Description:
Woman's one piece block printed and hand painted, glazed cotton jacket with high, gathered waistline, long, fitted sleeves, and linen lining. Paired with a petticoat, this jacket was a practical alternative to more a formal, one-piece gown.The fashion fabric is a densely-patterned floral design of pink, orange and yellow flowers with white and green centers (the green is achieved by overpainting "pencil" blue onto painted or printed yellow, and in some areas the yellow was fugitve, leaving only the blue) densely packed onto a printed reddish-brown ground. The presence of a single blue thread in the selvage, required of English cottons domestically produced between 1774 and 1811, confirms its origins. Both the square-ish, round neckling and high waist are gathered along narrow (replaced) drawstrings. An additional self fabric tie acts as a secondary closure around the waist. The bodice's peplum is box-pleated three times at the center back for added fullness. Long, shaped and fitted sleeves terminate with three self fabric covered buttons. This garment is an important item for many reasons. It exhibits many holdovers from traditional 18th-century fashion, including top stitched back seams and shoulder pieces, as well as a fitted lining that was probably originally made for another, lower waisted garment. The glazed cotton, with its vibrant, densely patterned design set against a dark background color, resembles fashionable printed English cottons imported to the Connecticut River Valley and elsewhere during the 1790s. However, the garment's high waistline date it to the very early 19th century. Piecing in the sleeves suggest that the garment was remade from an original, slightly earlier garment, perhaps a dress. This would have been an item in at least a moderately wealthy household. The printed floral pattern is in the style of British cotton designer William Kilburn, although his designs were typically much finer.
Label Text:
Paired with a petticoat, this jacket was a practical alternative to more a formal, one-piece gown. The glazed cotton, with its vibrant, densely patterned design set against a dark background color, resembles fashionable printed English cottons imported to the Connecticut River Valley and elsewhere during the 1790s. The deft piecing of fabric on the garment’s sleeves, as well as the stitching of pattern pieces at the shoulders, suggests that the jacket was remade from an earlier dress. However, the gathered, high waist places it firmly in the early years of the 19th century.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2012.1 |
