Description:
One-piece dress made of "Bismarck" or gold-brown fabric, with a cotton warp and wool weft (possibly Southdown sheep's wool) with original pressed glass buttons, four metal buttons (replaced), silk gimp trim, glass beads, brown wool braid, brown twill cotton lining, and brown glazed linen skirt facing. The dress was worn by Jennie Whitcomb (1839-1924) of Richmond, New Hampshire, when she married Amro Whitney Streeter (1838-1928) on March 11, 1869; the couple lived in Winchendon, Massachusetts, where Amos had an insurance or real estate company. The dress is characteristic of those of the mid-1860s, with dropped shoulder seams, a full skirt pleated into a slightly elevated waistband, and curved coat sleeves (sleeves with two seams). By the mid-1860s, brownish-gold was a popular color for fashionable women's dress as described in Godey's "Lady's Book and Magazine" in November 1867: "In dress goods, various shades of brown prevail; the beautiful Bismarcks, golden browns, and the graver shades suited to plainer tastes." Until the early 20th century, wedding dresses were often a color other than white. After the ceremony, a woman’s wedding dress became her best or most formal dress, and as such, a darker fabric was more practical than one made from a lighter color. The dress would have been made by a local dressmaker or skilled relative, perhaps even Whitcomb herself. A cage crinoline was necessary to provide the elliptical shape to the ungored skirt.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2007.17.6 |
