is inside out; there was a pocket! Okay, neat, but not earth shattering. Lots of 19th-century dresses had pockets. But then things got weird. I mean usually built-in pockets don't play hard-to-get, but even with help from my perennial antiquing partner, my mom, it took a while to get to the thing. Instead of being easily accessed through an inconspicuous slit in the over-skirt, this pocket opening is completely concealed by the over-skirt; as in, you have to hike up the draped silk, expose the cotton under-skirt, and generally disrupt the whole look to get at the pocket. Also, thanks to some tacked areas sewn into the skirt to make it drape properly, it wouldn't have been possible to get at the pocket at all without causing a rip if someone had the dress on. We had to do some seriously careful maneuvering to get at it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDC2LO2-vYAerCs_8yTu6hMdMA1vaNk3Ygu_6GsqJU-tS1RbPj121qXYqdg0ula-omuB9UXRfyJwpBqCIB1SxTi50d-7CZUVBcBJNiaMbl3ikQne7Vpaw2S7We3d7l5W9-cGWkrG5vOAs/s1600/Pocket+Details.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDC2LO2-vYAerCs_8yTu6hMdMA1vaNk3Ygu_6GsqJU-tS1RbPj121qXYqdg0ula-omuB9UXRfyJwpBqCIB1SxTi50d-7CZUVBcBJNiaMbl3ikQne7Vpaw2S7We3d7l5W9-cGWkrG5vOAs/s1600/Pocket+Details.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The pocket is easy to see from the inside of the skirt (right), but the opening is hard to get to, since there's no way to get at the pocket without hiking the draped over-skirt up, and tacks on the over-skirt block access (left).</td></tr>
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Why would anyone make a pocket so inaccessible? Was the dress altered without taking the pocket into account? Or was the pocket added because Ms. Bennett had need of a super secret hidey-hole on her person? Maybe she needed it to smuggle coded messages or something?! In general, I feel like I'm getting too old for that level of fantastical speculation, but I feel compelled to mention the possibility because in this case <i>it might be TRUE!</i><br />
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Thank goodness my mom was there to share my excitement when I finally felt my way to the pocket and pulled out a clump of paper, balled up and wrinkled as if it had been through the laundry. It consisted of two translucent sheets, both of which exhibited writing. There we were thinking we'd stumbled upon some historic letter, and then we were standing there, each with a freshly unballed sheet of paper, and each suffering from complete bafflement. The writing is readable, but it makes no sense!<br />
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"Bismark Omit leafage buck bank<br />
Paul Ramify loamy event false new event..." and so on.<br />
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What the...?<br />
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My first thought was maybe a writing exercise? Or some kind of list? But there are also numbers between the lines, each line is marked off with a different color, and there are weird time-like notes in the margin; 10pm, 1113PM, and 1124 P. I feel like those clues actually DO point to code of some kind. If only I wrote the "Commitment to Code" blog, I'd tell you what it means. Instead, I'm putting it up here in case there's some decoding prodigy out there looking for a project.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGIJZIgcZ0uQL_MtPotqEq7TFdLG1DFqL4EzH7SOyisYn4R7b-oyHGuKE_isfo3ovNK9BZhfv7s-lpdTXrTKX07e0bl3bXS6gUpUsflVagrj3sCDAhmF2dNm8rr1UExEWCRYINXM8Z8Qp/s1600/Bustle+Code+both+pages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGIJZIgcZ0uQL_MtPotqEq7TFdLG1DFqL4EzH7SOyisYn4R7b-oyHGuKE_isfo3ovNK9BZhfv7s-lpdTXrTKX07e0bl3bXS6gUpUsflVagrj3sCDAhmF2dNm8rr1UExEWCRYINXM8Z8Qp/s1600/Bustle+Code+both+pages.jpg" height="640" width="444" /></a></td></tr>
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Here's the mysterious writing we found in the hidden skirt pocket. I don't know which</div>
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page is supposed to go first, but I'm hoping the miracle of the internet will lead me to </div>
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someone who can help make sense of this. I have higher resolution scans if needed.</div>
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And so the mystery continues. Normally I just concern myself with questions like how old is the garment, how was it worn, has it been altered, etc. In this case though, those answers are pretty clear. But questions like who was this Bennett, and why did her dress have a barely accessible pocket with an incoherent message in it? There I'm stumped. One thing I do know for certain though, is that the dress was SO worth the hundred bucks I paid for it, and all of that angst I had about justifying the purchase can go hang.<br />
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-71799720293120528192013-09-07T18:00:00.000-07:002013-09-07T18:00:02.558-07:00Recent Investigations: How was this bustle dress worn?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2S2vo765uYa24N-m4Ud9NeEp3ErBX1scbKnaqN2NcTi0sOKCLVkPuZPC2w3s9SnfdVTVTushPT8P0hkcBsRTNscXMBo1dyhRd7J5dWG0wEDMCxnGXh43DOBIyX8lXnCq1fubPzvjkQBbE/s1600/Dress+on+hanger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2S2vo765uYa24N-m4Ud9NeEp3ErBX1scbKnaqN2NcTi0sOKCLVkPuZPC2w3s9SnfdVTVTushPT8P0hkcBsRTNscXMBo1dyhRd7J5dWG0wEDMCxnGXh43DOBIyX8lXnCq1fubPzvjkQBbE/s640/Dress+on+hanger.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
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The 'before' shot. Three pieces of netting made<br />
into some kind of dress. Could be fabulous, but<br />
it's hard to tell on the hanger. Scroll all the way<br />
down for the after shot.</div>
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A couple of weeks ago I purchased a three-piece dress on an antiquing jaunt in Pennsylvania. At first glance on the hanger it looked like an early 20th-century gown because sheer gauzy white dresses were so big then, and the bodice lacked the fitted darts I would expect of a 19th-century garment. That was deceiving though, because it seemed to have a bustle skirt, which could make it at least 20 years older than I thought it was. But bustle dresses are usually tightly fitted with crazy boning and a tiny waist to go over an hour-glass corset; this had no seams to contour the bodice whatsoever. Fortunately, my shopping companion was a fellow costume enthusiast, so we held out all of the pieces, talked it through, and decided it was probably a bustle dress for a girl who had yet to develop the curves that would necessitate darts in the bodice. Had. To. Have. Obviously.<br />
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I don't have much experience with true bustle dresses though, so even after putting this find on a dress form, I am longing for an owner's manual. The three pieces are an underskirt, a bodice with attached bustle overskirt, and a sash. At first I thought I "got" everything except for what to do with the sash. I was so wrong. I had several questions, and in some cases, I still don't know the answer. Here are the questions I've been considering:<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">1) Exactly how old is this dress? My theory that it was bustle-era for a young girl was trumped when I discovered that it fit my adult dress form just fine- lady curves included. The netting material is stretchy, so the lack of fitted seams and darts wasn't helpful for dating at all. At first I thought the bustle was just a hint of volume as the popularity of the huge backside-shelf petered out, but once I realized how much I had to stuff up under there to make it look right, I knew I was wrong. The bustle is is the variety with a fairly flat draped front and ties to keep the 'fluffy' back over the bum. It had to be from the height (pun intended) of the bustle-era (1870s or 1880s). So I started looking for comparable garments. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Alas, that was easier said than done, even with the availability of online collections and Pinterest pages. The vast majority of three-piece dresses from this period consist of an underskirt, overskirt, and separate bodice that buttons up the front. My dress buttons up the back and doesn't have a separate bodice. The best comparable I could find was a plaid ca. 1880 dress from the Museum at FIT. The only other dress I thought had the right look was a sea-side ensemble with bodice, skirt, and belt from Augusta Auctions. It also dates to 1880. So 1880-ish it is!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkAq-zAGwRHoBbPX4nmBaTN_TsJ9pgxw9pNphMna3IJzWZ8jCUl-GzkLPPn-H_V7sI5xu_6UDWd0TShMLHTpcu6jco5DvOxtUy7renWSQlbil9KTnSZnzMbImUoNVQSRDuneyhHs9kG8h/s1600/0137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkAq-zAGwRHoBbPX4nmBaTN_TsJ9pgxw9pNphMna3IJzWZ8jCUl-GzkLPPn-H_V7sI5xu_6UDWd0TShMLHTpcu6jco5DvOxtUy7renWSQlbil9KTnSZnzMbImUoNVQSRDuneyhHs9kG8h/s640/0137.jpg" width="334" /></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGrDUrnOhHfg26DZabhHFTdFX10-WMcoYdhpe7sWjtvbx6OIbmit5hlmjtSe-CxFLAmPXSsRe8GIsHEgPUGmEzh0IY1Xl6XDG379mPHdZCy461dIm13BbWZg2-VJcNo_nDqx9hH4tgA1Z/s1600/P92.21.1_20080327_02_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGrDUrnOhHfg26DZabhHFTdFX10-WMcoYdhpe7sWjtvbx6OIbmit5hlmjtSe-CxFLAmPXSsRe8GIsHEgPUGmEzh0IY1Xl6XDG379mPHdZCy461dIm13BbWZg2-VJcNo_nDqx9hH4tgA1Z/s400/P92.21.1_20080327_02_web.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
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The best matches for my net dress are a <a href="http://www.augusta-auction.com/component/auctions/?view=lot&id=10649&auction_file_id=22" target="_blank">sea side</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.augusta-auction.com/component/auctions/?view=lot&id=10649&auction_file_id=22" target="_blank">ensemble</a> from <a href="http://www.augusta-auction.com/" target="_blank">Augusta Auctions</a> (left) an a plaid</div>
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bustle dress that buttons up the back from <a href="http://www.fitnyc.edu/13666.asp" target="_blank">The </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fitnyc.edu/13666.asp" target="_blank">Museum at FIT</a> (above). Both date to c. 1880.</div>
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2A) What would you wear under the sheer bodice? The material is practically transparent, so with visibility of undergarments at roughly 90% they have to be just right. I tried a period-appropriate corset cover, but it buttons up the front and looked wrong to have those buttons under the netting. I didn't even bother to try a chemise pulled on over the head because that would get all bunched up at the waist and the wrinkles would show through. I suspect this had a specialized corset cover that either had a flap to conceal the closures, or it attached under the arm instead of down the front. I don't have anything like that for the 1880s, but the look improved when I tried an early 20th-century camisole with concealed hooks & eyes. It looks better even with lace showing through the netted pattern. I wonder if the woman who wore this would have a similar lace trim on her corset cover as a little peek-a-boo at her fancy underthings?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6IkDTC5QzNThRACoqen3VcL66PbbCSju0jZsVBhhbW9WEVnarzCT1RUmB0eYEvlMb1A6a_H27SUmHt4tBNpCe1PxJkJW76ov6invKclR27wUi_E_SQxWm-vCqMdsMs1fXTHBE6gK9RWR2/s1600/Two+corset+covers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6IkDTC5QzNThRACoqen3VcL66PbbCSju0jZsVBhhbW9WEVnarzCT1RUmB0eYEvlMb1A6a_H27SUmHt4tBNpCe1PxJkJW76ov6invKclR27wUi_E_SQxWm-vCqMdsMs1fXTHBE6gK9RWR2/s400/Two+corset+covers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Here you see the dress over a button up corset cover ca. 1865-1890 (left),</div>
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and an early 20th-century corset cover with concealed hooks & eyes (right).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVw1GfS-PH4RBetSSjjxuls2bIEDisrcqI0ESVyMnqsEqZe-iThJ2XD8592ABQMnxDUXaU13myffp_Wu805NXIxlt-lVOuWqLGoAeExPm7wHNBY0G88aX2wvUIAD6cMrVoZTYPxp2Aumr/s1600/corsetcover1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVw1GfS-PH4RBetSSjjxuls2bIEDisrcqI0ESVyMnqsEqZe-iThJ2XD8592ABQMnxDUXaU13myffp_Wu805NXIxlt-lVOuWqLGoAeExPm7wHNBY0G88aX2wvUIAD6cMrVoZTYPxp2Aumr/s200/corsetcover1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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This ca. 1868 corset cover has a </div>
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concealed closure that wouldn't show</div>
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under a dress made of netting.</div>
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2B) Same problem, different location: What would you wear under the skirt? I tried using a bustled petticoat but it you can see every wrinkle and pleat through the netting and you can see the bustle ties. It just seems kind of tacky. I am wondering if it had a lobster-tail style bustle of some kind that was designed specifically to look clean under the netting while concealing all ties and attachments. If only I could find one of those at a reasonable price...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSru7uT0KH1m1JYeoa6hI9oF6vQlcZVIqodA9xnrOi_F3EmK1PwBUUSj998eBX42bzTBx8iLvfy8klza4ynnD51iV6eM5-tO3I9Drz8iBmdfREMVBIqJ_rkmzgqVcIhOCVJ7v8FKD7vwz/s1600/DSCF7127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSru7uT0KH1m1JYeoa6hI9oF6vQlcZVIqodA9xnrOi_F3EmK1PwBUUSj998eBX42bzTBx8iLvfy8klza4ynnD51iV6eM5-tO3I9Drz8iBmdfREMVBIqJ_rkmzgqVcIhOCVJ7v8FKD7vwz/s320/DSCF7127.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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You can see every gather in the petticoat through the skirt,</div>
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as well as the ties that keep the overskirt in place. In short,</div>
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it isn't the cleanest overall look.</div>
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3) What's the deal with the sash? My first thought was that it was some kind of belt, but the waist of the over-dress is finished and doesn't really need a belt to cover it. The neck band, by contrast, is made of the same plain linen as the waist of the underskirt (below), so I suspect it is meant to be covered up. Using the sash for that had the most ridiculous results though. Giant bow tie anyone? Dubious. <div>
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<span style="text-align: right;">No, </span><span style="text-align: right;">based on a closer look at seam placement </span><span style="text-align: right;">I think my initial thought of a belt was a better guess. On every part of this garment, the location of seams is significant. The underskirt, for example, has an off-center closure, but the waistband has a seam at the center back anyway. There's no structural reason for the seam, so it's probably there to help you orient the skirt properly. Like many bustle-era petticoats, the underskirt has multiple horizontal seams on the back and vertical seams at each side. The seams aren't meant to show though, so they have to be oriented just right.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rOzjDuHId3Wwlcr7XL4MkszStNa9EqImCg8kNmEtL5FbVqlR6xeKp7mGyA_psVyaV1FowTuohSGRgeXpPh17ELOPCpPwnGVwGTgo79KI83nbuQ6-rHikv_7W9wzov59JWJMX_NLEl9mu/s1600/DSCF7155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rOzjDuHId3Wwlcr7XL4MkszStNa9EqImCg8kNmEtL5FbVqlR6xeKp7mGyA_psVyaV1FowTuohSGRgeXpPh17ELOPCpPwnGVwGTgo79KI83nbuQ6-rHikv_7W9wzov59JWJMX_NLEl9mu/s640/DSCF7155.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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The sash as a giant bowtie is way gaudy even by Victorian </div>
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standards.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgW1TqwRxncqXIDQ07AJw4CUDyGT197j0VijGQ2Urxi6f4SnLtREpNtsxO2GU8P4eh2gReAS1TAP1jbj0W4grbZhSfZYBc2Fj0Ak3wPm_j4f5Q13KPikxrfldQrZGDqaLsRziiMLwtwfV/s1600/Neck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgW1TqwRxncqXIDQ07AJw4CUDyGT197j0VijGQ2Urxi6f4SnLtREpNtsxO2GU8P4eh2gReAS1TAP1jbj0W4grbZhSfZYBc2Fj0Ak3wPm_j4f5Q13KPikxrfldQrZGDqaLsRziiMLwtwfV/s320/Neck.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
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The neck band (right) is a bit too boring to go </div>
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uncovered. It needs a little something. </div>
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Emphasis on "little" though...</div>
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Ultimately, this helps with the issue of the sash because that also has a random extra off-center seam that needs to be hidden by the final look. There is also an area of decoration that is off-center and begs to be seen. When I put the seam at the center back of the waist, ran it around the waist and made a loop just long enough to display the middle decoration, whaddya know? Everything looked wonderfully placed and bustle-y. Also, it covers up the bustle ties that show through the overskirt. I pinned the sash in place instead of tying a fancy knot. Yes, that could be a shortcut, but the bustle era was big on bar pins of various sizes to get everything draped just so, and there is no reason to think this sash didn't attach with one or two.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKO1OOtkMKXv4qoL1XjHsgLbKQjBU8nJ1GAIa8hSEap5XaRhx95UlycZDzd2Nxs0UYCJaUOHhLKSsZKu8pd7CC02GMlSOj_yqqLuSem8HTuaeVuUs7FZJa-IAOzcbDweqDdCyrRhf76-kV/s1600/Seam+orientation+montage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKO1OOtkMKXv4qoL1XjHsgLbKQjBU8nJ1GAIa8hSEap5XaRhx95UlycZDzd2Nxs0UYCJaUOHhLKSsZKu8pd7CC02GMlSOj_yqqLuSem8HTuaeVuUs7FZJa-IAOzcbDweqDdCyrRhf76-kV/s640/Seam+orientation+montage.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Seam montage! At left you can see how the underskirt has an off-center closure, but there is an extra seam on the waistband to help you orient the skirt so the bustle seams are where they need to be. The sash (center) has an unsightly seam that shouldn't show, and an area of extra decoration that should show. When draped over the bustle with one loop (right), things seem to match up juuuuust right. </td></tr>
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4) If the sash wasn't for the neck, was there something else to go there? I don't really know, but my guess is that there was. Maybe a lacy necktie, a ribbon, a fake flower on a band. Accessories happened; it's just hard to know what form they would take.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbt24Zxb3Qa_5IuijYLdmyfSoTR-IWrRKnoYINbH0DGuebyWa_ly4NZmdTBj9en83UzUkFmu4m_t1NFVV9xE_aJYR2i8iw-v3lgrqOhdamBlWxLAykqhNeuZKxh7601WRkIMYT9teqajV/s1600/31c5e29796cbf19f6f34932af327af6a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbt24Zxb3Qa_5IuijYLdmyfSoTR-IWrRKnoYINbH0DGuebyWa_ly4NZmdTBj9en83UzUkFmu4m_t1NFVV9xE_aJYR2i8iw-v3lgrqOhdamBlWxLAykqhNeuZKxh7601WRkIMYT9teqajV/s320/31c5e29796cbf19f6f34932af327af6a.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
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John Lavery's <i>A Game of Tennis</i> shows how to pull off</div>
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a backhand shot in a full bustle.</div>
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6) Where would one wear this little number? Maybe if I could figure that out, it would be easier to envision the proper accessories to go with it. In my search for comparables, I made some progress on this. The outfit was no doubt for summer and has the whimsy and airiness for the beach or even for a game of tennis. It's hard to imagine playing tennis in a bustle, but this dress is nice and stretchy to allow range of motion. It would be way too presumptuous to assume this was a tennis dress though, so by way of accessories, I'm thinking general summer things like a flowy scarf at the neck, a parasol, and a straw hat a la Claude Monet.<br />
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In conclusion, whether I know everything there is to know about this dress or not, at the very least I know that its awesomeness is unquestionable. Now if anyone out there wants to offer their thoughts on underthings, accessories, etc., I am more than happy to hear from you!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuaK6fUbQIWWYbgXPvoD17cPPd1Ux2kQn9llvEzzOhYqCU5fcFG-YbDXIHoAI0Ar6o_DUCIJ_aSKorM-pTuQqEIM1nY457lC3r8-d_GzI7dXW9NHdzYE7I6NcJX8-8BaTolk5d0x-9VVp/s1600/Dress+gray+background.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuaK6fUbQIWWYbgXPvoD17cPPd1Ux2kQn9llvEzzOhYqCU5fcFG-YbDXIHoAI0Ar6o_DUCIJ_aSKorM-pTuQqEIM1nY457lC3r8-d_GzI7dXW9NHdzYE7I6NcJX8-8BaTolk5d0x-9VVp/s640/Dress+gray+background.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: center;">The 'after' shot. All it needs is the accessories!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqIieJlXu5VzeDtNEF-q2hmvzgMEHUAiVzZDA5jItHjrv63DOUXbPpI_jqTl1dbYKZ6z0VsJJ0wN9BworehTMOqmM_FvVol1SRjENmRwoNkYPJexPUd55_yc6YXEUEf4Jp4rS1tsRkEzI/s1600/claude-monet-woman-with-a-paraso-facing-right-85896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqIieJlXu5VzeDtNEF-q2hmvzgMEHUAiVzZDA5jItHjrv63DOUXbPpI_jqTl1dbYKZ6z0VsJJ0wN9BworehTMOqmM_FvVol1SRjENmRwoNkYPJexPUd55_yc6YXEUEf4Jp4rS1tsRkEzI/s400/claude-monet-woman-with-a-paraso-facing-right-85896.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
I once tried to recreate this painting in a Jr. High art </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
class, so of course I thought of it as the epitome of</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
the look that my new summer dress represents. I am</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
no Claude Monet, but I'm awfully excited to be the </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
owner of the kind of dress that inspired him. Love it</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
so much!</div>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-13093189870632663022013-09-01T12:59:00.000-07:002013-09-02T06:44:03.493-07:00Recent Investigations: The Purple *Thing*<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lMK1pBU9s5ZuycS4fUYDnn38LDosmYMDSA6ENoFotpRBRbs-eOCVVNTcu51BXpEmFjYfD3DxMMw8xEDbfqtBZn58ezdgTzVWdAVJhQPLXfJTRZo5efxV9YYgH_-FmuhlgOz9hLU66W_G/s1600/Image+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lMK1pBU9s5ZuycS4fUYDnn38LDosmYMDSA6ENoFotpRBRbs-eOCVVNTcu51BXpEmFjYfD3DxMMw8xEDbfqtBZn58ezdgTzVWdAVJhQPLXfJTRZo5efxV9YYgH_-FmuhlgOz9hLU66W_G/s640/Image+1.jpg" width="380" /></a>Lately I'm researching my newest acquisitions, so I'm postponing some entries on infant layettes until I'm in the mood. See, the thing about being a collector is that the <i>having</i> of things is less of a thrill than the <i>hunt</i> for said things, so the baby gowns I've got are older news. Don't get me wrong, I get jazzed about owning the stuff, too, but there's just something about not knowing if there will be a nice little surprise in the next booth at the antique mall. Finding a bargain gives me a shot of adrenaline that makes me feel all happy-buzzy. And the high is that much more exciting when you know that the seller didn't know what they had, and therefore didn't price it accordingly.<br />
<br />
As a case in point, I found this purple silk thing labeled "bonnet?" on a recent antique trip with a friend. The seller wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was roughly the size of an adult head, so they made a guess. I'd be inclined to buy that (actually, I did buy it, but you know what I mean), except that I would have expected a 19th-century silk bonnet to be lined, and I've never seen one with a hole at the back- especially a hole defined by a shiny brown linen band with a button closure. So "bonnet" just didn't seem right.<br />
<br />
I had seen a similar linen tape as a waistband with a button closure on a mid-19th century petticoat in my collection, so my brain went to "skirt". It was so tiny though that if I was right, then it had to be for a doll. Sure enough when I set it down with the waistband up, it made a perfect miniature 1870-ish skirt that reminded me of an amazing purplish gown in the V&A's collection. Mystery solved!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5FaxXkuV2mmo6QjHyaLPV86UlCZkNUJzKJpbL3CjtHcQ3_sXd8d7xjA0UiWxco_7CHVFVi6d-PYrrdIFK7oPEgi96sPL7nPMjtQgD6ulZq7GiECit0TUBN2J6ZECHY67gKGKxo5OOGV-/s1600/Wast+bands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5FaxXkuV2mmo6QjHyaLPV86UlCZkNUJzKJpbL3CjtHcQ3_sXd8d7xjA0UiWxco_7CHVFVi6d-PYrrdIFK7oPEgi96sPL7nPMjtQgD6ulZq7GiECit0TUBN2J6ZECHY67gKGKxo5OOGV-/s400/Wast+bands.jpg" width="321" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
The band on the purple thing (top) looked like the waist on a</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
mid-19th-century quilted silk petticoat (bottom).</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGObaPtjwl2ocqhHxfYkkVOjPZLrPV99df4g_l3lJ-IqVUEmWFg6aga0aeljDWsWqUBlDpz2S_3IkRust-KBRuwMHdJk4MiZmipTehZ01WHCcJYSFY4snrPJ128W1rk2KI9jh5kyQVk3O9/s1600/e847e80f83151a00292a6cb82134fa38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGObaPtjwl2ocqhHxfYkkVOjPZLrPV99df4g_l3lJ-IqVUEmWFg6aga0aeljDWsWqUBlDpz2S_3IkRust-KBRuwMHdJk4MiZmipTehZ01WHCcJYSFY4snrPJ128W1rk2KI9jh5kyQVk3O9/s320/e847e80f83151a00292a6cb82134fa38.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
The Victoria & Albert Museum has the most<br />
amazing costume collection, including this<br />
<a href="http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O115837/dress-vignon/" target="_blank">ca. 1870 purple gown</a>. The V&A also published<br />
several fantastic books on the fashions in their<br />
collection and I recommend them to anyone<br />
interested in close-up views of some of the finest<br />
surviving garments in the world.</div>
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</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDgEE9q7KrkF1RK5SguK6wkMUCt-mMBDDWNnlo7iHLc_rKuKoqa7yQR1Kiute_Qq-ivgVEvORnk7Ei0bQqq7vLCQjaPjCPRfM7YdvyvnTGU_zfos3nJV18WS0aTy4eC6VLLc6hSNNue2k/s1600/Doll+crinoline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDgEE9q7KrkF1RK5SguK6wkMUCt-mMBDDWNnlo7iHLc_rKuKoqa7yQR1Kiute_Qq-ivgVEvORnk7Ei0bQqq7vLCQjaPjCPRfM7YdvyvnTGU_zfos3nJV18WS0aTy4eC6VLLc6hSNNue2k/s640/Doll+crinoline.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like a doll skirt to me. Fancy!</td></tr>
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I wasn't sure I should I pay money for it though. Yes, it was under $20 and would be a helluva lot easier to store than an adult size crinoline skirt, but dolls kind of creep me out, so I try to limit my collecting behavior to clothes that were worn by real living people. Still, there was just something about it. Maybe the "something" was that I knew what it was when the seller didn't- I mean who doesn't love to be right like that?- or maybe it was the enthusiastic encouragement I received from my shopping buddy, but I bought it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKS3f4UNC0xGYvR3VJekv5OXB_MCZniCBGiT8eEbQCOJz1bgv4eumpJ-2nIG-nfsAxo8dE7HV_5Nd9xTqmbz6fPx_b35sATTJ7DyQk7flcf0FSIfnXqck6-qfnaYbhTpvcLRHrt1UMVgs/s1600/c8ceb4055caaf575805e3825c7fb0654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKS3f4UNC0xGYvR3VJekv5OXB_MCZniCBGiT8eEbQCOJz1bgv4eumpJ-2nIG-nfsAxo8dE7HV_5Nd9xTqmbz6fPx_b35sATTJ7DyQk7flcf0FSIfnXqck6-qfnaYbhTpvcLRHrt1UMVgs/s640/c8ceb4055caaf575805e3825c7fb0654.jpg" width="441" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
This is where I would tell you all about this image if I knew anything about it other </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
than I found it on Pinterest.</div>
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In the end, I have no regrets. I could always sell it to the doll-collecting world if I get tired of it, and this was a fun little research avenue. The doll skirt gave me something new to look for when I'm exploring that time-sink known as Pinterest. On a recent Pin-Binge I was exploring a board with 19th-century photos and I stumbled on a wonderful shot of a little girl looking lovingly at a high-fashion doll. Most of the dolls I've seen in children's photos are being cuddled or held in some way, but this doll was placed on the chair with the back of her full crinoline skirt towards the camera. I couldn't find any details about the image, but I love having it as an illustration of how my tiny purple not-a-bonnet crinoline probably looked in its original context. Next goal: find that amazing dress the little girl is wearing for under $20!<br />
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-39388864072070176352013-08-25T11:37:00.000-07:002013-08-25T11:37:58.889-07:00Infant Shirts in the 19th Century<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOoXEneIdx1tbrvl6o1ONzLVi3GxXFFDwbugADNB-TYzVxcH_aokIRqyLbbEx50n0F8doRhAoYGdmjTHMqzmezzC36slo-7YElPtVfpQ5JlGB4Wcn1AV89P_hYgj_RmVB3oaZVPy_6jcV/s1600/DSCF6846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOoXEneIdx1tbrvl6o1ONzLVi3GxXFFDwbugADNB-TYzVxcH_aokIRqyLbbEx50n0F8doRhAoYGdmjTHMqzmezzC36slo-7YElPtVfpQ5JlGB4Wcn1AV89P_hYgj_RmVB3oaZVPy_6jcV/s320/DSCF6846.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">My mid 19th-century infant shirt without the flaps folded.</td></tr>
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Behold! It's my first ever post based on a question posted in the comments! A big shout out to Lou McCulloch, who asked whether the flaps on infant shirts fold in or out. And the answer is... the flaps fold OUT. But let's back up and look at infant shirts in general and why there is any confusion about flaps at all.<br />
<br />
I got an infant shirt for Christmas a few years ago (thanks Mom!) and I wasn't really sure what to make of it except that it had some of the finest hand sewing I had ever seen, including intricate stitching and lace work. Like most 18th- and 19th-century shirts, this piece is made using rectangles and squares of fabric instead of a curvy, contoured pattern.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlgkThNLK3EpcaTmOZ93POY5TJEqBwyPERcrFqoq6R54z6wMiu5m8yLx12hhcrHiifj53G_NGeGg-7nHctsVWB1i7EO8efSugT5QnVd2UmpQdgcuX7yuroPPihUFqeANmXeORSQJxi5gI/s1600/DSCF6848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlgkThNLK3EpcaTmOZ93POY5TJEqBwyPERcrFqoq6R54z6wMiu5m8yLx12hhcrHiifj53G_NGeGg-7nHctsVWB1i7EO8efSugT5QnVd2UmpQdgcuX7yuroPPihUFqeANmXeORSQJxi5gI/s640/DSCF6848.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Overall view of the shirt when unfolded. It is simply made with a rectangle of fabric plus some lace for the sleeves.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wKNk49uLueHl-BHxtotZBGX9n8wGuozwcN4fPDTP87N42FwTUoXxVwvaMyHROTksqom2RgfwBIZEEeynfxM_XTTZrP7qbzwkA4Vz24exkDkjzJiVXIMWHqsmGkGDfyv-H7zRj4X2fVZ0/s1600/DSCF6856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wKNk49uLueHl-BHxtotZBGX9n8wGuozwcN4fPDTP87N42FwTUoXxVwvaMyHROTksqom2RgfwBIZEEeynfxM_XTTZrP7qbzwkA4Vz24exkDkjzJiVXIMWHqsmGkGDfyv-H7zRj4X2fVZ0/s640/DSCF6856.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Detail of the shirt, showing how the seam on the flap is turned under when the flaps fold out.</td></tr>
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My first clue about the direction of the flaps came from the super fine hem; the seam allowances on the flaps were turned so as not to show when the flaps folded out. But if the flaps folded in, neither side would be visible, so why would the direction of the seam allowance matter? I still wasn't sure, so I looked to images of 19th-century infants to see if any flaps were visible in those. I couldn't find anything. But that's no surprise, since shirts are a type of undergarment and you generally can't see such things in portraits. As the nickname implies, "unmentionables" are rarely discussed in historical documents, especially in the Victorian period.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2IVvl8kcQ5RGZ74Y5FgHrwH8BEq49_fsndogzCiPxnMqyTDZS1hyblljKXuRilASwZ_fIzTOWIRaoWXyTI_c7-CRrC8cDqeXsyg-nHhYpSJZYTA3kbFY0tGxrPbBuT9hqNO_Hi2hNzqH/s1600/Infant+shirt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2IVvl8kcQ5RGZ74Y5FgHrwH8BEq49_fsndogzCiPxnMqyTDZS1hyblljKXuRilASwZ_fIzTOWIRaoWXyTI_c7-CRrC8cDqeXsyg-nHhYpSJZYTA3kbFY0tGxrPbBuT9hqNO_Hi2hNzqH/s400/Infant+shirt+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">My newest infant shirt, with reinforced armpits and fine decoration.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then I found an infant shirt in on e-bay that settled it for me, and I <i>needed</i> to buy it so I could add it to this post. The flaps are embroidered, showing a distinctive right side and wrong side and proving that the flaps fold out. I also stumbled upon an image from the Dictionary of Children's Clothes by Noreen Marshall showing the many layers infants wore in the 1880s. It shows the flaps folding out over a barracoat or petticoat, followed by a slip and then the gown. That's why the flaps don't show in art and photos; they are sandwiched between two other garments before the outer gown is added. There are a lot of layers involved. Babies had a much more complex wardrobe than I had realized!<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62anSbqF9emtp2gikrPjJQ7671EuLdTfZGgAeXfA9tKEXI7JieCN3tZlMwi-QA3puZKESfu-htN05gEeNa7iWZe7FDkn-ErXWO1Am-_r46fonSe6B0NaI7ls9S9-m2xlq7ZV4lR5IloE7/s1600/Infant+shirt+back+flap+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62anSbqF9emtp2gikrPjJQ7671EuLdTfZGgAeXfA9tKEXI7JieCN3tZlMwi-QA3puZKESfu-htN05gEeNa7iWZe7FDkn-ErXWO1Am-_r46fonSe6B0NaI7ls9S9-m2xlq7ZV4lR5IloE7/s640/Infant+shirt+back+flap+detail.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Detail of the hand embroidery and bobbin lace adorning the shirt's flaps.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGP2PXHe6rCO78iV4UZ_3BLha3X5JRf2B-196b8ik6oBGHaX3aaM2u4FNvf37-3gIQdJk2dUidoMxONWFwNkjU6HjGHCyqEZw-Psu651Ulpsg5daxmh1WGFsL8UhzEP37C5H6X82oNMwu/s1600/Shirt+and+Barracoat+front+and+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGP2PXHe6rCO78iV4UZ_3BLha3X5JRf2B-196b8ik6oBGHaX3aaM2u4FNvf37-3gIQdJk2dUidoMxONWFwNkjU6HjGHCyqEZw-Psu651Ulpsg5daxmh1WGFsL8UhzEP37C5H6X82oNMwu/s640/Shirt+and+Barracoat+front+and+back.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Front and back views of an infant shirt as it would be worn under a barracoat. The flaps fold out over the barracoat and another slip might be added to cover both the shirt flaps and barracoat before the gown went on.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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More posts to follow on the infant layette later, but for now I will close with a big thanks to Lou. You gave me an excuse to buy some new books and a darling infant shirt to add to my collection.<br />
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-31700072832782582822013-06-22T19:10:00.000-07:002013-06-22T19:10:56.933-07:00Reticule Rescue Results<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">A natural follow up to the condition assessment I did on <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-reticule-rescue-operation.html" target="_blank">Ann Porterfield's reticule</a> is a little tutorial on archival storage. For the most part, I'm not doing anything to undo damage to the bag, but I'm packaging it in a way that should prevent any further harm. This story is easiest to tell with images, so here they are.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwjxsAp4ZaU_Pc4x2Dg2ZohwUpsRPmMSIlyB3kSFAHpx7RmFcCRYYcgR3BayYNzcxvXo-hn7FBQZ7VJS9GrbmsZkm2ovBywTkeu_OwHNtcjeWaThESX9PG1v7mFzRkHJdI978DAzrduMl/s1600/Padding.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwjxsAp4ZaU_Pc4x2Dg2ZohwUpsRPmMSIlyB3kSFAHpx7RmFcCRYYcgR3BayYNzcxvXo-hn7FBQZ7VJS9GrbmsZkm2ovBywTkeu_OwHNtcjeWaThESX9PG1v7mFzRkHJdI978DAzrduMl/s640/Padding.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The first step was to make an insert to go into the bag to eliminate the issue of pressed folds as much as possible. I made a simple insert by measuring the bag and making a sketch of a pattern that will be slightly smaller than the bag. It should be made so that it doesn't quite fill up the whole thing, otherwise the insert would stress the seams and be more harmful than helpful. Using this pattern, I cut out some natural unbleached cotton batting left over from my <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/08/no-wire-hangers-ever.html">padded hanger</a> project. I made about 8 of these to layer together as stuffing. Then I made an unbleached muslin casing for the batting layers. I left this open long enough to test the imsert to make sure that the size was appropriate. When I was satisfied with the height of the pad, I hand sewed the top to finish it.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJqhkRyAIYloqXyhGCWdA3-59FU-L7h1Vf5Y7bDlOymKFwUWCQEylYJZXU4ROo5r-mWNSskncrle4-H-To4T0Cg7sMBEsgV_PmZZq1ApyPrLnqoks5H8oyOgZ6Yw8UE4P8Z9Y5nqOXNIk/s1600/steaming+and+padding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJqhkRyAIYloqXyhGCWdA3-59FU-L7h1Vf5Y7bDlOymKFwUWCQEylYJZXU4ROo5r-mWNSskncrle4-H-To4T0Cg7sMBEsgV_PmZZq1ApyPrLnqoks5H8oyOgZ6Yw8UE4P8Z9Y5nqOXNIk/s640/steaming+and+padding.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next, I got out my hand steamer and used it to relax the various creases. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">The idea here is to make as few folds and wrinkles as possible since they will make weak points over the long term.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Having the padded insert in the purse helped to give it the proper shape as steam was applied without the stress and friction of pressing. In the 'after' photos, you can barely see the crease in the middle where it seems the bag had been folded in storage.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGH1SotNqhebuvDGDSaMJp1Z0vNHYlqh9py6CbGVCuhZdNIq66z5PJTGbTHamlaAYQq2TeK7DCteO4OfaJ6ijgnx3Ai2_zRMNb0xocJhVUQ9QKwnEerFOeJJo2VtFzVkuK9pBUl1ynTOq/s1600/Nesting+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGH1SotNqhebuvDGDSaMJp1Z0vNHYlqh9py6CbGVCuhZdNIq66z5PJTGbTHamlaAYQq2TeK7DCteO4OfaJ6ijgnx3Ai2_zRMNb0xocJhVUQ9QKwnEerFOeJJo2VtFzVkuK9pBUl1ynTOq/s640/Nesting+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Finally, the protective swaddling! I just happen to have some small acid-free boxes that I bought ages ago for my purse collection from Hollinger/Metal Edge, and one was the perfect size for my needs. All I had to do was line it with tissue to make a protective nest for the bag. While I generally opt for plain acid-free tissue as I mentioned in my post <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/06/tissue-issue.html">The Tissue Issue</a>, for this project I used buffered tissue since I know that the bag is made entirely of cotton.</span></div>
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From start to finish, this padding and packaging project took me about two hours and cost approximately $10 in materials; a small price to pay for helping this little lovely survive another 200 years.<br />
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-56189210024339604212013-06-08T18:48:00.000-07:002013-06-08T19:08:30.210-07:00A Reticule Rescue OperationClearly I have not been inspired to work on the blog for a while, but I haven't been idle! I've been seeking out new additions to my collection and snapping up some really great things. I can't say that I <i>needed</i> these things, or even that I have space for them, but it seems that the more I learn, the more I want good examples of different time periods, accessories, garments... you get the idea. I seem to want at least one good example of everything. That is a bit problematic for the budget though, so I try to rein myself in by turning on Hoarders marathons when I peruse eBay. Only truly special or truly cheap finds make the cut.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZtyGEsfSOfSDa-vcryKQhVDo9YDJECnREtZBNTUZLyKxzS12tHey4tuqhKJrS7esOM2YCCQuPhq1g-HslppF3hRBjOiT9wss57sFSy2Iupi07s-YeN_Hkk_CD4OYvAIHECM5qZ3fYm0PQ/s1600/Overall+Front+and+Back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZtyGEsfSOfSDa-vcryKQhVDo9YDJECnREtZBNTUZLyKxzS12tHey4tuqhKJrS7esOM2YCCQuPhq1g-HslppF3hRBjOiT9wss57sFSy2Iupi07s-YeN_Hkk_CD4OYvAIHECM5qZ3fYm0PQ/s640/Overall+Front+and+Back.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">An overall view of my most recent find; an elaborately embroidered whitework reticlue ca. 1795-1825 with the name Ann Porterfield on the front. The back depicts an urn holding flowers, which was a very popular motif in the early 19th century.</td></tr>
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Today's feature is my most recent acquisition, a fragile but amazing embroidered bag with the name "Ann Porterfield" written front and center. This bag is not in the best of shape, but I tend to love items all the more when it's clear that they survived because they were loved, not because they were too impractical to use and were therefore relegated to storage. After all, I don't plan to pack it with my wallet and keys and go out on the town; its purpose in life at this point is primarily to serve as an object for my adoration. I'll probably study it, too, and maybe find a way to exhibit it, but mostly I'll stare at it while suppressing the squeals of glee trying to erupt from deep in my belly. Did I mention that I think it it was probably made between 1795 and 1825? Yeah, it's that old. Thus the glee.<br />
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I plan to do some research on Ann Porterfield to find out more about her life if I can, but first, I'm going to do something I don't always do and make a special support for storing the bag. I have several reasons for making this a priority. First, I am about to give a little talk in a workshop about costume storage, so it'll be nice to have a small example on hand. Second, and most importantly, my inner curator tells me that this item really needs the attention. As I've mentioned before, I have enough education in conservation to fill me with a dreadful knowledge of the agents of deterioration and I can see them at work on this bag. Here is a little condition assessment:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OKQBsniOs9MCazgurr54cevbCoKgn5HY249fc0Ept2C08cL1lUZBR1Qek0wDM71L-pyHC5TqSREdEWKqFsMhiLcMLXWetGYGqOV9xVBEX0UjW6rRt5QvDpNcp2ECigPjqC-g3AFLCUW6/s1600/DSCF6398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OKQBsniOs9MCazgurr54cevbCoKgn5HY249fc0Ept2C08cL1lUZBR1Qek0wDM71L-pyHC5TqSREdEWKqFsMhiLcMLXWetGYGqOV9xVBEX0UjW6rRt5QvDpNcp2ECigPjqC-g3AFLCUW6/s400/DSCF6398.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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The reticule's ruched sides and gathered top are a source of concern </div>
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because folds and wrinkles create weak points in the delicate fabric. Also,</div>
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Use of the drawstring closure has worn through the string's casing in some</div>
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areas.</div>
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<b>Material:</b> Very lightweight cotton with white thread embroidery, probably also in cotton. Cotton is a plant, which is cellulose based, which is inherently acidic. Luckily cotton is fairly stable though, so acidity isn't my biggest concern.<br />
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<b>Structure:</b> The ruched sides and gathered closure of the reticule create wrinkles that are lovely additions to its style, but unfortunately every fold and wrinkle is a source of stress. When the folds are pressed (like when laid flat in storage) the stress leads to fiber breakage and weak points. Ever fold and re-fold paper to rip it cleanly when you didn't have any scissors handy? Same concept.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEo1S4MyHi_lGzttWRvlcBk6nTtMZsGqv08ifLDF5HVgxcqo9Zf6zXxLE3tW8Yyv0fPjJsqSS5Sd5ezI18dDL7YGXYw_sFxFm7xb7LZi6nv_nCmRD8nkCoxEktUy-upAWnDiEM__i0KwGM/s1600/DSCF6382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEo1S4MyHi_lGzttWRvlcBk6nTtMZsGqv08ifLDF5HVgxcqo9Zf6zXxLE3tW8Yyv0fPjJsqSS5Sd5ezI18dDL7YGXYw_sFxFm7xb7LZi6nv_nCmRD8nkCoxEktUy-upAWnDiEM__i0KwGM/s400/DSCF6382.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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This seems to be how the reticule was stored for a long time.</div>
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You can see the crease left by folding in the overall photos</div>
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above.</div>
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<b>Folded Storage: </b>On a related note, the bag seems to have been folded for storage. It arrived folded into quarters in an envelope, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was often stashed that way, or at least folded in half. Even when unfolded, this unnecessary and harmful crease remains.<br />
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<b>The Inscription: </b>"Ann Porterfield" was written on the bag with a fountain pen, and I am ever so glad it was. But (there always has to be a "but", sorry) that means that this incredibly fine cotton has been subjected to pressure by a sharp, pointed metal object. More weak points! Why not just write your name with a scalpel, hmm? As if that's not scary enough, the ink used probably has iron in it. Just think about this for a moment. Yes, that brownish appearance of old ink is, in part, created by rust. Rust! The all-important inscription on this heartbreakingly beautiful piece of needlework is <i>rusting</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynj2VvdNZj7q4YhkywCkXyWWgoASjnghCzniNvH0GE6KD2qFPR1PSriotckw6HhiI5np2evScqE1ubPnfo9Sj8BqMtaPDr0_tV_5QRLquE86EygIJv88B0vtM74ZZp235NfNGhphAcFlC/s1600/DSCF6387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynj2VvdNZj7q4YhkywCkXyWWgoASjnghCzniNvH0GE6KD2qFPR1PSriotckw6HhiI5np2evScqE1ubPnfo9Sj8BqMtaPDr0_tV_5QRLquE86EygIJv88B0vtM74ZZp235NfNGhphAcFlC/s640/DSCF6387.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
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The inscription is also a weak point. Note the separation of the fabric along the line made </div>
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by the bottom of the "f" in "Porterfield."</div>
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At this point I sort of want to do that thing where you put your fingers in your ears and go "lalalalalalalaa!" so that I don'y have to think about it anymore, because there is nothing to be done about it. The chemical reaction that causes iron to rust can be slowed or even halted if deprived of such things as <i>moisture</i> and <i>oxygen</i>, but frankly, I don't have an anaerobic chamber in my closet, and the cotton carrying that rusting signature is, in fact, a material that has the annoying habit of sucking water molecules out of the air around it. We call that "hydroscopic" in the conservation biz, but you probably just know it as that "absorption" thing that any decent bath towel is supposed to do. So let the rusting continue...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHkcaJBhUaOssz-zxngZO4JtRtk3EHO2Wyfvy8tnmTkfge-9u-LLgwtyOZA_qiYM7MCjOJ0R74-FcEjngPlKB7koIQGBR1dQO5L3yYflzvBmLqFnOmnUjC0hthCjXHQ96hdxrXVCu5EwE/s1600/Damage+montge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHkcaJBhUaOssz-zxngZO4JtRtk3EHO2Wyfvy8tnmTkfge-9u-LLgwtyOZA_qiYM7MCjOJ0R74-FcEjngPlKB7koIQGBR1dQO5L3yYflzvBmLqFnOmnUjC0hthCjXHQ96hdxrXVCu5EwE/s640/Damage+montge.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">"Other Damage" montage. A brown spot of unknown origin is featured at top left, while the top right offers a close up of a nasty rip in a zig-zag along the fabric grain. Some unidentified spongy discoloration is shown on the bottom left. In the image on the bottom right you can see a variety of small holes, including a split along the fabric grain and some round spots that may represent old pest damage.</td></tr>
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<b>The Unknowns:</b> I'm kind of ready to throw up my hands and give up at this point, so before I lose momentum I'm just going to lump all of the other issues together here under the general topic of, "something bad happened, I don't know what." First, the bag has been ripped near the opening. At least I can work some magic there by just not ripping it any more. Second, there are some small holes where the fabric wore too thin and split, or a bug ate lunch or something. Again, probably avoidable in future. Finally, there are a few different categories of discoloration going on. The general overall yellowing is probably from exposure to acids; most likely something it was stored in like tissue, a box, a drawer, or a trunk. A few small brown spots could also be acid damage, but then again, they could be iron stains or bug poop. I really don't want to know. Finally, there are some brownish smudges that look sort of spongy on one side. That could be old mold stains, or contact with some acidic thing in that one spot, or even oils from the skin. Let's just call all of these issues "character" and move on.<br />
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So, time to stop whining about past abuses to this little lovely and take action! What am I going to do about it? Well, I'm not going to wash it, or try chemical intervention with stains, or sew the holes shut. Frankly, I think it's too thin for any of that and even using 'conservator approved' materials, my inexperienced hands would do more harm than good. Instead, I'm going to swaddle Ann Porterfield's Regency reticule like a newborn baby in the most safe and comfy acid-free nest it has ever known, and then I'll wrap it in a buffered tissue security blankie to keep the evil acids away. Check in next time for the after photos.<br />
<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-21097982875427029162012-11-24T16:11:00.002-08:002012-11-24T16:15:20.162-08:00Over and Under: An Exhibit Story<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A panoramic view of the temporary exhibit "Over and Under: Accessories and Undergarments of the Early 1800s"</td></tr>
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Each year Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, where I work, hosts an 1812 event. It used to concentrate on the War of 1812, but this year for the bicentennial we decided to include more about daily life in 1812 to appeal to visitors interested in more than the battles. As is always the case with museums though, we were trying to expand our focus without over-extending our budget, so we were trying to do as much as possible in house. Based on past success with a temporary exhibit on clothing, I thought that some of the early garments in my collection could make a little exhibit that would help flesh out the event.<br />
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The introductory panel just explained what the overall theme was and a little bit </div>
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about the language used to discuss the time period.</div>
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My collection of clothing and purses is mostly from the 19th century, but I don't have a lot of things that date before 1840. When I pulled the early items that I do have, they fell into three categories: purses, undergarments, and sewing tools that I borrowed from my mother's collection. It didn't easily lend itself to a unified theme, but we came up with the idea of "Under and Over" so that we could focus on things that went under clothes, or over them as decoration and accessories.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZMIbpVXVAYJjHFsN-EZfE9-8ZJADAQXWY0uDsVcalPeqrDFijVOgRI-N5DdqbUzuzRo5f5P96MchiwY3npT-dw2n0PYI7W02FtmNisUtR5VKNzR22Qg3efO2IIN4Cb0I0th1WtSbcAS5/s1600/Socks+%2526+Pockets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>With some extra show-stopper items loaned by Mary Doering, a fellow collector and a friend, we put together a neat little display if I do say so myself. Not only did I get to include family pieces in the exhibit, but I also dedicated the exhibit to my grandmothers who both passed away last year. The <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/09/aunt-julia.html" target="_blank">Julia Waterman</a> shift was a highlight because we had oral history to include with it.</div>
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The exhibit closed at the end of October, and I've returned my mom's sewing tools and Mary's contributions, but I took so many pictures that the display can live on here. So now I'll let the images and captions speak for themselves.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUSo1dLOPV1HaUMGaHakPmFBjp_Z4WpF2XJy8jabsiP68Duf5jv9Ts1UimQd1B8pXvs0l5Kcmt0ankruPqQhlMELSy5VD03JTliYxzo-g8Zmxf-98mIzMqcasI6peOKCFhn0B67O4kW79/s1600/DSCF0688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUSo1dLOPV1HaUMGaHakPmFBjp_Z4WpF2XJy8jabsiP68Duf5jv9Ts1UimQd1B8pXvs0l5Kcmt0ankruPqQhlMELSy5VD03JTliYxzo-g8Zmxf-98mIzMqcasI6peOKCFhn0B67O4kW79/s640/DSCF0688.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The first section of the exhibit talked about how ladies employed their fancy sewing skills to embellish clothing in the early 19th century. </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw30FfaJHPqz1AH3voHurYi6HMP3k27eUf_hw_cTFDXm-JiI6eYg3LqbeAmOKCZKnh_SxjBEyDtAChZ7xjnVirDxwUxgU_ZcuCIip_kzAQy_0MfmpzEsLOAUvoeGZrLfeLwNgXBC4GFG6x/s1600/Garters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMFI9zpyXLoTlD1HNdyGjde3iHZ1wdmvqUfR0Su3jJNLoxzAyDVR5G5PLbXEQhWWOWd8JVkSNxc7VRJ4l6s0r9XvZMr3da_Z9VHjtJpSntMxGWw6QGkzsVH8xo4393JNIVldXNV4rLUYP/s1600/DSCF0689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMFI9zpyXLoTlD1HNdyGjde3iHZ1wdmvqUfR0Su3jJNLoxzAyDVR5G5PLbXEQhWWOWd8JVkSNxc7VRJ4l6s0r9XvZMr3da_Z9VHjtJpSntMxGWw6QGkzsVH8xo4393JNIVldXNV4rLUYP/s640/DSCF0689.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The objects in the "Over the Top Adornment" section included sewing kits and tools from my mom's collection, and a ca. 1830 dress from my collection with elaborate tambour work on the skirt.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuIN06PC9ylLbV0zLcZYBrPijRQjUWkrCsMoe0CUiLiW7nYNkHIMZvrf5fJB489bFfsGwK3T_2x5tBTDdgpgz4DTo3vjHNy3_hbxfPea-CGV-0gBY8wUm3UF4ilDuP20IQXPxg4iVj12i/s1600/DSCF0701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuIN06PC9ylLbV0zLcZYBrPijRQjUWkrCsMoe0CUiLiW7nYNkHIMZvrf5fJB489bFfsGwK3T_2x5tBTDdgpgz4DTo3vjHNy3_hbxfPea-CGV-0gBY8wUm3UF4ilDuP20IQXPxg4iVj12i/s640/DSCF0701.JPG" width="480" /></a> </td></tr>
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The next section, "Bare Essentials" discussed undergarments and other accessories of propriety, </div>
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like caps and stockings. Julia Waterman's shift was included here.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7vk1_ezmsphIGGQfBcaC_DSg6kDMDKEom9PK9gO0JM4JQXFEmVMwRjQQh51gQPHNxlwJnVVEmAMxOOglWTnc_Wdd4VOsW3fmseF_R81oXPw4IPHol5J9AKZj8ScjzhGqn90Q6iesuy_8/s1600/Mary%2527s+Bonnet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7vk1_ezmsphIGGQfBcaC_DSg6kDMDKEom9PK9gO0JM4JQXFEmVMwRjQQh51gQPHNxlwJnVVEmAMxOOglWTnc_Wdd4VOsW3fmseF_R81oXPw4IPHol5J9AKZj8ScjzhGqn90Q6iesuy_8/s320/Mary%2527s+Bonnet.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
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We had two caps in the exhibit, both of which </div>
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were made of lightweight cotton with lovely</div>
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tambour stitching as decoration.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG2sP5re9HzkPEfDkFPy6JP1veu5ilfvJUYLJ0MGl1rJt8TfSmS4xcpOc7rnsVY4fAzPQrx5sJsxO9QQ2eUR9DAWqifC4yzAff9S1LBdnihMqiJiQ1e18LQOIYBJWR_Oc6abBRpVM1aJlU/s1600/Bonnets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG2sP5re9HzkPEfDkFPy6JP1veu5ilfvJUYLJ0MGl1rJt8TfSmS4xcpOc7rnsVY4fAzPQrx5sJsxO9QQ2eUR9DAWqifC4yzAff9S1LBdnihMqiJiQ1e18LQOIYBJWR_Oc6abBRpVM1aJlU/s400/Bonnets.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">From Mary Doering's collection, this section included some real rarities, including a corset stamped with its owner's name, a hand carved busk, a "figure enhancer" that once strategically stuffed a corset, and a pair of chenille embroidered garters (below) that say "Halte la, on ne passe pas" which means, "Stop there, go no further." Worked into the embroidery is a picture of a guard dog holding a gun. Hilarious, no? </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw30FfaJHPqz1AH3voHurYi6HMP3k27eUf_hw_cTFDXm-JiI6eYg3LqbeAmOKCZKnh_SxjBEyDtAChZ7xjnVirDxwUxgU_ZcuCIip_kzAQy_0MfmpzEsLOAUvoeGZrLfeLwNgXBC4GFG6x/s1600/Garters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw30FfaJHPqz1AH3voHurYi6HMP3k27eUf_hw_cTFDXm-JiI6eYg3LqbeAmOKCZKnh_SxjBEyDtAChZ7xjnVirDxwUxgU_ZcuCIip_kzAQy_0MfmpzEsLOAUvoeGZrLfeLwNgXBC4GFG6x/s640/Garters.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZMIbpVXVAYJjHFsN-EZfE9-8ZJADAQXWY0uDsVcalPeqrDFijVOgRI-N5DdqbUzuzRo5f5P96MchiwY3npT-dw2n0PYI7W02FtmNisUtR5VKNzR22Qg3efO2IIN4Cb0I0th1WtSbcAS5/s1600/Socks+%2526+Pockets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZMIbpVXVAYJjHFsN-EZfE9-8ZJADAQXWY0uDsVcalPeqrDFijVOgRI-N5DdqbUzuzRo5f5P96MchiwY3npT-dw2n0PYI7W02FtmNisUtR5VKNzR22Qg3efO2IIN4Cb0I0th1WtSbcAS5/s640/Socks+%2526+Pockets.jpg" width="472" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Other undergarments included my <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/07/stocking-stumper.html" target="_blank">hand-knit stockings with the date "1819" on them</a>, and a pair </div>
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of pockets from Mary's collection that tied at the waist under a lady's skirt.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd18jBjzFviT2amPBzeIwCMXiaB4zCgsLSpulmJQC9Ckpooq-dK0vD01nEYWMkak1ShHP84XMuHvqhTrRK5I4n-8OCFUFHMgo5zW3NnRuKJWBnkrT-yzHtIvBBVGWpOluYcbtJAK1DpfS2/s1600/Shirt+%2526+Hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd18jBjzFviT2amPBzeIwCMXiaB4zCgsLSpulmJQC9Ckpooq-dK0vD01nEYWMkak1ShHP84XMuHvqhTrRK5I4n-8OCFUFHMgo5zW3NnRuKJWBnkrT-yzHtIvBBVGWpOluYcbtJAK1DpfS2/s640/Shirt+%2526+Hat.jpg" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The last undergarment in this section was a man's shirt, ca. 1825. We also sneaked in a top <br />
hat with a padded carrying case, complete with compartments for hat care brushes and tools. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiln8P03gG1RDD8AMz72ryVsOWxeFtM-6sGw6tCak8RyepVplxJj7CUymCyMXHTuvGU_ChNqrVAABnXUANyCxAmlEsDlr-L2sETi8ZNSDZ14sjhtG5hcIyb204uwQMph4ZLJJuG_KywN1Vi/s1600/Purses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiln8P03gG1RDD8AMz72ryVsOWxeFtM-6sGw6tCak8RyepVplxJj7CUymCyMXHTuvGU_ChNqrVAABnXUANyCxAmlEsDlr-L2sETi8ZNSDZ14sjhtG5hcIyb204uwQMph4ZLJJuG_KywN1Vi/s640/Purses.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">And finally I put together a case of purses, including a man's tobacco pouch and several miser purses. This section explained how the narrow skirts of the early 19th century made it problematic to wear full pockets as undergarments, so the purse moved outside the skirt and became a venue for ladies to show off their sewing and needlework skills. Most of these purses are knotted or crocheted with beadwork.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dxcu5DzgGU44L8MjYZK1PjIGdKj-DfkSjIE7zHvzn68A5vT_i2dYJ1LncUkf95XnkQxgKbsqWI5N7NdSnt-CgYdbdsJ8SX53wGoB-U-MNP5iHyiqBK9hSAiD9wRepBb04-ITZWJ1Aiq5/s1600/Pie+piece+purse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dxcu5DzgGU44L8MjYZK1PjIGdKj-DfkSjIE7zHvzn68A5vT_i2dYJ1LncUkf95XnkQxgKbsqWI5N7NdSnt-CgYdbdsJ8SX53wGoB-U-MNP5iHyiqBK9hSAiD9wRepBb04-ITZWJ1Aiq5/s640/Pie+piece+purse.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
This tiny early 19th century coin purse is one of the purses that my grandmother and I discovered in Nanny's closet when I was a little girl. Grammy gave it to me then, and I've treasured it ever since.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAAINajFB_olvKoZnNYi959iNw3xdEA8EyiJPjfc-KGxN2JQodkLqy14l_2EY3yHti11ct9N5VKbya43b7Fo-A8F7HGtAq2lPJQ_yMhh0ZdPVTVZWINfqV8xsdWGxcVl0x2uv13VtAGkv/s1600/Credit+panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAAINajFB_olvKoZnNYi959iNw3xdEA8EyiJPjfc-KGxN2JQodkLqy14l_2EY3yHti11ct9N5VKbya43b7Fo-A8F7HGtAq2lPJQ_yMhh0ZdPVTVZWINfqV8xsdWGxcVl0x2uv13VtAGkv/s640/Credit+panel.jpg" width="435" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And finally, in honor of my Grammies, I included their beautiful senior pictures.</td></tr>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-64481123790423065862012-09-02T14:59:00.001-07:002012-09-02T18:49:59.052-07:00Aunt Julia's ShiftOne of my top two favorite finds from Grammy's house is a simple linen shift. I got a surge of adrenaline when my mother and I found it, and that was even before I saw that it had a signature on it, "Julia Waterman."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIVPo7o_N8wPxQmILpUUuP1AVAyeRMGnTZqnBVBTlqxDIAOBi8zN1kr6Dtg0DBTNNlC3eTorbKeqINyoulNrkapRgL3zg6n2qK3YBQK9CKXQhtRfh6Y4hPmeiBnRf_7eVDmi8gRgybbM4V/s1600/DSCF5895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIVPo7o_N8wPxQmILpUUuP1AVAyeRMGnTZqnBVBTlqxDIAOBi8zN1kr6Dtg0DBTNNlC3eTorbKeqINyoulNrkapRgL3zg6n2qK3YBQK9CKXQhtRfh6Y4hPmeiBnRf_7eVDmi8gRgybbM4V/s400/DSCF5895.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkzqPwfh3yIZBBXLCabyT1M6d_T9cD9-p9NrwREXJozeYpLpcWl8CtqcPNj9FYDu-y8gCdlsb-KdbDCQY0wdQ-k9UpYwhC6VX-M5qbbX7rmsPt5aBYmDs9Q8TwyvLdQO-KlYiE15APKmC/s1600/DSCF5898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkzqPwfh3yIZBBXLCabyT1M6d_T9cD9-p9NrwREXJozeYpLpcWl8CtqcPNj9FYDu-y8gCdlsb-KdbDCQY0wdQ-k9UpYwhC6VX-M5qbbX7rmsPt5aBYmDs9Q8TwyvLdQO-KlYiE15APKmC/s400/DSCF5898.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back</td></tr>
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A few years ago I wouldn't even have known what I was looking at, but then I was fortunate enough to see a lecture by independent scholar Mary Doering about clothing of the War of 1812. She had brought a shift and other undergarments from her collection to the lecture, and she explained that the undermost undergarment of the early 19th century woman's wardrobe was the shift. Shifts often had
embroidered initials, customized stamps, or signatures in permanent ink because they actually contacted the skin and were therefore laundered more frequently than other clothes. The markings ensured that otherwise indistinguishable garments made it back to the right family member after laundering.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMdTU2NONATrJt_9NdUa2_qtV-HFork5g1D53hdVZ-2f1Hm1UQjCGMhelS3CIeqLOVaF1S79OqCUdyHefURX2dPpTlH_piy60g0o9NocSyEa44xkl77mv9uPsRMRfHIA51AG2PjJblioV/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMdTU2NONATrJt_9NdUa2_qtV-HFork5g1D53hdVZ-2f1Hm1UQjCGMhelS3CIeqLOVaF1S79OqCUdyHefURX2dPpTlH_piy60g0o9NocSyEa44xkl77mv9uPsRMRfHIA51AG2PjJblioV/s640/Signature.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Julia Waterman's signature appears on the right front of the shift, near the reinforced underarm. </td></tr>
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Shifts are pretty rare survivals. This was no ballgown or wedding dress that you pack away with care. Most everyday garments and underthings saw heavy use and ended up as rags. Plus, early shifts lacked the decorative lace that was more characteristic of shifts and chemises from the 1830s on, so later generations might not bother to curate them as beautiful heirlooms. In my family, "keep" is the default setting though, so we are fortunate to have such a rare and personal item.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4eLFv5g28ompGl7X96WEMYDY0HRMMLzWE6duccfbXsctp2S8zzAsr8TfTqbqwC06830QRXcqlTqhxc7HJnZECvpSwH-c-ef8m0XDWbssXkvT-5FDzGkiGKtA_I4X359HiD5bqM83bhKA3/s1600/French+seams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4eLFv5g28ompGl7X96WEMYDY0HRMMLzWE6duccfbXsctp2S8zzAsr8TfTqbqwC06830QRXcqlTqhxc7HJnZECvpSwH-c-ef8m0XDWbssXkvT-5FDzGkiGKtA_I4X359HiD5bqM83bhKA3/s640/French+seams.jpg" width="617" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Every seam and hem is stitched by hand.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I was pretty sure that the shift was early; the style seemed to me to be typical of the late 18th to early 19th century. It is a fine lightweight linen and completely hand sewn, with thin french seams and tiny uniform stitches. The shoulders are reinforced with an extra strip of fabric, and the front neckline has a 1/8" drawstring for gathering. All of these characteristics are consistent with an early date. But who was Julia Waterman? I'd never heard of her, nor did I know of any Watermans in the family. I wondered if this might have been something Nanny acquired for the fabric in her seamstress days.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1I9EdNExd6XtXE2tHTxWtkKnle8-TZ3tfOswlH-9liPoeX2DZ1lO7tAYGAjDMvEesqefaUywfhH7GoVvXeNG9IgEJcT2gBQ4LIYvWdmE4HqvaPgCkNlDtg9AR3YDP2_eP_jX6CuakbNw/s1600/Drawstring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1I9EdNExd6XtXE2tHTxWtkKnle8-TZ3tfOswlH-9liPoeX2DZ1lO7tAYGAjDMvEesqefaUywfhH7GoVvXeNG9IgEJcT2gBQ4LIYvWdmE4HqvaPgCkNlDtg9AR3YDP2_eP_jX6CuakbNw/s640/Drawstring.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The front neckline has a very thin drawstring to gather it for the right fit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Then my dad checked his family history folders, and sure enough he found a whole description of Julia Waterman. It turns out that she is my great aunt to the fourth power, and her grand niece recorded the following recollections of her in 1965:<br />
<br />
“Aunt Julia had known of no other home than that she had
with Grandma and Grandpa Duncan [in Bath, ME]. She’d never married. She took care of the
children. She was second mother to my father’s generation, always taking care
of the baby when a new baby came. She took the next older one in her room, and
took care of it, and so she helped bring up all five of the children. And they
called her Julie- never Aunt Julia, but Julie.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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She was small. I don’t know what color her hair ever was. I
never saw it. She always wore a round lace cap which covered her hair entirely.
She always sat in a rocking chair and when she came to our house as she did
every year when her brother came to visit her from New York. All the family
assembled at our home for supper, and she was always seated in a rocking chair.
Except at the table, I never saw her in any other seat. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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She was a tiny little woman, but she had a memory as long as
her life almost. She lived to be ninety-seven years old. She was born on March
3<sup>rd</sup>, 1798 and lived until March of 1895. Aunt Julia was very dear to
all of us. We loved to go and talk with her, just sit beside her and have her
tell us tales. I remember one tale she told was of – I’m not sure whether it
was her mother or her grandmother- making soft soap in a great big kettle and
had the baby in the crib beside her and there was a shadow in the door ad she
looked up and there was a hostile Indian. She didn’t stop to think. She didn’t
grab the baby or make any other motion except to dip her ladle in that hot soap
and throw it in the Indian’s face and he disappeared, and was never seen again
that they know of. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Another time her father went out. His name was Calvin
Waterman. He went out looking for a cow who didn’t come into the barn as usual,
and in the shadow of the early evening, he saw what he thought was a cow lying
on the ground, and he gave it a kick to rouse it and up got an Indian and great
grandfather apologized and he finally made the Indian understand what he wanted,
and the Indian’s reply was “cow, place that dead folks live” and Grandpa found
the cow in the cemetery. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Aunt Julia would tell of going blueberrying on what she
called the Point in Bath. That’s now the center of the business district on
Front Street and upper Center Street, and she would go there day after day
blueberrying. And as she went, she would pass the dock where schooners, small
schooners, were unloading rum and molasses from the West Indies at a point
where a store, later the Desmond Store, and still later the Maritime Museum is,
the southwest corner of Water and Center streets. I can’t imagine that there
was ever a stream coming up that far, a stream deep enough to accommodate
schooners. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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She went to school in the old Erudition Schoolhouse, which
stood at the corner of High and Center streets for many years where I later
went to summer school one summer. It was built in the early part of the
nineteenth century. I think the date was 1808, because I remember it. It stood
there until the Shaw house, where now the hotel- Sedgwick Hotel- is. Al Shaw
bought a lot of land and the schoolhouse was moved in back of the high school,
supposed to be kept as a souvenir, a precious thing of the history of Bath, but
later in the name of progress or something else, it was torn down to make more
of a parking lot in back of the schoolhouse, and this would have been a great
sorrow to my father who had always tried to have the old things preserved. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Aunt Julia—we were always very fond of Aunt Julia and always
went to see her on her birthday and had Christmas gifts for her. I remember the
first cake I ever made was a Mt. Washington layer cake, frosted in chocolate
and I made it for Aunt Julia’s birthday. I must have been about ten or eleven
years old at the time, and she was so delighted with that cake she wouldn’t let
anybody touch it, to say nothing of eating it, for days and days- she just had
to show it all the time, because I’d made it for her. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And she always had a pocket on her apron and usually it had
quarters in it, and many times we’d go home with a quarter, which was a great
deal of money for us then. Always at Christmas in the toe of our stockings was
a quarter from Aunt Julia until we were twelve, and then the quarter became a
half dollar for all of the great nephews and nieces, which numbered a good many
with all in the family. She remembered
every one. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And she lost her sight toward the last. I could see her now
sitting by that south window at Aunt Avis’ home gently rocking back and forth
and you could see she was just thinking. And once in a while she would say, “Do
you remember so and so?”, and out would come some bits of history which we
hadn’t heard before. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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She didn’t ever get used to modern cutlery at the table. She
ate with a two-tined fork and a broad knife- blade- on which she could
balance peas and beans and anything she wanted to. She ate with her knife
mostly, and that was her custom and no one ever tried to teach her any
differently. <u>She </u>was Aunt Julia. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I asked my father one time if she ever had a beau and he
said well, there were rumors that she had had, but he didn’t know, but she told
me once when I grew older: she said, “I didn’t let them know it, but I liked to
dance when I was a girl, and I could get out my window and slide down the drain
over the porch, and get down, and I’d go to the dances with the boys and then
I’d shin back up again when I got home.” I never knew who the boys were and I
never knew whether Grandma Duncan and Grandpa Duncan ever knew about it. But
evidently she enjoyed a good time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As I say, she lived to be ninety-seven. Her brother, Henry
Waterman, lived in Brooklyn. He was very good to her. He was the inventor of
the hoop skirt wire which wouldn’t bend when you sat down. And it was said he
made a million dollars out of that invention. At any rate he had plenty of
money to take care of her and did kind things for the others in the family
also. He always came once a year to visit her and then there was the
get-together at our house. The long table, in that 35-foot dining room, would
be stretched to its limit and all the family gathered. I don’t remember what we always had, but I know we had a
silver dish that just held a large can of Phillipe & Cunard’s sardines.
That was one of the things always on the table. And the dessert was always a
boiled custard with currant jelly through it. It was served in the parfait
glasses which I have owned for some time.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then after supper we’d all go in the parlor and get out old
Father Kemp’s song books of which I have a few. They’re out of print now and
they are very rare, but I have a few and sing all the old songs, ‘Jerusha, put
the kettle on and we’ll all take tea’ and ‘On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand and
cast a wistful eye on the well, something strands’ and so forth and so on. And
all those old songs, they were all printed, not as we see them now, but in the
four lines of the four parts. And Uncle Henry Waterman’s voice would boom out
the bass. He had a powerful voice. We had the four parts—the sopranos, altos,
tenors, and basses, and Mama would play and we children tried to chime in. They
were times to remember year after year to look forward to, and to remember as a
part of our growing up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The shift is so much more special with all of this context, which makes it perfect for the exhibit we are putting together at work on early 19th century undergarments and accessories. More on that later...</div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-12004609414725370672012-08-11T19:13:00.000-07:002013-04-13T18:32:51.587-07:00No Wire Hangers EVER!!!!!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my March 17 post, I
described the <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/03/evil-agents-of-deterioration.html" target="_blank">agents of deterioration</a> that were out to destroy our things.
Well, when it comes to costume collections, I left out an important one:
gravity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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Storage of
costumes can be a tricky business. If you fold them, the creases may cause
permanent weak points in the fibers that make up the garment. Hanging costumes
therefore seems like a good move because it minimizes creasing. But then there’s
the gravity problem. <span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGmmHG88yFW1dfeaOAaItyenHQMSzKJV8h7EFEt02RkaqLPhwZXXs-MGjJ9PLE5Z6LNYZzX5ZHMEsw1WO0g-A8XHg3RQObEzcv5Z1RD1VnPehZ9lT92ahYUXxIOQbUe7rceD5zpxjIQ4_/s1600/Bronze+1930s+dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGmmHG88yFW1dfeaOAaItyenHQMSzKJV8h7EFEt02RkaqLPhwZXXs-MGjJ9PLE5Z6LNYZzX5ZHMEsw1WO0g-A8XHg3RQObEzcv5Z1RD1VnPehZ9lT92ahYUXxIOQbUe7rceD5zpxjIQ4_/s640/Bronze+1930s+dress.jpg" width="492" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">This gorgeous bias-cut lace dress dates to the late 1920s or early 1930s. It probably belonged to my great-grandmother who put it away on a wire hanger in the 1940s. After supporting
the weight of the dress for decades, the fragile fabric straps pulled themselves apart. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
It may not seem
like a chiffon dress or a silk slip is particularly heavy, but over time the
weight of the fabric puts a lot of stress on the shoulder area where slips and
dresses make contact with the hanger. Wire hangers are particularly bad because
the pressure on the shoulder is all focused in one small line. Padded hangers
distribute the stress a bit more, but fragile fabrics are at risk of tearing
even when padded, so they just shouldn’t be hung for storage, period. If,
however, you do have some costumes with strong fabrics and shoulder seams, then
a padded hanger might be a good option.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I recently took
in a variety of dresses ca. 1920s-1940s from my grandmother’s house, and I’ve
been working to store them in my little house as safely as possible. Hanging is an efficient option for
me, and a number of the outfits are strong enough to hold up to hanging storage,
at least for now. So I divided up my new acquisitions into two groups; dresses
for hanging, and dresses for boxed storage.
Most of the dresses strong enough for hanging date to the 1940s because
shoulder pads and heavier fabrics were popular. I came up with about 20
garments that were candidates for hanging.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I'm not going to use any old store-bought hangers though. Who knows what kinds of dyes and additives are in those? They could be acidic- gasp! For my family heirlooms, only archival-quality padded hangers will do. So here’s my
do-it-yourself guide to making archival-quality padded hangers. This is a
sewing project, but if you have a sewing machine, it’s an easy one. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<b>What you need:</b></h3>
</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Unbleached 100% cotton muslin</li>
<li>Unbleached cotton batting. I got a bagged natural cotton batting for
a queen-size quilt, because I was looking for padding I could roll, not loose fibrous
batting used for stuffing things.</li>
<li>Hangers. Wire is actually okay, because you’re going to cover
them. I got wire hangers with a white coating. Plastic hangers would also be
okay, I just don’t trust most plastics not to get brittle and off-gas unknown
chemicals. Wood hangers are acidic and off-gas acids,so avoid those.</li>
<li>Velcro </li>
<li>Thread</li>
</ul>
<h3>
<b><br /></b></h3>
<h3>
<b>Instructions:</b></h3>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Step 1:</b> Cut
cotton batting into squares or rectangles according to the size of one arm of
your hangers. I used squares, but if you want more padding, just cut longer
strips of batting.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev7PcOGyqA1Z6dYh7FW3mDfEx5Wm7MuFTHvwrjemjCjD7mddtgApmqElfwsCRSMLRLAm6X1K77u9HcCOwpGrkEk-PMdltN3rkbiK8M9irdW36oXmMAdZ8IJD-AXMQpKJfOCDInhSZxvdd/s1600/Step+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev7PcOGyqA1Z6dYh7FW3mDfEx5Wm7MuFTHvwrjemjCjD7mddtgApmqElfwsCRSMLRLAm6X1K77u9HcCOwpGrkEk-PMdltN3rkbiK8M9irdW36oXmMAdZ8IJD-AXMQpKJfOCDInhSZxvdd/s640/Step+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<b>Step 2:</b> Roll the
batting around each arm of the hanger and secure it. Just tying some thread around each roll will work. If you want to be sure the thread is secure, submit it to inspection by an expert on the topic of loose strings (as shown).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicS_duJefVAWjOKj00E6o2oaEKVyRatHd9r8d4lg14gHmlr3gub_Y6QxQrnHPKuu7xI5-UExAC5Weny35_9akO6HwXqxx-hwfYcQdc0Pv23QrYNuU-eLMl9wB96VTd2kliUFFJNAhDK_zk/s1600/Step+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicS_duJefVAWjOKj00E6o2oaEKVyRatHd9r8d4lg14gHmlr3gub_Y6QxQrnHPKuu7xI5-UExAC5Weny35_9akO6HwXqxx-hwfYcQdc0Pv23QrYNuU-eLMl9wB96VTd2kliUFFJNAhDK_zk/s640/Step+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQWQYTiWbhcFGl345alrPP0D2z_Ys9WnL0MatphKedvkIlbnPXgGTM_cGzmmzpMxWxPAxAdD1xeuUEaseXzUvc7aCsbd42Gk0k16ADgcelWmFbLIPHaaGWuuyuC7JWRxb_HChWME7IF5UY/s1600/Step+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQWQYTiWbhcFGl345alrPP0D2z_Ys9WnL0MatphKedvkIlbnPXgGTM_cGzmmzpMxWxPAxAdD1xeuUEaseXzUvc7aCsbd42Gk0k16ADgcelWmFbLIPHaaGWuuyuC7JWRxb_HChWME7IF5UY/s400/Step+3.jpg" width="400" /></a><b></b><br />
<b><b><br /></b></b>
<b><b><br /></b></b>
<b>Step 3:</b> Make a
template for the hanger cover. The size will vary depending on how much
padding you use, so take your padded hanger and lay it on a large piece of
paper, fabric, or some interfacing. Trace around the hanger, except for the
hook part. Leave about an inch between the line you draw and the arms and sides
of the hanger, and at least an inch or two below the bottom of the hanger to make your pattern. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Step 4:</b> Place the
template on a folded piece of the muslin and cut out two pieces to match the
template. If you plan to make several hangers, I recommend starting with just one to make sure it all fits and
no adjustments are needed before you cut out any more.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GtvxymG5Vdet-jLS_uASdqIVT3lsmx7ZGt5SkD0NWp27r2u7PZdagCC94wspGErLzKAGrz0xPkDxhB9zw5Uyj6p3VHCcOrVPnKg9jk88YgRF71dOTEpLh7uC2CEzzdYd0gUTzPbzbd_c/s1600/Step+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GtvxymG5Vdet-jLS_uASdqIVT3lsmx7ZGt5SkD0NWp27r2u7PZdagCC94wspGErLzKAGrz0xPkDxhB9zw5Uyj6p3VHCcOrVPnKg9jk88YgRF71dOTEpLh7uC2CEzzdYd0gUTzPbzbd_c/s640/Step+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<b>Step 5:</b> Press
down about ¼ inch at the top of the cover where the hook will pass through. Fold
again if you want to enclose the raw edge. Sew the seam on each piece. <span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0n5CzhZ8elA4gpBgDePzhBe5Vto3CtBjhPrOe6Z3dBJDt4vSvVs0TIJ28btoO3i1ZSllDf3LKd8K62jpLu_o7DT_kbrhFq1N-dfmHeTDyGfDFQBKTwby_2yPSdIYC0OFgwv4gPILSNVI0/s1600/Step+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0n5CzhZ8elA4gpBgDePzhBe5Vto3CtBjhPrOe6Z3dBJDt4vSvVs0TIJ28btoO3i1ZSllDf3LKd8K62jpLu_o7DT_kbrhFq1N-dfmHeTDyGfDFQBKTwby_2yPSdIYC0OFgwv4gPILSNVI0/s640/Step+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<b>Step 6:</b> With
right sides together, sew the sides and shoulders of the cover. <span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Step 7: </b>Press up
the bottom of the cover and sew that seam also. One fold is fine, but use two
if you want to enclose the raw edge. <span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6q51J6eb6-8g3949BCi18GL2O7GK17cQVcRNgKyXd6wD53CQ7hGDLIm9uRCZv5jcXOb3bmy5Yu1MuE83lnYtV6G9Vt1TUX7ncxxX4ckA4sIGzkx6jcur1YYz1mroVLrU9icsf2K9T2c3Y/s1600/Step+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6q51J6eb6-8g3949BCi18GL2O7GK17cQVcRNgKyXd6wD53CQ7hGDLIm9uRCZv5jcXOb3bmy5Yu1MuE83lnYtV6G9Vt1TUX7ncxxX4ckA4sIGzkx6jcur1YYz1mroVLrU9icsf2K9T2c3Y/s640/Step+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Step 8:</b> Cut
squares of Velcro to sew to the bottom inside of the hanger cover. The closure
isn’t strictly necessary, but it will make it easier to use the hanger without
the cover shifting. I used two squares of Velcro on each cover. <span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBxVaysJLPCFeq8rTHE-GZQbK_rlWxgLxn_tJZcFRam1VZEx61_5cgJ28SlG1624gmxRMfsFsD2SeETEQh8cV2BD35Dh_ltF9d1R4S0TIC9sn_yTdqDrHxqUNcpgfDSeI-XoBzdTHakbQ/s1600/Step+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBxVaysJLPCFeq8rTHE-GZQbK_rlWxgLxn_tJZcFRam1VZEx61_5cgJ28SlG1624gmxRMfsFsD2SeETEQh8cV2BD35Dh_ltF9d1R4S0TIC9sn_yTdqDrHxqUNcpgfDSeI-XoBzdTHakbQ/s640/Step+8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Step 9:</b> Turn the
cover inside out, put it on the padded hanger and close the Velcro. Voila! You
have an archival-quality hanger.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-3771436661294436522012-07-29T14:29:00.000-07:002012-07-29T14:30:21.460-07:00Stockings Unstumped!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3uTwasbw1ACjpC2ktuthJI82BQYoMqTfYZ4ZC0PfW_4rUM2AcLEdAEyvkQPJ-9678kjK9ITehMoiVk9dvR8tfNiB3HakabzlrwOHz81cLVR7KE6mRZwhgycwtM0yDthkWsE-w_pLBBMo/s1600/Inside+Stocking+overall+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3uTwasbw1ACjpC2ktuthJI82BQYoMqTfYZ4ZC0PfW_4rUM2AcLEdAEyvkQPJ-9678kjK9ITehMoiVk9dvR8tfNiB3HakabzlrwOHz81cLVR7KE6mRZwhgycwtM0yDthkWsE-w_pLBBMo/s320/Inside+Stocking+overall+copy.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
One of the best things about living in the greater D.C. area is that there is an unbelievable wealth of curatorial expertise here. I know a few people who study costume, so I sent out my <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/07/stocking-stumper.html" target="_blank">stocking inquiry</a> in case one of them could tell me whether the socks were hand knit or frame knit. Fortuitously, a friend of a friend had been to some sort of gathering where frame knitted stockings were a major topic. My friend, Mary Doering, and her friend, Carol Kregloh, and I had already planned to meet up for a "costume party" (we brought old clothes to study and then we went to an exhibit of paintings with period costumes), so the right person arrived in my network of connections at the right time. Mary is a collector who uses her costumes to help small museums install clothing exhibits, and she also teaches courses on costume for the Smithsonian's decorative arts program with George Mason University. Carol is a costume specialist at the National Museum of American History, and she has <span style="background-color: white;">a vast mental library of clothing knowledge, including a volume on the</span><span style="background-color: white;"> history of socks. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrGFEafypcW465U-6fd2SIW6q6dSO6xxuhHNj1Dtfu6TBcHocMuPCp-Iv6_KM7OGcbynmZDKRRhy0Wqpd1bHw9gT2R5i4-YpTrGaQ7xvdwsj52-Xf8rOGIKNy1cNhkSGLvgMdJO3Y8be-/s1600/Stocking+check.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrGFEafypcW465U-6fd2SIW6q6dSO6xxuhHNj1Dtfu6TBcHocMuPCp-Iv6_KM7OGcbynmZDKRRhy0Wqpd1bHw9gT2R5i4-YpTrGaQ7xvdwsj52-Xf8rOGIKNy1cNhkSGLvgMdJO3Y8be-/s640/Stocking+check.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Carol Kregloh's expert hands show me what I need to know to recognize how the stockings were made.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSLOAG4kwgPDR8wHpLrXCOBi7hdEAZg0er-fseYr74H_XmhaylJbd2llqY7bftVg0vV2IkZIbgMAsYCvkiwrnFH1nVUKou1unu5d5FTCuLW3qZRM339kAprT-FcoghTnkvUTvbqAzUTuI/s1600/Inside+heel+detail-+bottom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSLOAG4kwgPDR8wHpLrXCOBi7hdEAZg0er-fseYr74H_XmhaylJbd2llqY7bftVg0vV2IkZIbgMAsYCvkiwrnFH1nVUKou1unu5d5FTCuLW3qZRM339kAprT-FcoghTnkvUTvbqAzUTuI/s640/Inside+heel+detail-+bottom.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The raised rows of stitches are knit, and there is no seam allowance. This rules out frame construction.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwAy4UnX2Eo5aNDl_SIVHlwDTldWxh3JBk5k1U4fTiECm11r7tPzCuYaKreJH1wWSo-TbKDsh7XvLHVn6YZhK4PMMzHJKQoQ_TEu4o6YBGKPEn1D7C2u8mqT7k0dRULbrH83Afw-N9zaL/s1600/Inside+seam+detail+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwAy4UnX2Eo5aNDl_SIVHlwDTldWxh3JBk5k1U4fTiECm11r7tPzCuYaKreJH1wWSo-TbKDsh7XvLHVn6YZhK4PMMzHJKQoQ_TEu4o6YBGKPEn1D7C2u8mqT7k0dRULbrH83Afw-N9zaL/s320/Inside+seam+detail+1.jpg" width="230" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Detail of the edge finish on the stocking. </span> </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Here's what I learned: The stockings are completely hand knit. Frame knit stockings have a seam where they are sewn closed, not knit closed. If my socks were made on a frame, they would have a seam allowance where the two sides met. The line of stitches on my stockings that looks like a seam is not a seam allowance, and it is knit, not sewn. I think Carol said that the raised stitch line was used to help with row counting, though I'm not sure I fully understood that part. As for the inscribed date "1819", both Mary and Carol were of the opinion that this indicated something commemorative. For example, the stockings may have been made especially for a wedding. They told me the date is really rare. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Rare is good. Happy me!</span><br />
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I am so grateful. Both Mary and Carol were so generous with their expertise, and of course I'm grateful for having received the gift of the stockings in the first place. With this kind of support, I'm hopeful that I can really put my collections to good use. <span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
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</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-23003502889671463462012-07-21T14:06:00.000-07:002012-07-21T14:41:25.823-07:00Stocking Stumper<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfERxdgYJQ4QuVFtRaT76LngyILnmqIHDj3xEfre4jRQc14z7ephyBPmr4J8cfnnR4cXtxr-qWshLvh0501BEgpTgZKN_eKr_8hbmto3r7WkR1AvpGZS1eY8wDzAZ6cOXw_6hkgJ_8A5YJ/s1600/Stockings-+Overall+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfERxdgYJQ4QuVFtRaT76LngyILnmqIHDj3xEfre4jRQc14z7ephyBPmr4J8cfnnR4cXtxr-qWshLvh0501BEgpTgZKN_eKr_8hbmto3r7WkR1AvpGZS1eY8wDzAZ6cOXw_6hkgJ_8A5YJ/s640/Stockings-+Overall+copy.jpg" width="403" /></a>One of my mother's quilting buddies recently gave me a clothing collection she accumulated over the years. She is more interested in quilts and sewing tools, and her children are not into the old clothes, so I happily accepted this gift. More than happily, actually- I seriously can't believe my luck. Sometimes I find myself giddily hugging this stuff like toddler with a new teddy bear. I contained myself as best I could when I went to pick the collection up because I didn't want to seem greedy, and I knew I didn't do anything to deserve a whole collection falling into my lap. Now it's mine though, and words don't really describe how I feel. Picture someone with a stupid grin, hands clasped at her chest, hopping from foot to foot a little, and making a high-pitched noise that sounds something like, "Squeeeee!" That's me. Because the day I can afford a pair of knit stockings dated "1819" on my collecting budget is unlikely to ever arrive, and yet I have some! There are other exciting pieces, too, but I'll feature those later.<br />
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These stockings are on my mind lately because my museum, <a href="http://www.jefpat.org/" target="_blank">Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum</a>, has a War of 1812 event and we are putting together a little exhibit on clothing and accessories that will include the stockings.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynPmR5hnUrQTJ-WBsUCuUiPk1ZJBqgynMThqzPOGNrT43CphHJeeTySSKbvRD-uzdUAp3rP6TAJAhnDioZvUOtcBLbTPOaWF26w9vPpg8L51MAQ2aT4LpqQprOleOLizzJ9N04iTh3ffc/s1600/Stockings-+Initials+%2526+Date+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynPmR5hnUrQTJ-WBsUCuUiPk1ZJBqgynMThqzPOGNrT43CphHJeeTySSKbvRD-uzdUAp3rP6TAJAhnDioZvUOtcBLbTPOaWF26w9vPpg8L51MAQ2aT4LpqQprOleOLizzJ9N04iTh3ffc/s640/Stockings-+Initials+%2526+Date+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The stockings have integrated reverse knitting that reads, "S. B. 1819"</td></tr>
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As we think ahead to exhibit text, there has been a little debate about how they were made. I know nothing of knitting or knitting history, but my colleagues do. One thinks that the stockings were knit by hand for personal use, and she bases her assertion on the construction and the presence of the initials "S.B." and the date 1819. Another colleague says there was an active home industry, especially for stockings, where the knitting was done on a frame. She feels that it would be easy to custom-order the personalized stockings from a professional. <span style="background-color: white;">Since these were purchased from an antique dealer in Pennsylvania, there's little hope of determining who S.B. was, so our best chance for learning more is to look into stocking manufacture trends in general.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclHu4aOlyCewfsWIs0H8Fq1vAq1FhclrX5hg_DQI_p9Uaoeeb5_W8pLd8BUTE9oZ-xWe61QTHQMZp-I7clHJv6ARH_A2IPEaln0N3G0X1MXfzmynHobhZPPectPucaa6DJP6moN9i76Jk/s1600/Stockings-+Foot+detail+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclHu4aOlyCewfsWIs0H8Fq1vAq1FhclrX5hg_DQI_p9Uaoeeb5_W8pLd8BUTE9oZ-xWe61QTHQMZp-I7clHJv6ARH_A2IPEaln0N3G0X1MXfzmynHobhZPPectPucaa6DJP6moN9i76Jk/s640/Stockings-+Foot+detail+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Overall view of the foot.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEBuTZ-OiECVjmeXcixInQdHYXWD3nFewtJ1808RFdeDtvGyAbNmsTnxycESF4mIISho7PeTlMpBYM3nQcJ-Hd_21Up5pkJRXeFLyJc1PebEzLqeOZNzJ1b8tAHTkXgb8HzFi429DTPbm/s1600/Stockings-+Heel+detail+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEBuTZ-OiECVjmeXcixInQdHYXWD3nFewtJ1808RFdeDtvGyAbNmsTnxycESF4mIISho7PeTlMpBYM3nQcJ-Hd_21Up5pkJRXeFLyJc1PebEzLqeOZNzJ1b8tAHTkXgb8HzFi429DTPbm/s640/Stockings-+Heel+detail+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">This detail shows the connection of the heel and calf area, as well as the zig-zag pattern knitted into both sides of each stocking.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFKYInQk-yxAbysbb9zVYSGAgsHvmwS2V7Rum9zKMA2lDVfSCtXTGqe87c19ml9oCWpASWzZ10ORzBkjr7BzSV2Y5Z0Bi02g9_lNreorUj1vKEa4xGSntI1aEyr_NiGRv9gBsFoY4AZIu/s1600/Stockings-+Knit+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFKYInQk-yxAbysbb9zVYSGAgsHvmwS2V7Rum9zKMA2lDVfSCtXTGqe87c19ml9oCWpASWzZ10ORzBkjr7BzSV2Y5Z0Bi02g9_lNreorUj1vKEa4xGSntI1aEyr_NiGRv9gBsFoY4AZIu/s640/Stockings-+Knit+close+up.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">I figure that if you can tell whether stockings were made by hand versus on a frame, this side seam connection may be the key. Then again, maybe hand-made and frame-made stockings have the same kind of seam. I hope to find out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_ur-P_M5qr_3tqO07fw7lS0vn1eZcUxcKOfhhZv8ZJlmHXQJWPRT_t7aUZUtB0KBzC1c14g_0CZ2GzSGBnIQNyJLlKNx-8SO0_jrf2HeZCTeH4q1m-VBQCB3zX2AWh15DIIGP0VwMm3f/s1600/Stockings-+Mended+toe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_ur-P_M5qr_3tqO07fw7lS0vn1eZcUxcKOfhhZv8ZJlmHXQJWPRT_t7aUZUtB0KBzC1c14g_0CZ2GzSGBnIQNyJLlKNx-8SO0_jrf2HeZCTeH4q1m-VBQCB3zX2AWh15DIIGP0VwMm3f/s640/Stockings-+Mended+toe.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The toes have been mended several times over. The mends appear to be period rather than recent.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I'm equally enamored of the stockings no matter how they were made, but I enjoy exploring the history. Anyone out there have specialized knowledge of 19th-century stockings to share? </span>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-7891301064932286282012-07-15T17:26:00.000-07:002012-07-21T14:10:18.747-07:00Something Blue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4mYlI9Kz2dYBzfKaYh9PzEuoCU4E9GsqfBE6UOa4nR2N6NaRFNV_ZAGN9izypunoApTD6xgkgtRd_96aTNpWUAMgfpUc4RbdwNtuKN6B21AdMSQDwGIBuZxWICqrFXX6FBTiI_ynT3lP8/s1600/Tina%2527s+blue+dress+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4mYlI9Kz2dYBzfKaYh9PzEuoCU4E9GsqfBE6UOa4nR2N6NaRFNV_ZAGN9izypunoApTD6xgkgtRd_96aTNpWUAMgfpUc4RbdwNtuKN6B21AdMSQDwGIBuZxWICqrFXX6FBTiI_ynT3lP8/s640/Tina%2527s+blue+dress+front.jpg" width="395" /></a><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">So it turns out I'm not the only one with happy memories of going through boxes and bags from Nanny's closet and discovering old clothes with Grammy Rivers. My cousin Tina, who found <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/07/nannys-1906-portrait-dress.html">Nanny's portrait dress</a> after we <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/02/nannys-closet.html">dismantled the closet</a>, has fond memories of the happiness she and Grammy shared when they realized what it was. Apparently it was in an old bag, and since Grammy was mostly blind, she had thought it was a set of crusty old curtains. M</span><span style="background-color: white;">ore recently, Tina's discovery skills struck again as she and my mother stumbled on this blue ensemble when they were helping clean out Grammy's house. This dress is from about the same time period as the portrait, c. 1900-1908. </span><span style="background-color: white;">I'd never seen this one before though, despite all of my explorations, which is a testament to the unknown depths of the things stashed away at Grammy's house. Sadly, some mice found this dress before we did. They had nibbled on the hem and a cuff and are probably responsible for some staining on the skirt. T</span><span style="background-color: white;">he rest is in excellent shape though, and as is often the case with dresses from Grammy's, we have extra fabric if we want to repair it. The extra material suggests that</span><span style="background-color: white;"> this is either a "Nanny original," or it was made by Nanny's mother. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFQLOdMUm4badJbTCKcfi3ND62NqM2DugfoycXFPKVNRtIsOTT49zceRqbybA1xhTwEDdNHp_UD9tSosYzyXJ6BFb7T_rWAM9jrNgmqB8am4b2IbKD_oJBauwZU7ANSANvKqromZs79gw/s1600/Extra+fabric+montage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFQLOdMUm4badJbTCKcfi3ND62NqM2DugfoycXFPKVNRtIsOTT49zceRqbybA1xhTwEDdNHp_UD9tSosYzyXJ6BFb7T_rWAM9jrNgmqB8am4b2IbKD_oJBauwZU7ANSANvKqromZs79gw/s640/Extra+fabric+montage.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">These images show off the fabric print and trim. The extra fabric is shown slung over the shoulder on the right. I am sure that Nanny's sewing skills are the reason we still have so many of her dresses. A garment like this includes a lot of yardage, and no seamstress worth her salt throws out that much fabric. Nanny altered a number of dresses instead of throwing them out. I'm grateful that she never got around to dismantling this one though; it is completely original.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The ensemble has two pieces, a skirt and separate bodice with an unlined black lace neckline. I think it also would have been worn with some kind of waist-cinching belt and a </span><span style="background-color: white;">separate </span><span style="background-color: white;">high collar.The fabric is either silk or highly-polished cotton with black velvet trim. </span><span style="background-color: white;">The skirt is slightly trained with a double row of ruffles at the hem. </span><span style="background-color: white;">A linen lining with central hooks and eyes is sewn into the bodice. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHshe62S6q0y0gfL3zqqT923NERDXAhh_F-pi2mEEaW_be7hr1OlKv2rTGDdQDxwu3ZLk0Gj_YL1Q_XijGwfsFRWfDkbONAgiO33_FmorWF9BznTum8uw9U6u_fg9L6QOnkxYvabC2ngt/s1600/Bodice+and+lining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHshe62S6q0y0gfL3zqqT923NERDXAhh_F-pi2mEEaW_be7hr1OlKv2rTGDdQDxwu3ZLk0Gj_YL1Q_XijGwfsFRWfDkbONAgiO33_FmorWF9BznTum8uw9U6u_fg9L6QOnkxYvabC2ngt/s640/Bodice+and+lining.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The bodice is gathered to create the tummy poof that was so popular in the early 20th-century. The lining was form- fitting though, to help maintain the overall structure of the look. The lining closes at front with hooks and eyes, while the outer bodice hooks at the side and shoulder with hooks and thread loops. The bodice detail at right shows the pin tucks on the sleeve and the tight cuff outlined in black velvet ribbon to give it the look of a belt.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The sleeves have a series of pin tucks that stop above the wrist to create a flare before they end in tight cuffs. This is the kind of detail that seems to be characteristic of Nanny's sewing, especially for the dresses she made in the 1920s and 1930s. She never seemed to skimp on the detailed stitching, even though she preferred busy prints that obscured all that hard work. I try to take pictures of these details, which is why I have so many shots of this dress. The photos don't show off all of that detail though, especially if you get the whole front and back in the image as shown below, so it's even more striking in person</span><span style="background-color: white;">. Many thanks to Tina and my mom for rescuing this so that we can all enjoy it as a gorgeous example of our ancestor's taste and sewing skills.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbpudF461iel9kY1r2C0-4n4CyBOC5CI6oICzdidbzyviE86NDe40rKH6E5JCQVSbFMQmm0HfEYZUqLp_myCVIpRdtm3QYk_QztjkZk5QTf-eFDkgAFG5HV-QmQc58xGETfl8NwdpNx-v/s1600/Front+and+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbpudF461iel9kY1r2C0-4n4CyBOC5CI6oICzdidbzyviE86NDe40rKH6E5JCQVSbFMQmm0HfEYZUqLp_myCVIpRdtm3QYk_QztjkZk5QTf-eFDkgAFG5HV-QmQc58xGETfl8NwdpNx-v/s640/Front+and+back.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-66272593209184882292012-07-11T18:00:00.000-07:002012-07-11T18:26:36.142-07:00Nanny's 1906 Portrait Dress<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WqZAtW5PmyYt8Kgqpca1Hy539vOW-GDZRGlOCYiw_V-RB5yB0e_HYwXGywzbKcoOsDoaMsduc4MwhGnWPb46ALiesBICCou_xDmSNwjLFl2HV3Z-hSXsHdLEbp1krtq1hXJkNy5UyzS3/s1600/Nanny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WqZAtW5PmyYt8Kgqpca1Hy539vOW-GDZRGlOCYiw_V-RB5yB0e_HYwXGywzbKcoOsDoaMsduc4MwhGnWPb46ALiesBICCou_xDmSNwjLFl2HV3Z-hSXsHdLEbp1krtq1hXJkNy5UyzS3/s400/Nanny.jpg" width="321" /></a>Those of you who have been reading along might remember the amazing portrait I posted when discussing <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/02/nannys-closet.html">Nanny's closet</a>. I'm sure you can imagine how anxious I was to find the dress from that portrait. But alas, I did not find it, and returned to school in upstate New York confident that it hadn't survived.<br />
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Since I was a kid when we went through the closet, I didn't have many qualms about the mess we made in the process; I was way too busy loving the treasure hunt. <span style="background-color: white;">I think Grammy's curiosity had been triggered, too. I remember her often saying, "Huh, I've never seen that before." So she was totally nonchalant about having everything out even though w</span><span style="background-color: white;">e had trashed Nanny's former bedroom by using it to drop all the stuff we displaced to reach the closet's depths.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">When my vacation ended, I left without helping to put anything away. As I'm sure you can imagine, subsequent visitors to Grammy had a "What the Hell happened here?" kind of reaction to the disaster. Someone seems to have continued the exploration though, because when I next visited Grammy, the room was still a mess, but it was configured differently and the goods removed had multiplied. More importantly, however, I was informed that the portrait dress had been located!</span><br />
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I rushed up the stairs and demanded direction to the dress in question, and was unbelievably deflated when I saw it. It looked like a mass of stiff yellowed paper. And not only did it look bad, but it was clear that there was NO WAY I'd fit into it. My disappointment was complete. I concluded, with all of my teenage knowledge, that it had probably been starched like crazy and stored that way, leaving it to shrink and become brittle over time. I took pictures in 2000, but remained unimpressed.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPQq2kIBW4m5zflmmLA1Q5UaygMdWtrElfCfatpcRq5TamDJfFgOPlWLXR3YP6EUfaLUJQo4eK4IttUO4pNu7DnsKKC91TN99fPYvs7aqtR_Sg7J17iky_dHKx8PGpI2Tju2xwd9RGbMR/s1600/Portrait+dress-+old+pictures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPQq2kIBW4m5zflmmLA1Q5UaygMdWtrElfCfatpcRq5TamDJfFgOPlWLXR3YP6EUfaLUJQo4eK4IttUO4pNu7DnsKKC91TN99fPYvs7aqtR_Sg7J17iky_dHKx8PGpI2Tju2xwd9RGbMR/s640/Portrait+dress-+old+pictures.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Even when we spread out the portrait dress for photos in 2000, it looked shriveled, yellowish, and generally not as fabulous as I expected it to be. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Well, last week I was up in Maine and this time I was armed with two dress forms, a backdrop, a petticoat wired to help a trained skirt take its intended shape, and most importantly, a hand-held steamer! My aunt Joy inherited the portrait and the dress to go with it, so she brought it over for a photo shoot. Sadly, the original matching lace belt has not been located, so I substituted with another gathered belt from the collection that was period appropriate. The fabric is</span><span style="background-color: white;"> still yellowed, but it no longer looks like old shredded paper. So here it is: the dress Georgiana Mayhew Duncan wore in the portrait made when she graduated La Salle in 1906, front, back, side, and in detail. Now I can finally say that I'm impressed. Who wouldn't love this delicate frock?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WQAOra22rdBz-Vl61VPQMelRYjCS73HGHLu_287_LGfAdpICioQzcUk2KtKu1VewOiuxaplSUvyrk-d-rMZ4fzCSFJ8sZqldMnpPkZlB6Y3rTHQ_mcW2raYuni10vbjKN2JBq3_z1JBo/s1600/Portrait+Dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WQAOra22rdBz-Vl61VPQMelRYjCS73HGHLu_287_LGfAdpICioQzcUk2KtKu1VewOiuxaplSUvyrk-d-rMZ4fzCSFJ8sZqldMnpPkZlB6Y3rTHQ_mcW2raYuni10vbjKN2JBq3_z1JBo/s640/Portrait+Dress.jpg" width="362" /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGY7WOnsldaEKNBooHt_CWkKsNXQMPcFqsUBdz5eH9DNsBGlIiC4H-UQcl8txkvJkbFawFejlT3AqIzpmhX9ObTOyENJsd17WPlp-L6MOHZAx7-1Yq51vWmMGWboZax2cNigR51IKtPqu/s1600/Portrait+Dress-+Back1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGY7WOnsldaEKNBooHt_CWkKsNXQMPcFqsUBdz5eH9DNsBGlIiC4H-UQcl8txkvJkbFawFejlT3AqIzpmhX9ObTOyENJsd17WPlp-L6MOHZAx7-1Yq51vWmMGWboZax2cNigR51IKtPqu/s640/Portrait+Dress-+Back1.jpg" width="386" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIN-Ef4R5XF_9X1py74CEndIA12bS1iB8rfs8Zha-YXKcDTAj_R3OPik2ivxT9ZHtaA8nVAZ3pOPNMN9tWvEtIZR2cCkYNt3AmrwpDuzMlSqQeqV-r8dNEJFdMJRPN3M9hLdLgl2hJJ_c/s1600/Portrait+Dress-+Back+angle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIN-Ef4R5XF_9X1py74CEndIA12bS1iB8rfs8Zha-YXKcDTAj_R3OPik2ivxT9ZHtaA8nVAZ3pOPNMN9tWvEtIZR2cCkYNt3AmrwpDuzMlSqQeqV-r8dNEJFdMJRPN3M9hLdLgl2hJJ_c/s400/Portrait+Dress-+Back+angle.jpg" width="288" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50GciQau9fuE_3HOvuF3u4EtdPyt1wSVXZi3M8Q6yAQ3pzDK1JozabXwrnSzrfQUTTcsApvnLXSMJR1ZEUkusREtrzMI9Ijqcm9UATVy1UPVjrE63qBlvX_WHYijJW_bh7V80c_w4mUi_/s1600/Portrait+Dress+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50GciQau9fuE_3HOvuF3u4EtdPyt1wSVXZi3M8Q6yAQ3pzDK1JozabXwrnSzrfQUTTcsApvnLXSMJR1ZEUkusREtrzMI9Ijqcm9UATVy1UPVjrE63qBlvX_WHYijJW_bh7V80c_w4mUi_/s400/Portrait+Dress+1.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-34062823286621268362012-06-16T15:46:00.000-07:002012-07-12T03:34:38.131-07:00The Tissue Issue<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In keeping with the theme of costume care, here’s a little
briefing on tissue paper. Anyone who has read anything about proper costume
storage knows that acid-free tissue is key. Whatever your choice of container,
your costume collection will be happiest if each garment is wrapped in and/or
fluffed out with acid-free tissue. So let’s dissect the tissue issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Acid-free tissue is an ideal packing material for costume collections. It can protect the fabrics by lining boxes, separating garments of different materials, and padding areas that are prone to folds or wrinkles that can weaken fibers. Also, if there is a sheet of tissue under a garment, you can get it out by lifting the tissue, minimizing handling and potential harm. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Issue #1:</b> Can you get acid-free tissue in the gift-wrap aisle of your local dollar store, or do you need to go to a museum or archive supplier? I’m afraid I don’t really know the answer to this one. Tissue paper is made by so many providers for so many different reasons that for all I know, archival suppliers pump up the price when the stuff you find at your local box store would be just fine. But do you want to take that risk? If the paper turns out to be acidic, it will yellow and become brittle, it may cause acid burns, brown spots, and staining on your costumes, and worst of all, the acidic environment will make your costume more brittle, so that the next time you go to take it out, it will be far more likely to rip, drop a bead, or pop a thread.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1vi7E9xAKiFQ2jyXKInUO3ZzRFiqNrbummut06he-_ZJ0i15TeHRtMvLujMoQiZnMpTqRgMfOTIGQHfL7Ed75c83wF9gOHOFZ60KDOrf7u1l-EOAW_EgzLBZdtfrHurfrA8GgZX5TDDZi/s640/Acid+burns.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" width="640" /></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
This is a detail of a corset that was stored in its original box for over a hundred years. Late 19th-century corsets were rolled in long, skinny acidic boxes, and you can see where the bottom of the corset stuck out when the piece was rolled because the exposed portion has rust colored acid burns. </div>
</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mURGKIP4ggu43ekszCqBTIXYD3FqoGHrUp1UMyk6hdikHEF_5Yk6OijPunrCfPq_TCsns7DfLwe9P0tNf02XCtg3sMN0vmQQGvUH6Ghg4IlRAPdakmmBwitPz1OdFcUpGdPW1JkcO86J/s1600/Ph+Pen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mURGKIP4ggu43ekszCqBTIXYD3FqoGHrUp1UMyk6hdikHEF_5Yk6OijPunrCfPq_TCsns7DfLwe9P0tNf02XCtg3sMN0vmQQGvUH6Ghg4IlRAPdakmmBwitPz1OdFcUpGdPW1JkcO86J/s200/Ph+Pen.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Ph pens are cheap, and well worth the</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
investment.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Issue #2:</b> Once you get some tissue, how do you know if it's acid-free? There
are a few options to deal with the unknown here. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, you can order only
from reputable archival suppliers like </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gaylord Brothers (</span><a href="http://www.gaylord.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.gaylord.com</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">), </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hollinger Metal Edge (</span><a href="http://www.hollingermetaledge.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.hollingermetaledge.com/</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">),
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> or Light Impressions (</span><a href="http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">).
Such companies rely on their reputation for professional archival products, so
you are unlikely to get bad acid-free tissue from them. The other option, which
may be a cheaper route, is to get a Ph indicating pen (like the one shown here from
Gaylord Brothers</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">).
It looks like a Sharpie, but its ink will turn yellow on acidic paper, and best
of all, it costs less than $10 and you can use it to evaluate all kinds of
packaging materials. If you have the Ph pen, you can try getting paper from
different sources and evaluate as you go. Anything that makes the ink turn
yellow should be relegated to gift bags, not costume storage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now think back to your high school chemistry class or read a
refresher on Wikipedia and consider what the opposite of acidic is. If
something isn’t acidic, it’s either neutral or alkaline, right? Costume collectors know that acids are bad,
but does that mean neutral or alkaline is good? This one I do</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> have the answer
to, but it’s complicated. You have to think about what your costume is made of
in order to make this decision. If you
don’t have the time to keep reading, just go with Ph neutral acid-free tissue and avoid “buffered”
tissue which is slightly alkaline. If you want the full dose of wisdom I have
to bestow, read on…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Costumes can have a LOT of components beyond fabric, like beads,
metal, fur, and feathers. The main question I suggest you consider is this: is
it plant, animal, synthetic, or mineral? Plant materials might benefit from the
alkalinity offered by buffered tissue, but animal products will actually do
better in a slightly acidic environment. Minerals and synthetics can go either
way. If you’ve never thought about an
outfit this way, here are some of the most common materials for cloth, buttons,
and decorations:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXjJMYLezNasnPgXMYQ0XxuEpy653lIkIpVuhKQefy7WkW0pTW7q1VPhzR298TQk5w9_0bgBOSOHy8bvJtswlJSfGHZe2fctiMuBfK0dhSrljFcOTpRndHNZLtcRnGBbEeZ92T3_fcSpn/s1600/Materials+list.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXjJMYLezNasnPgXMYQ0XxuEpy653lIkIpVuhKQefy7WkW0pTW7q1VPhzR298TQk5w9_0bgBOSOHy8bvJtswlJSfGHZe2fctiMuBfK0dhSrljFcOTpRndHNZLtcRnGBbEeZ92T3_fcSpn/s640/Materials+list.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">According to the classes I've taken, buffered tissue should only be used for items
that are all “plant,” and I don’t have many things that fit that category. In
fact, much of the time I am at a loss when I try to identify the material, especially with my dresses from the 1920s-1940s which are often synthetic. So
as a rule, I just always use acid-free tissue, not buffered tissue. It’s rare
that a garment is only made of one thing, and it can be impossible to create an
ideal environment for every element. I have a hard enough time getting motivated to put everything away properly, so adding an extra step of separating the costumes by material would just be counterproductive. If you're not as lazy as I am, get both acid-free and buffered tissue and keep your "plant" and "animal" pieces separated.</span></div>
</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-84091225283935856482012-03-17T17:19:00.002-07:002012-03-18T02:42:21.575-07:00The Evil "Agents of Deterioration"<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Cue the
soundtrack from the shower scene in Psycho, it’s time to talk about how the
whole world is out to destroy every </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">thing</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">
you hold dear. This will be a lesson in the preventive conservation of objects.
In other words, the idea is to keep your collections from getting hurt so that they don’t
need to be fixed down the road.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But first, let’s
go over what I mean by “conservation”. Most people who hear this word think of
environmental groups preserving rainforests or saving whales. The conservation
I’m talking about is different; it’s to do with saving the things that people
make. Art conservators work on paintings, sculpture, and other media, paper
conservators treat documents and books, textile conservators treat cloth- you
get the idea. I am not a conservator, but as a curator I have to be aware of
threats to the things I’m responsible for, and I have to recognize when
something is in distress and needs to be treated by a conservator. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now before you
read any further, please be aware that this can be a scary eye-opening topic
for people who really care about their possessions. As someone who started
collecting antiques at an early age, I was horrified when I got to grad school
and learned how inherently unstable my beautiful purses and costume pieces
really were. I lost sleep. I stopped buying collectibles and started buying
special packaging for those collectibles instead. In other words, the bubble of
fun that had previously surrounded my collecting behavior went “pop!” and now I
can’t look at my collections without a degree of worry. If you would prefer to
stay in Neverland, do not read on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The things that
conspire to destroy your material goods are known in the conservation world as
“Agents of Deterioration.” Everyone has
observed them in action, but by then it is often too late to do much about it.
So if you want to take steps to protect your precious possessions, here is a list of
things to consider.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Agents of Deterioration</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1)
<b>Theft.</b>
If people steal your stuff, you lose, and who knows what condition your stuff
will be in if you manage to get it back. Museums fight this with security
personnel or alarms. At home, you can get a security system, or maybe a mean
dog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqN4p8idAKBO_PYpSCrsp8374MxPrracqJcf5ibBja_Wl_T-PZy7DTQMYHGFJSXJFaFLKXYDhxF1p7KMMJN8kBh5HYliEE3FYCvTCXllgBXrYyV7utkhbBmUcCjxol4JwiSDNU7KnqsJ-k/s1600/Photo++913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqN4p8idAKBO_PYpSCrsp8374MxPrracqJcf5ibBja_Wl_T-PZy7DTQMYHGFJSXJFaFLKXYDhxF1p7KMMJN8kBh5HYliEE3FYCvTCXllgBXrYyV7utkhbBmUcCjxol4JwiSDNU7KnqsJ-k/s320/Photo++913.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
I wish I knew who this mysterious mustached man</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
was, since this picture was found in Grammy Rivers'</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
house and I presume he's a relative. Sadly, he is</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
now my poster-child for water damage, most likely </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
the result of a roof leak. Note the staining that </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
crosses his debonair face. Major bummer.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2)
<b>Fire.
</b>The same kinds of fire prevention techniques you apply for your own safety
usually help to protect your objects, though if you have a sprinkler system, see
hazards of flood below. If you REALLY value something, plan to be able to grab
it on your way out the door without having to run into a burning room. Better
yet, put it in a fire-safe container or get a safety deposit box. If what you
really value is an inlaid wardrobe or your carved antique bed, you’re screwed,
so move on to things you can actually do something about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3)
<b>Flood.
</b>Water damage can be really devastating to objects, especially metals and
organics. Oh wait, that’s pretty much everything, isn't it? So how do you work around it?
Well, not living in a flood zone is a start. If the nearby river overflows
there’s not much you can do but move things to higher ground, so hopefully you
have a second story with some extra space. For smaller crises, like frozen
pipes or overfilled bathtubs, there are little alarms you can buy that sit on the floor and go off like a smoke-detector if they get
wet near something you want to protect. Simply enclosing your precious items in sealed plastic containers is not
necessarily protective though, so if your mind jumped straight to the
as-seen-on-tv ‘space bags’ or plastic bins, think twice. If any water gets in a
plastic container, it will have entered a container that wants to trap it. That
leads to moisture retention and mold and it can hurt more than it helps. Also
consider this: flood insurance is a good idea for your home, but might not help
you with precious collections. I doubt it covers professional conservation treatment
of water-damaged art, photos, textiles, or furniture. And how do you replace
one-of-a-kind heirlooms? You may need a specific rider on your home-owners
insurance if you can get one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cAC9u6yay_LwTfDJGJkoEqfltTTgW2phX7PUT9kEzGsMXGRnHnIJowRA85vqtNANExyyDZIryRJFHURSmb50HqxJAdf-AJ-tW6RIimgU-dHYqW2ZW929m2MPWlo-2gs9GTr7UgDz9hXj/s1600/Pests.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cAC9u6yay_LwTfDJGJkoEqfltTTgW2phX7PUT9kEzGsMXGRnHnIJowRA85vqtNANExyyDZIryRJFHURSmb50HqxJAdf-AJ-tW6RIimgU-dHYqW2ZW929m2MPWlo-2gs9GTr7UgDz9hXj/s400/Pests.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Carpet beetles (left) and moths (right) are among the most common pests </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
that damage historic costumes. Carpet beetles eat plant matter, like </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
cotton and linen, while moths tend to prefer animal products like wool.</div>
</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4) 4) <b>
Pests.</b>
Mice, bugs, mold, and other pests may find your beloved heirlooms ever so tasty. Pests
gather where there are food sources, and pretty much anything organic may be a
food source for some kind of critter. Pests generally prefer environments with
some warmth and humidity, and since people also prefer environments with some
warmth and humidity, most of the things we live with are at risk. Pests will
vary a lot depending on whether your collection offers a nice nesting spot (as
is the case with clothes), or a tasty meal (as is also the case with clothes). Keep an eye out for droppings,
little holes accompanied by powder of some kind, and of course the pests
themselves. If you find pests, don’t go straight to a chemical solution for
killing them. Chemicals can hurt your possessions as much as they hurt the bugs
living in them. The same goes for mold. Mold loves humidity and dark, so if
your closet is closed off from light and the air-conditioner, be afraid, very
afraid, to put anything organic in there that mold might prey on. If you do
find mold, don’t just spray some chemical cleaner on it. My favorite mold
killer is sunlight, when used in moderation. Overall though, I have yet to
figure out how to make my home collections pest-proof, so mostly I just keep
watch so that the creepy-crawlies can’t get a strong foothold in my storage
areas. Also, if you got a mean dog in response to #1, keep an eye on him, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVqpfmZokqvPa7ROqUXtKWh5M7wa4R4KTsEH8rl8UJD4_5PrvS2S1M-xwEgAQFiZOSjvceFPSu9mIGhl1AWhzJC8sFQXZ03hSJz8aWlcK_ezptp20aBE0Y3FJDz7XwSTGrUOCHikOvCbM/s1600/Moldy+cord.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVqpfmZokqvPa7ROqUXtKWh5M7wa4R4KTsEH8rl8UJD4_5PrvS2S1M-xwEgAQFiZOSjvceFPSu9mIGhl1AWhzJC8sFQXZ03hSJz8aWlcK_ezptp20aBE0Y3FJDz7XwSTGrUOCHikOvCbM/s400/Moldy+cord.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
This is one of the purses that Grammy Rivers gave me when we Found it in </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Nanny's closet (<a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/02/nannys-closet.html">story here</a>). Unfortunately, damp conditions in my house </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
have caused a mold breakout on the cord. A close-up of the fuzzy white stuff </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
appears on the right.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">5) <b>Relative
humidity (Rh) and Temperature.</b> Different materials respond differently to changes
in relative humidity. Any organics (things made from plants and animals) are
likely to be hydroscopic, which means that they absorb moisture from the air.
For example, wood expands and contracts as it absorbs or releases moisture into
the air. Dramatic changes in temperature affect relative humidity. Hot
temperatures allow more moisture to be retained in the air, while cold
temperatures can cause condensation and dry air. Fluctuations in Rh and temperature
can mess with your favorite possessions in a few ways:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">First,
as a rule, expansion and contraction is not good. These are the forces that
cause roads, varnish, paint, and pretty much everything else that cracks to
crack. Cracks indicate mini-breaks where previously things were not broken. Not
good. Not always fatal either, but when expansion and contraction occurs over
and over as seasons change and objects age, the forces take a cumulative toll.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Second,
high temperatures and moist air speed up chemical reactions. So let’s say you
have some brass heirloom jewelry. Metals like brass do not absorb moisture, but
if they are exposed to damp, they are more likely to corrode. In the case of
brass, corrosion is usually green because of the copper in it. The warmer the
air, the faster the chemical reaction that causes corrosion.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Third,
warm moist environments promote mold and make life comfy for other pests as
well.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Finally,
each material that goes into making an object might have its own sweet spot for
the perfect Rh/temperature. For example, books get moldy if too moist, and
brittle if too dry. But what if your object is a composite? For example something
like a pair of shoes might suffer damage as wood soles and leather uppers expand
and contract at different rates (see inherent vice below).</span>
</li>
<ul><br /></ul>
</ul>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Shoes" height="195" src="http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ci/web-large/CI63.35.6ab_F.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
A pair of 18th-century shoes in
the Metropolitan Museum<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
of Art (Accession No. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #262626;">C.I.63.35.6a, b) </span>have leather, wood,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
and metal components that respond differently to
changes<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
in humidity and temperature.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<span style="text-align: left;">So to sum up, Rh and temperature are out to destroy your things. You can invest in special controlled environments for each valuable you own if you have endless funds and don’t mind living in rooms lined with Plexiglas cases, but if you want several things that are not made of the same material to coexist in one comfy living space, the best you can do is to try to keep the Rh as stable as possible, preferably in the Goldilocks zone where it’s not too wet, and not too dry, but juuuust right.</span> </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">6) 6) <b>Pollutants.</b>
That’s right, even the air is out to destroy the things you love. Why? Because
all of your things are comprised of chemical elements and compounds, and the
air contains chemical elements and compounds that are looking for
something to bond with. Sometimes the elements in air and the ones that
comprise your things are irresistibly attracted to each other. Like soul mates,
they bond-- especially if temperature and humidity set the right mood for their
romance. Take for example silver and sulfur oxide. They are like Romeo and
Juliet. They join together no matter how destructive the results, bonding to
create the blackish compound we call tarnish. And here’s the big scary: once that
occurs, it can’t really be undone. The Romeo Silver and Juliet Sulfur-dioxide
will only be separated in death, because when you remove silver sulfide from
the object, it takes the original surface—including some of the silver—away
with it. That’s why frequently-polished
silver looks so soft and aged. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There
are a lot of pollutants that can cause undesirable chemical reactions like this.
These include the oils of your skin (if you have the nerve to touch the things
you own), oxygen, which you pretty much can’t live without, and dust, which you
generate every day with dead skin cells and hair. Then there are the invisible
gasses floating around. If you ever hear museum-types talking about off-gassing,
they are not rudely bringing up tummy-troubles, they are talking about how materials
like paint and wood and plastic can release gasses into the air over time, and
these gasses may contain pollutants. So if you want to protect your things from pollutants, keep them away from people, dust, anything gassy (even if you don't know it's gassy), and air. What could be simpler?</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1e-i7ivgcIIg0uZn49i9C01PZCfZjcNJs1SODHajT_0lX3gBA5qL_ALvrbk7EJJRPdZivPsG19BHGEtdQPtsv42qagMPhmNJnriBux_FCogY4OoJL7RyfkpVkmRTmn0BdfbPI1ax-F8/s1600/DSC05399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1e-i7ivgcIIg0uZn49i9C01PZCfZjcNJs1SODHajT_0lX3gBA5qL_ALvrbk7EJJRPdZivPsG19BHGEtdQPtsv42qagMPhmNJnriBux_FCogY4OoJL7RyfkpVkmRTmn0BdfbPI1ax-F8/s320/DSC05399.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
This image of a quilt from <a href="http://welshquilts.blogspot.com/2011/10/indian-quilts.html">welshquilts.blogspot.com</a> shows </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
fabric dyes exposed to light will fade over time. The area that</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
had been covered shows the original reddish color.</div>
</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">7) <b>Light.
</b>Light can cause chemical deterioration and fading in certain materials. Museums
often </span>prevent this kind of damage by <span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">getting UV filters for overhead lighting and windows. At home you may just want to keep vulnerable materials out of direct
sun and make sure your favorite art pieces are framed with UV-filtering glass. Textiles
and paper are particularly vulnerable. So lest I gave you the impression that a nice sunny spot
was the perfect counter-attack for the mold that might lurk in dark spaces,
consider that bubble burst. Sunlight will kill mold, but exposure should be
kept to a minimum if you go that route. Paper, for example, will almost always decay
at least a little bit in sunlight, so you are sacrificing some stability to
kill the mold if you put a moldy paper in the sun. You just have to consider
which would harm the paper more, or call in a professional to treat the item.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">8) <b> Inherent
vice.</b> Great googely-moogely I hate this one. The concept of inherent vice is
this: your object will self-destruct and there ain’t nothin’ you can do about
it. Here’s an example you might see regularly: paper made from wood contains
compounds like lignin, which are highly acidic. Unless wood-based paper is
treated to remove acids, it will literally give itself acid burns until it gets
so brittle that it flakes apart. Ever find a newspaper you left around the
house for a while? It’s probably yellower than it used to be, right? That’s the
acid in action. Your paper’s self-destruct button was activated the minute it
came out of production. Doomed. Not only will acidic items burn themselves to
death over time, but they can even spread the destruction. A wooden trunk
releases acids into the air, exposing anything you store within to an acidic
environment, and if you wrap something in newspaper, the acids from that paper
can migrate to the item you wrapped in it. Sometimes clothing that has brownish
orange spots isn’t stained, it’s actually burned by acid exposure. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Other
objects may have inherent vice because the chemical bonds that hold them
together simply age and break over time. For example, silk and cotton threads start
out with pretty long, strong fibers, but over time the bonds in those fibers
break. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">And
then there are the composite objects… Take for example the pair of shoes that I
mentioned in #5. The leather will need some moisture in its environment or it’ll
get too brittle, but moisture may cause the nails in the shoe soles or shoe
buckles to corrode. Also, acids in the wood and leather promote metal corrosion.
So when you put different materials together into one object, it’s nearly
impossible to make the environment perfect for every component, and this is the
perfect formula for inherent vice.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbwWuzGw59CfnfP5eh7TMfAwuMBjO-c-CUpYt3a_ZZEOhyphenhyphenu75V5qkn8jk05rH_TzJtN2woLKbqlZHdORlLOY2Zyi_EHwueskk4VOUfC3uhyphenhyphenn5KwR65SmMtY4O-6_t_iNzFVPR3z8ZW713/s1600/DSCF4698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbwWuzGw59CfnfP5eh7TMfAwuMBjO-c-CUpYt3a_ZZEOhyphenhyphenu75V5qkn8jk05rH_TzJtN2woLKbqlZHdORlLOY2Zyi_EHwueskk4VOUfC3uhyphenhyphenn5KwR65SmMtY4O-6_t_iNzFVPR3z8ZW713/s640/DSCF4698.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">This fan, one of the recent finds from <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/02/nannys-closet.html">Nanny's closet</a>, is an example of a composite object that suffers from inherent vice. Much of its yellowish appearance may have been caused by its storage conditions (wrapped in acidic newspaper in an acidic trunk since the 1940s), but note the brown stains on the sheer fabric of the fan. Since the fan was stored closed, those are not from the wrapping. The fan blades are made of wood though, so acids from the wood may have caused burns on the fabric. Alternatively, the adhesive used to stick the fabric to the blades may be acidic or deteriorating. Early adhesives often include animal products from fish or horses. Basically, this fan's components are harming each other over time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So what do you do
with all of this information? The more you know about the forces that put your
favorite collections at risk, the more you can work to avoid them. I'll spend some time in future posts talking about the low-budget approach I've developed to protect my costumes from the agents of deterioration. It should be
clear, however, that sometimes there’s not much you can do, especially in
home-storage situations. Personally, I had to come to terms with the idea that
man-made things, like people, are not immortal. Inanimate objects, including the
clothing and accessories I collect, have a limited lifespan, and the more I handle
them, the shorter their life will be. Knowing this, I have resolved to care for them as
best I can, but I enjoy them as much as I can as well. Ultimately there’s not much point in collecting and preserving things that you never get to see.</span></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-58432665427701794022012-03-14T16:40:00.000-07:002012-07-15T07:37:51.458-07:00Document and Distribute!<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcUpMxBq3YQbypnEq99VwjTsqipBSoPzNIjvmhHqEPEon9d0VT0VMXmitU4tllKT1yPDe4FruIMY1U98SfvV3di_30JOG67R6KQ_2rEIxcFBRLlC7Kf4OKvJrnZBwchyphenhyphenmRmXWSErvFC1a/s1600/Dresses+13+small.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcUpMxBq3YQbypnEq99VwjTsqipBSoPzNIjvmhHqEPEon9d0VT0VMXmitU4tllKT1yPDe4FruIMY1U98SfvV3di_30JOG67R6KQ_2rEIxcFBRLlC7Kf4OKvJrnZBwchyphenhyphenmRmXWSErvFC1a/s400/Dresses+13+small.tif" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our makeshift documentation technique: lay out each </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">garment on the bed with a numbered post-it, develop </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">film, and scan photos.</span></div>
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In a large family
with a lot of heirlooms, I’ve found that documenting what is there and
distributing that information to relatives is well worth the effort. In 2000, I
traveled to Maine after college graduation and decided that I’d like to revisit
some of the old family dresses I had seen over a decade earlier as a child exploring a closet full of mysteries with my Grammy (<a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/02/nannys-closet.html">story here</a>). This time I
was armed with a camera, acid-free tissue, and a bit more knowledge about what
I was looking at. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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With help from
Grammy and a friend, we got the dresses out and laid them on a bed one-by-one
for photography. I put a numbered post-it on the bed with each piece before taking the
pictures so that later I could make a spreadsheet of information to go with
each garment. As we finished, we carefully refolded the dresses and packed them
away with acid-free tissue. They were still in trunks and suitcases, not
exactly archival quality storage, but at least the tissue helped a little.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After I developed
the pictures we took that day, they sat around in several apartments as I went
through grad school, got a job, got married, got another job… It was always one
of those things I’d get to “eventually.” By the time I finally got motivated to
put the photos together into a scrapbook, about five years had passed since I’d
actually seen the dresses. That was problematic because I wanted to compile a
spreadsheet with information about them, but I didn’t remember as much
as I could have about the materials used, the nature of the trims, etc. Still,
I assembled a scrapbook with my best guesses about the age and description of
each garment, and I took the book to Grammy’s where all of her visitors could
see it. Then I scanned each photo and made CDs with images and the spreadsheet
for distribution to the family.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hhj7V2LWeU0OWOWPETVKIe6piIZsS6guE-TPDIjVpGiRCtLknmQuYUonW-Ewyqkqb9y1BDYE76hVX8zlkm6JQkdcDCHlQDMpIOONApcgcCSP3ITE4NYHLKWrmJjz3i4_mz2jjGqntm_3/s1600/Trunk+with+tissue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hhj7V2LWeU0OWOWPETVKIe6piIZsS6guE-TPDIjVpGiRCtLknmQuYUonW-Ewyqkqb9y1BDYE76hVX8zlkm6JQkdcDCHlQDMpIOONApcgcCSP3ITE4NYHLKWrmJjz3i4_mz2jjGqntm_3/s640/Trunk+with+tissue.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSWN1k5JARVmB2VEfNWBjQPTVT3ef9lmb9kX9ORvpMw8fZUVH8Axsi6_bvOr2hgiQQPAApIVkaIWUeunVbc2Y96DjqGKsh3g4sSU1dzOmPRRFwgTxLI-xnqQulys9el6durJ7t0jBcB6S/s1600/Suticases.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSWN1k5JARVmB2VEfNWBjQPTVT3ef9lmb9kX9ORvpMw8fZUVH8Axsi6_bvOr2hgiQQPAApIVkaIWUeunVbc2Y96DjqGKsh3g4sSU1dzOmPRRFwgTxLI-xnqQulys9el6durJ7t0jBcB6S/s320/Suticases.jpg" width="305" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">After
we took pictures, we packed the </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">dresses in trunks </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">and </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">suitcases </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">with </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">acid-free
tissue. They stayed </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">there </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">tucked </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">away in Nanny's closet </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">until </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">2011 when we had </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">to start </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">removing </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">the antiques from Grammy's </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>I made some
mistakes in the book, but the great thing about it is that the family helped me add information and make corrections. For example, one of the dresses was Nanny’s
wedding dress. I had gotten the year wrong, as well as the list of aunts who
had worn the dress in their weddings. It was easily corrected, and gave my aunts a chance to educate me about our family's history.<br />
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For me, the
project was fun because it suited my interests perfectly, but I think my family was also
grateful because there were things in the book they’d never seen before, and if
they had seen the dresses, it sparked happy memories for them about dress-up or
the exploration of the “special dresses”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now I am grateful that I did the book because it has eased some of the angst of deciding who
inherits each garment now that Grammy has passed. We decided to keep the
collection together for now, but in order to determine who gets to decide the
ultimate disposition of each item, who pays to replace tissue and buy garment
boxes, and who can give the okay to use the dresses for education or dress-up,
we are determining individual ownership and tracking who owns what on the spreadsheet I generated
years ago. The only regret I have is that I didn't document everything. Recent months have taught me that there were a LOT more articles of clothing in that house than I was aware of. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgniln7XKDIrSlce-rGlRIyF3VgxPL8DMxQPGrKFDS4mSHXnra9yhjM3qiLY0dy5Di-pNVBvEqsZx7Qgbyy3-d3zdpCosvKWiuoPdvo6K5fgwfPIMlNF6lkFqHo0scV2byHkygvoZ53nkwg/s1600/DSCF5923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgniln7XKDIrSlce-rGlRIyF3VgxPL8DMxQPGrKFDS4mSHXnra9yhjM3qiLY0dy5Di-pNVBvEqsZx7Qgbyy3-d3zdpCosvKWiuoPdvo6K5fgwfPIMlNF6lkFqHo0scV2byHkygvoZ53nkwg/s320/DSCF5923.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Who would throw out a broken iron? </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Not my </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">family, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">apparently.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
The rest of
the family heirlooms have a similar story. Some were on everyone’s radar, but most
items were tucked away in closets, under piles of clutter, or in unlabeled
boxes. The distribution of the estate has therefore been a messy process. Many siblings
with many different opinions can’t decide by committee who gets every last object; there’s simply too much stuff. Some of it is loaded with sentimental value and some has monetary value, but most would probably have value only to specific niche collectors. For example, behold the collection of irons that turned up.<br />
<br />
Thus the importance of the ‘document
and distribute’ mantra. If someone has expertise with a specific group of heirlooms, they should get it out there! When family members have knowledge that goes beyond emotional attachments, they can feel more confident that they aren't making poor decisions about what they really want to keep and what they can let go.<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<br />
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</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-15132004219045078752012-02-25T16:50:00.000-08:002012-07-15T07:35:53.513-07:00Nanny's Closet<div class="MsoNormal">
My great grandmother died about a year before I was born, but she was still very much a presence in the family when I was growing up. Pictures of Nanny were prominently displayed at my grandmother’s house, and her stuff was everywhere. In many ways, Nanny was to me what the Disney princesses are to today’s little girls. She was this sort of unreal character who had beautiful, old, mysterious things and wore the most amazing dresses I ever saw. Even her name sounded worthy of old English gentry: Georgiana Mayhew Duncan Seavey.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WqZAtW5PmyYt8Kgqpca1Hy539vOW-GDZRGlOCYiw_V-RB5yB0e_HYwXGywzbKcoOsDoaMsduc4MwhGnWPb46ALiesBICCou_xDmSNwjLFl2HV3Z-hSXsHdLEbp1krtq1hXJkNy5UyzS3/s1600/Nanny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WqZAtW5PmyYt8Kgqpca1Hy539vOW-GDZRGlOCYiw_V-RB5yB0e_HYwXGywzbKcoOsDoaMsduc4MwhGnWPb46ALiesBICCou_xDmSNwjLFl2HV3Z-hSXsHdLEbp1krtq1hXJkNy5UyzS3/s640/Nanny.jpg" width="513" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Georgiana Mayhew Duncan, or "Nanny" as she is known in our family. This image was taken in 1906</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
just after she graduated from La Salle University. She was 21. This dress is one of the ones she stored</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
away in a closet near her room when she moved in with her oldest daughter's family in the 1940s. </div>
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So can you imagine my enthusiasm when I was given the opportunity to dig around in the closet that held all of Nanny’s oldest dresses and nice things? Grammy Rivers had just helped me start collecting antique purses <a href="http://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2012/02/it-started-with-purse-and-my-grammy.html">(story here)</a>, and she thought that there might be some purses in the closet that Nanny, her mother, had used until she died in 1976. For the most part, this closet had been left alone since Nanny died. The Christmas things were piled high right inside the door, so its depths had not been accessible. I had already decided by this time that I wanted to be an archaeologist, so excavating the depths of a large closet full of family heirlooms was like blisspalooza for me. I vowed to devote whatever vacation time I had to Grammy’s offer to go through the closet together.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXKruzu5tPSJWTbJg5kKT3rha0RU5TUf1Z-yVLk1CYg2gj6UqUSEJsWClvy04Et5CQjXMUw1nsNpvtP2FP4H_oQoOr1cWG0JR6BzlXw7a9NW6XdUU3C-zHpDmbxNW5yYo9HhqzXohF91o/s1600/DSCF5046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXKruzu5tPSJWTbJg5kKT3rha0RU5TUf1Z-yVLk1CYg2gj6UqUSEJsWClvy04Et5CQjXMUw1nsNpvtP2FP4H_oQoOr1cWG0JR6BzlXw7a9NW6XdUU3C-zHpDmbxNW5yYo9HhqzXohF91o/s400/DSCF5046.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Nanny's closet as it appeared in October 2011. It's actually less crowded here </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">than it had been in the late 1980s, but I didn't take pictures back then.</span></div>
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By the end of the first hour we had completely trashed Nanny’s old bedroom with piles of things we had to get out of the way, and we successfully reached the first trunk. There was a lot of dust, dirt, rodent excrement, and suspicious debris, but I was a kid who had never read up on biohazards, and at the age of 11 or 12, I had little guilt about ignoring messes (like complete mouse skeletons) that Grammy was too blind to see. I was just excited to be there, and the discovery of really old clothes and purses—the only things I really cared much about at the time—was about to begin. <span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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There was too much stuff for me to remember all of it, but here’s a sample: piles of gently used wrapping paper, a plastic garment case full of circa 1960s coats and dresses, suitcases full of older dresses, circa 1850-1925, hats-a-plenty, furs, a pitcher and basin in its original shipping container, complete with mouse nest inside, a box of wooden jigsaw puzzles, really old photo negatives rolled up with age, a trunk full of linens, shawls, and newspapers, a box of Japanese parasols, a folding lap desk full of letters, and a huge trunk full of fabric scraps. And that barely represented a fraction of what was there. We didn’t even get to about half of the boxes in the closet, but still, it was more memorable even than the Milli Vanilli concert I went to that year!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The trunks in Nanny's closet were in the same place in 2011 as they had </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">been when I first went though the closet with Grammy Rivers. On the right </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">are hanging bags with furs in them, and the shelf in the back has </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">boxes </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">with puzzles, letters, and old photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A box of Japanese parasols.</span></div>
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A major highlight of the treasure hunt for me was a chance to try on the most amazing green dress. The bodice was so tight that I had to take short shallow breaths and I could barely move (and it wasn’t just because I was unknowingly wearing it backwards). Also, the skirt was missing the crinoline it needed to reach the diameter it was intended to have, so it dragged on the floor and I accidentally stepped on the hem a couple of times. I am ashamed to admit that I heard it rip. It’s hard not to be haunted by that now that I know so much more about the age and fragile condition of the dress. I’m still grateful that I tried it on though; had I waited even one more year, I would probably have outgrown it or developed some scruples about using an 1850s gown to fulfill my dress-up fantasies. The memories mean so much to me though, that even my current curatorial ethics can’t convince me that the minor rips weren’t worth it.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Extreme dress-up aside, Grammy and I also had the pleasure of finding what we were originally looking for: several antique purses. Most of them were ones that Grammy had never seen before, meaning that they had probably belonged to her mother or grandmother before she was born in 1912. Grammy gave them to me for my collection, and I have cherished them ever since. I’ll devote a whole blog entry to those later.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TGyNRdRovRYtklLn97pHJ0N7OsMSbtrc8Zwilh75Z6J2JSFk1c4rQLNxeIP5T7mfPzDcD3eengc9og1JTp3w4vEi5Oq6Vd98sOBdiZ5ZFcr9kGXErQiT47EuAJkfSD_T9B8j5pXIrPoa/s1600/Green+dress+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TGyNRdRovRYtklLn97pHJ0N7OsMSbtrc8Zwilh75Z6J2JSFk1c4rQLNxeIP5T7mfPzDcD3eengc9og1JTp3w4vEi5Oq6Vd98sOBdiZ5ZFcr9kGXErQiT47EuAJkfSD_T9B8j5pXIrPoa/s640/Green+dress+2.jpg" width="552" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">This 1850s dress boasted a pagoda sleeve and slightly pointed bodice, but </span><span style="background-color: white;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">you can't tell since I put it </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">on </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">backwards. How was I supposed to know?</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">The skirt suffers a bit without a crinoline, but I was still </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">ever so </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">happy.</span></div>
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Purses were no longer enough for me though. After this foray into Nanny’s closet I decided that antique dresses were too irresistible to admire only on family visits, and I resolved to start my own collection of those as well. By the time I entered Jr. High, I was saving my allowance for antique shows. Now, as an adult, I sometimes I wonder how much money I’d have in my IRA if I had saved up instead of investing in my costume collection. But I have no regrets. My collection may not pay for my retirement, but the enjoyment I get from it is priceless.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-16648951863307207272012-02-15T17:36:00.000-08:002012-02-15T17:36:39.072-08:00This isn’t my day job (most days)<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am an archaeologist. Yes, it is a real job. This is the career I’ve wanted since the 3<sup>rd</sup> or 4<sup>th</sup> grade (see pictures for proof). I used to work on excavations, but about 12 years ago I took some classes on conservation and some major guilt kicked in. I learned all about how the evil “agents of deterioration” were acting on everything I had ever excavated, and I knew from experience that artifacts sometimes turn to powder because of neglect. Since learning that, I have worked to assess and research collections instead of creating new ones. It’s not that I have a problem with new collections being generated, far from it, I just find it more rewarding to be the one caring for the artifacts when the excavation is over. I’m now a curator in a museum where I compile research on archaeological collections, keep them organized, and make sure they are kept according to archival museum standards.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7IfST87rznT5ju7ZLGvWhHJaAg2rMgl7-KpJamBnSo-df6uLxIB74NdXhC2iAjUIxO5kcDUqHx2dNKvOEAdUVX8YnguECSPi7tIrO-2JYauPUCViGloz_gJeMdXp6CRN6DUh2vIBfkNfS/s1600/Flood+Place+dig+montage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7IfST87rznT5ju7ZLGvWhHJaAg2rMgl7-KpJamBnSo-df6uLxIB74NdXhC2iAjUIxO5kcDUqHx2dNKvOEAdUVX8YnguECSPi7tIrO-2JYauPUCViGloz_gJeMdXp6CRN6DUh2vIBfkNfS/s640/Flood+Place+dig+montage.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Behold my first archaeological dig. I am a 5th grader in these photos, and I had gotten a book about how to do archaeology. It went over the supplies needed, and said to set up a grid. Grammy Rivers and my parents helped me gather the tools, and then Grammy, in rollers, helped me drive in the grid stakes (top left). But the book didn't really say what to do next. For example, it didn't point out the folly of sifting into the unit you are digging. Still, I got a school project and a boat load of 19th-century artifacts out of it. Big thanks to the 'rents for cutting the lumber off our land in Maine, revealing the site, and for donating the use of the dining room table as my mending station for a year or two (bottom right). I didn't do it right back then-- Elmers glue is not recommended on archaeological ceramics-- but I was a kid with the coolest jigsaw puzzle I could have ever hoped for. I kind of regret the bangs and the purple moon boots, but not my interest in archaeology, even if I didn't do it according to professional standards. </td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Usually, this career has nothing to do with the private collections that I post about on this blog. My personal treasures are almost entirely clothing articles made of fragile textiles, and fabric rarely survives underground in the Chesapeake region where I work; there are too many little microbes that find them tasty. So in theory, home and work should not overlap. But, of course, they do.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Collections management is collections management no matter where you are. I’m trained to do it professionally, and I can’t discard that knowledge when I get home. In a professional museum setting, collections care calls for organization, inventories, tracking, archival materials, safe handling, pest control, and sufficient storage space. Ideally, you should have a budget and staff to maintain this order. Pest traps, acid-free boxes, sufficient shelving, database software… You get the picture. Also, when you are paid to care for collections, you have 40 hours a week to stay on top of these things.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At home? Well, the budget isn’t really there for one thing. Archaeology as a career isn’t lucrative from a cash standpoint, though I do feel rich when it comes to enjoying my work. So my house is small, archival storage is expensive (and not something I want to use to decorate my living room), climate control is impossible because my small house is also old, and pest control is only going to happen if my cats take an interest. Conditions for my collections at home include such curatorial no-nos as overstuffed boxes, boxes stacked perilously high, major fluctuations in temperature and humidity, use of wooden storage containers that off-gas acids, and the placement of collections in a closet that is known to have had mold and moths.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I do my best to monitor things and get the right storage materials as my budget allows, but even when I purchase archival-quality supplies, there’s no telling when I’ll get around to using them. As I write this, a brand new pack of acid-free tissue sits on a table in my living room and it has been there for well over a month. Because here’s another thing I usually lack at home: any motivation whatsoever to continue doing what I did all day at work. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I like getting my collections out, looking at them, inspecting how they were made, taking pictures, and putting garments on a dress form to see how they once fit. I do not, however, like putting it all away again, nor do I let myself dwell on a stain I saw or a smell that lingers. If my goal in getting things out is inventory or condition assessment, that takes all the fun out of it! Truly, if the word “systematic” enters my mind with regard to going through the collection, I immediately feel some urgent need to check Facebook or watch TV. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All that being said, I do know what I’m supposed to do as a responsible steward of collections. I do make myself put things away, and I do eventually use those storage supplies. From time to time my posts will focus on techniques for caring for costumes in a non-museum setting. I have to take a practical, low budget approach, even if it’s not up to par with what I would do at work. If my readers also have collections, maybe it’ll be useful to share what I like to call “best-ish” practice for collections care at home.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-74605683674245696572012-02-05T11:08:00.000-08:002012-07-15T07:32:25.170-07:00It Started with a Purse and my Grammy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Charlotte Seavey Rivers (1912-2011). </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Shown here in 1929 at age 17.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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About a month after I started this blog, my grandmother, Charlotte Seavey Rivers, passed away. She was 99. My commitment to this blog increased exponentially at that point, but turning it into the resource I need it to be will be daunting. The provenance of much of my collection, and in fact, my reason for having a collection at all, is tied to Grammy Rivers. Her passing sparked a need to reorganize my house, my closet, my collections, and my thoughts about family, old clothes, family, hoarding, and family. All are tied up in one big tangled yarn ball at the intersection of my career, my beloved hobbies, and my relationships with people I love. If you can picture that tangle of yarn, comprised of three colors-- my collections, family heirlooms, and my job-- then picture this blog as snippets that I have freed as I have time to sit and pick through the jumble. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For this entry, I’m concentrating on finding the beginning of one strand: my collections. Here’s how it all started with a purse, a pocket obsession, and a purchase.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Shopping with Grammy</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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In the late 1980s, before there was such a thing as eBay, antique dealers used to set up booths at the mall from time to time. When I was in 5<sup>th</sup> or 6<sup>th</sup> grade in Fulton, New York, Grammy Rivers was visiting us from Maine when our family decided to hit the local mall. There was an antique show going on, and Grammy and I split off to look at the booths while the rest of the family did their shopping. I had a coin collection, and usually at least one booth featured coins, so I brought my cash. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While my memory of the day is fuzzy, here’s what I remember vividly: One booth had two purses hanging from a shelf, one smaller than the other. Both were tapestry purses, both had interesting decorations on the frame, one was $15.00, the other was $20.00, and I WANTED ONE. I actually circled the mall twice, stopping each time to handle these beauties. Finally, I asked the dealer if he could come down on the price and he complied: $11.00 for the little purse and $15 for the big one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;">Here it is: the purse that caught my tween eye.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I loved the fantasy castle scene, the enamel</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">work on the frame, and what I found inside... </span></div>
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I had always had a thing for wallets and purses with a lot of pockets. Whether a hand-me-down of an old purse from my mom or a yard sale find, I measured the value of the accessory by the pocket count. Which is weird, because at that age I had pretty much no need whatsoever for a wallet or a purse. I only made money through a small allowance and the rule that I could keep any change I found around the house (except for quarters). When I did have something important enough to store deep in the recess of a hidden pocket, I usually forgot it was there. Still, I was a kid and ‘need’ wasn’t really factoring into my decisions. I was probably thinking something like: “Neat. Want. Pretty.” Given my mantra “more pockets are better” I was naturally drawn to the larger tapestry purse because it had the coolest feature; a mini-purse within the purse! But sadly, I had only $12.00. It was frustrating, but at least I could afford the little one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A mini purse INSIDE the purse. Brilliant!</span></td></tr>
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Grammy Rivers had witnessed my interest and torment as I weighed my options; I had dragged her back to the booth twice, after all. And then she did something I totally didn’t expect; she offered me $3.00 so that I could get the BIG purse. I was in awe. The idea that my Grammy was even a participant in the market economy hadn’t ever really occurred to me. She grew and canned a lot of her own food, she was mostly blind and couldn’t drive, and as a retired mother of ten and grandmother of 25-ish (I seriously don’t know) she wasn’t someone who threw money around. In my mentalverse, cash from Grammy: A) came from a birthday card via mail, and B) never exceeded $5.00. This was like getting an unexpected raise for a job I didn’t do from a person I didn’t ever think of as ever even having touched a dollar bill. I was so joyful. Grammy had helped me obtain a completely impractical but fascinating antique AND she had expanded my view of her from just “my Grammy” to “member of society at large.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkC39kLFzba0yGGqSP-wZY10KF0OieNW__pvm0jUmqLB36UYvbFIDixFcanroab8w79Uy-Bpa_Jwmh77SsQsAu5ypQajchSMRwKMuQ_Kn49nXuU1XLG_aDL5YG1w-ujEuPcsbX0zjvgRN8/s1600/Asian+embriodery+both+sides.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkC39kLFzba0yGGqSP-wZY10KF0OieNW__pvm0jUmqLB36UYvbFIDixFcanroab8w79Uy-Bpa_Jwmh77SsQsAu5ypQajchSMRwKMuQ_Kn49nXuU1XLG_aDL5YG1w-ujEuPcsbX0zjvgRN8/s320/Asian+embriodery+both+sides.png" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The $2.00 yard sale find that brought my purse </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">count up to two: an official "collection."</span></td></tr>
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Not long thereafter, I found an adorable little embroidered purse with an Asian scene on it for $2.00 at a yard sale and bought it. The clouds parted, the sunbeams broke through, and lo, a collection was born! I added to my ‘purse drawer’ with all of the enthusiasm my child-sized budget allowed, while my other collections- coins, pretty rocks, seashells, and matchbox cars -were relegated to storage in my closet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Most importantly, however, Grammy and I bonded over this new interest that she had helped me pursue. She saw how much I loved these old purses, and old things in general, and boy did she ever have access to old things! We were set on a course that led to Nanny’s closet, but that is a story best left for another post…<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-87263369745883987342011-09-04T10:48:00.000-07:002012-07-15T07:30:23.144-07:00Dress in Distress<br />
My mom just got me this wonderful dress as an early birthday present. Great mom, right? I think so. Anyway, it had one long thread running through it around the waist and down part of the back as a repair. It was a sloppy fix, and it threw off the original proportions because the thread was too short and gathered the skirt. So I cut the thread and freed the dress of its confinement.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihidgWeFp9w4n0qCkVJF2yerFMDehO9m1boMif6nqFp17DDrz_-Yn_wnutPm0AwvTGTdPXGlZysN-yC_x7Fdpp_4IYBpHKQuH6vbTUxL4mg6Nval5NucXkqcDxanYQyCQ-8DgjEkoAuvMJ/s1600/DSCF4909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihidgWeFp9w4n0qCkVJF2yerFMDehO9m1boMif6nqFp17DDrz_-Yn_wnutPm0AwvTGTdPXGlZysN-yC_x7Fdpp_4IYBpHKQuH6vbTUxL4mg6Nval5NucXkqcDxanYQyCQ-8DgjEkoAuvMJ/s320/DSCF4909.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ca. 1900-1905 Lingerie Dress</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPbFcRalru3PpdOSq2FqnbwDjx3hOlKAv3EbFYayKhJEyTyaRWnAqcvBvTZ1S_eYK56fTzcKV3GWNr-e8_X0K3p_A5cA4INAv5JTlYXPosZMsqBjXB5z6msOHxtngGsi7CNQnuIjKKXFG/s1600/DSCF4911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPbFcRalru3PpdOSq2FqnbwDjx3hOlKAv3EbFYayKhJEyTyaRWnAqcvBvTZ1S_eYK56fTzcKV3GWNr-e8_X0K3p_A5cA4INAv5JTlYXPosZMsqBjXB5z6msOHxtngGsi7CNQnuIjKKXFG/s320/DSCF4911.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Closer shot of the Bodice<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view from the back</td></tr>
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Well, as it turns out, that one heroic thread was doing a lot more work than I realized. Eeek!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Aaaaaah! It's barely keeping together at one hip!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">And it's even worse at the back. No, this is not supposed to have a slit like a hospital gown.</td></tr>
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What to do? Well it just so happens that the same fabulous mom who bought me this dress also rescued a bunch of turn-of-the-century fabrics, laces, and trims for me from my great-grandmother's stash. Nanny had been a seamstress and a bit of a hoarder herself, but since she died in the 1970s, only the mice and the occasional bat had benefited from her collecting. Fabric and lace = nice comfy critter home. Rodent excrement and odor calls for harsh intervention, so my mom broke out the Oxy Clean (Gasp!). This is NOT recommended by costume conservators everywhere. Frankly, the stuff might have dissolved. Not a big risk though. It was already theoretically ruined, and not exactly worth the attention of a costly textile conservator. Besides, the goods didn't dissolve and are now mouse poo free! And it just so happens that one of the fabrics is a perfect match for this dress.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nanny's old fabric to the rescue!</td></tr>
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So here's the plan: Cut a strip of Nanny's dainty cotton to make a support for the waist. I'll hand sew it to the bodice and skirt and then tack the lace to the fabric. True, this dress would not have had fabric reinforcing the waist, but if I reconnect the rip without support it'll probably just pull apart at another spot and cause more damage. Stay tuned for results...<br />
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</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131493030777115457.post-24189153909084620392011-09-04T09:56:00.000-07:002011-09-04T09:56:13.894-07:00What am I doing here?What I am doing here? Showing off, obviously. I have this collection of costumes and purses, mostly pre-1920, but it rarely comes out of storage. I collect because I love the workmanship and history in these items, and I've been acquiring things since I was ten years old.<br />
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Lately I've decided that just hoarding costumes is less satisfying than getting them out and studying them, so I thought, 'Hey, if I put my explorations in a blog, I'll not only have a website to go to when I want to make googly eyes at my pretty things, but maybe someone else will look at them and share their insights!'<br />
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I expect my commitment to this blog to be as sporadic as my commitment to getting things out and then cleaning up after myself; a constant challenge when costumes are big and stuffed with tissue. Sporadic is better than nothing though, right?Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140016350964710222noreply@blogger.com0