Description:
Woman's one-piece round gown, full-length, featuring a center front-closing bodice over an apron-front skirt. The garment is made from a blue, plain-weave unglazed wool (tabby) wool, wsoven in an unbalanced, weft-faced plain weave, with approximately 64 threads per inch in the weft, and 52 ends per inch in the warp. Both the warp and weft are spun in a loose Z twist. The gown has three-quarter-length, untrimmed sleeves; a square neckline in front and back. The binding of the top of the apron-front skirt was probably pinned or stitched into position over the stays or petticoat and covered over with the bodice tabs. The stays were an essential part of this syle as there is no stiffening in the dress bodice. The skirt is made up of three widths (all selvage to selvage widths 34 1/2" wide); the waist seam entirely bisects the bodice and skirt; and the skirt is box pleated (8 box pleats total) into the waist seam all around. The bodice is lined with plain linen, as are the sleeves and the pleated back has been cut with a center back seam. Garments such as this good, but more ordinary gown are especially rare. According to family history, the dress is believed to have belonged to Anne Brooks (b.1744), the daughter of Joseph Brooks (1710-1750) and Mary Bliss (b.1710) who married in 1734 and moved to Palmer, Massachusetts. In 1765, Ann married Caleb Morgan of West Springfield, Massachusetts.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2003.27.1 |
