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Front of shroud.
Shroud and Cap
Front of shroud.

Shroud and Cap

Dateabout 1830-1850
MediumHand-stitched glazed cotton
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall length x width at shoulders): 58 1/2 x 30in. (148.6 x 76.2cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
DescriptionShroud: Hand-stitched, brown glazed cotton "cambric," with a drawstring neck and drawstring wrist openings. It was hastily made; stitching is coarse and edges are left raw. The neckline, wrist openings, and hem are cut (pinked) in a zig-zag or "Van Dyke" edge. This edge is turned to the outside of the drawstring casings to form a ruffle around the neckline and wrists. The shroud fabric is of the sort typically used as a lining for dresses in the second and third quarters of the nineteenth century, helping to date this garment.

Cap: Made of the same glazed brown cotton as the shroud. It was cut in a double-hump ("m") shape from selvage to selvage, folded in half, and seamed along the rounded top edge. It is gathered at the back of the neck and at the top of the front (face) edge. The front edges are selvage, the bottom edge is raw. There is no method of tying or fastening.

Object number1985.165.0a,b
On View
Not on view
Dress
Elizabeth Gay Sisson
about 1887
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Mary Elizabeth Carter
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Gift of Mrs. Howard B. Haylett, 1956.58.8a-c, Connecticut Historical Society, Public Domain
Dr. Julia Emily Skinner
about 1880
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Unknown
about 1873