Images(2)

Dress

Date1825-1830

OriginAmerica, New York

MediumCotton

DimensionsWaist: 9 ½ inches Center front: 19 ¾ inches

Credit LineGift of The Valentine Museum, Richmond, VA

Object number2022-145

DescriptionVery fine white cotton dress for an infant or child. The upper portion of the dress is decorated around the neck line with an overlay of open worked diamonds and leaf like petals, edged in eyelets worked with buttonhole stitches. The open diamond area is only at center front, while the triangles continue around the sleeve and back. A smaller version of the leaf stems continues down the center front with eyelets made worked in buttonhole stitch. These same motifs are repeated at the hem of the dress. Five vey narrow tucks were taken at the bottom hem of the dress. A draw string makes the waist adjustable and is embroidered with a heavy white thread. Likewise a casing runs around the neck edge of the dress.
Label TextThis very fine cotton child’s or infant gown was typical wear for young children in the early 19th century. While the garment looks very plain, the embroidery details add a lot of embellishment to the dress.
ProvenanceThis garment was donated to the Valentine Museum in 1941 and was transferred to Colonial Williamsburg in 2022. The garment was given to The Valentine by Sue Brown Briggs Wade (1900-1982). Mrs. Wade stated that the garments were given to her mother by Alice Leocadie Boucher (1848 -?) who moved to Richmond, Virginia by 1890 for her three girls to attend school. The clothes were stored in a trunk marked "E. A. Mowett." Mowett was either Elizabeth Ann Mowett Boucher (1825-1890), mother of Alice Boucher or Elizabeth Ann Grayson Mowatt (1802-1869), grandmother of Alice Boucher. Based on style and embroidery, more than likely the dress belonged to Elizabeth Ann Mowett Boucher.