Dress
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Elizabeth Breese Hazard
(American, 1786 - 1861)
Clothing MakerMade by
Unknown
Dateabout 1800-1810
MediumHand-stitched and hand-embroidered cotton muslin, with linen waistband lining
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (length x width across back, including sleeves): 19 3/4 x 51 1/2in. (50.2 x 130.8cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Katherine H. Annin
Object number1963.42.3
DescriptionSheer white cotton muslin, embroidered with dots of heavier cotton. The waistline is high (2 1/2 inches below the armhole at the sides) and the sleeves are short. The sleeves are set smoothly into the armscye in front and gathered in the back, near the top of the shoulder. The sleeves have a triangular shaped panel set into the top, lightly gathered on all sides, so that it is puffed. At the back of the sleeve, along the back edge of the triangular panel, is a 1 1/4-inch strip of tambour-embroidered muslin. The embroidery is of diagonal foliate designs, with diamond shapes worked with French knots in between. The sleeves end in a narrow, straight band of self-fabric backed with plain-woven linen. The armscyes are deeply cut, so that the dress is only about 6 inches across the back.
The rounded neckline is controlled with a narrow, woven cotton drawstring, so that the bodice is gathered and full in front. The back opening is 13 1/2 inches long (now torn much longer); it closes at the top with a drawstring. The waistband is 5/8 inches wide, and is lined with plain-woven linen. The skirt is gathered into the waistband at the center back for about six inches across; it is smooth around the sides and front.
NotesHistorical Notes: According to museum records, this dress was worn to balls by Elizabeth Breese Hazard (1786-1861), the daughter of Ebenezer and Abigail Arthur Hazard of Philadelphia. According to the Dictionary of American Biography, the Hazard family lived in New York from 1785-89, and then returned to Philadelphia until the father's death in 1817. On 9 September 1807, Elizabeth Breese Hazard married Ebenezer Rockwood (1781-1815), a lawyer in Boston. CHS records state that she lived "in New Haven, where she ran some kind of a boarding house after her first husband died." If this is true, it is possible that her second husband, Rev. Thomas Edward Vermilye (1803-93), was one of her boarders; they married in 1821 or 1822; he graduated from Yale in 1822 and subsequently served as pastor of the Church of St. Nicholas/Collegate Reformed Church of New York City. The dating of this dress suggests that it could have been worn either in Philadelphia, before the 1807 marriage, or in Boston. (Schoelwer 3/10/2005)The rounded neckline is controlled with a narrow, woven cotton drawstring, so that the bodice is gathered and full in front. The back opening is 13 1/2 inches long (now torn much longer); it closes at the top with a drawstring. The waistband is 5/8 inches wide, and is lined with plain-woven linen. The skirt is gathered into the waistband at the center back for about six inches across; it is smooth around the sides and front.
Status
Not on view
