Short Gown

Date1800-1830

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Chester County

MediumCotton warp, linen weft, sewn with cotton (by microscope 10/21/14).

DimensionsOverall: 64.8 x 173cm (25 1/2 x 68 1/8in at long sleeves); Selvage width of textile is 28 inches.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2014-206

DescriptionWoman's short gown of blue and white stripes, woven with cotton warps and thin linen wefts. The stripes measure less than 1/8 inch wide. The selvages are corded with gold colored thread. Gown is made to open down the front, fastened with a drawstring at the upper neck and finished with narrow hems to be pinned closed or overlapped and fastened with an apron around the waist. Rounded scooped neckline has the edge turned over to form a casing for a linen tape drawstring. Gown has no fitting darts, but is cut to shape under the arms and flare out to short skirts at the hips. Long sleeves taper slightly to the wrist, where they are turned under and hemmed.
Label TextAlthough this short gown is made in a traditional late eighteenth-century style, the presence of cotton sewing threads suggests a date in the nineteenth century.
ProvenanceSaid to have been worn by Sarah Pennock of Chester, Pennsylvania. There were a number of Sarah Pennocks in the Chester and Philadelphia vicinity. This could refer to a Sarah Pennock born September 20, 1774, to Jesse and Hannah Pennock, New Garden Monthly Meeting, Chester, Pennsylvania. It could also refer to Sarah Wistar Pennock (1770-1845), some of whose family clothing is accessioned at Colonial Williamsburg as 2009-43, 1-9.