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Girl's Dress
Girl's Dress

Girl's Dress

Original OwnerOriginally owned by Jennie Elizabeth Coffin American, 1862 - 1870
Clothing MakerMade by Unknown
Dateabout 1869
MediumHand-stitched silk and cotton, with boning (probably baleen), wool tape, brass hooks and eyes, linen (probably) lace, and silk-covered wooden (probably) buttons
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (center back length x width across shoulders): 34 x 13 1/2in. (86.4 x 34.3cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Vincent Brown Coffin
DescriptionGirl's dress of blue and white silk gingham, with a high, round neckline edge edged with narrow bobbin-type lace. The bodice is decorated from the shoulders to the center front and center back with a strip of self-fabric, 1 1/2-inch-wide, with pinked edges, gathered under a blue silk braid. This trimming is laid on each side in a long, narrow loop configuration. The coat sleeves are trimmed around the wrists with the same decoration. The skirt is flat at center front and knife-pleated on the sides. The center back is cartridge-pleated.
The skirt is decorated in a swagged design in front with the self-fabric trim, similar but wider than that used on the bodice. The dress opens at center back for a length of about twenty inches and fastens with domed buttons, covered with blue silk thread worked in a net-like pattern. There are nine buttons, plus hooks and eyes under the buttons for extra stability. The bodice is lined with a plain white cotton. It is boned at the center front, and in the darts. The skirt is lined with a slightly looser-weave white cotton. There is an in-seam pocket on the right side. A blue wool tape loop for hanging the dress is stitched at the center front inside waist.
Object number1971.67.5.1
Subject Terms
    On View
    Not on view
    Dress
    Clara Eglantine Comstock
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    about 1855-1860
    Front of dress with overskirt.
    Unknown
    about 1870
    Gift of Phyllis Kihn, 1980.38.4a-d  © 2013 The Connecticut Historical Society.
    Marie L. Brown
    1870
    Gift of Sarah E. Plummer, 1952.18.0a-b, Connecticut Historical Society, Public Domain
    Lena Lee Howard
    1882
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    Amelia Kellogg
    about 1881
    Gift of Stella P. Olmsted, 1976.58.12b-c, Connecticut Historical Society, Public Domain
    Emma D. Sharp
    1884-about 1889
    Gift of Amy Crocker Leighton, 1956.46.3 (jacket) and Gift of Mrs. John D. Rusku, 1966.137.7b (s…
    Unknown
    about 1865
    Gift of Phyllis Kihn, 1980.38.2a-c, Connecticut Historical Society, Public Domain
    Marie L. Brown
    1870
    Wedding Dress
    Mary Cornelia Bishop
    1873
    Dress
    Unknown
    about 1875
    Dress
    Unknown
    1863-1865, with later alteration