Description:
Red wool cloak with hood. The garment has a history of ownership associated with Huldah Shaylor Ives (1752-1810) who was born in Haddam, Connecticut, and married clockmaker Amasa Ives (1748-1817) of Wallingford, Connecticut, on December 19, 1771. These kinds of outergarments, often worn by women, were referred to as "cardinals" during their use in the 18th and early 19th centuries. For example, an advertisement placed in Hartford's Connecticut Courant by Archibald Campbell "at the house of Mrs. Collyer, in Hartford" on June 17, 1768 announced "a parcel of dry Goods, consisting chiefly of Irish Hollands, Cotton Checks, cardinal cloaks, and silk handkerchiefs." The original trimming on this example may have been black. Although often called "cardinals," that term may refer to the full length of the garment and its proximity to religious dress, rather than exclusively its red color.

Label Text:
Cloaks worn in the 18th and early 19th centuries are some of the simplest forms of outerwear. Examples like this one are constructed using wide widths of wool cut and hemmed to completely envelope the wearer. Textile color, pattern, and a matching or contrasting trim, as well as the occasional presence of a collar or cape, are the only nods to fashion these practical, protective outer garments display.

Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Wool

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.640

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.

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