Stays
DateCa. 1760
OriginAmerica, Rhode Island
MediumCotton and linen satin, boned and lined with check linen.
DimensionsLength Center front L 5 1/4"; Chest 14 1/2" Waist 13 1/2"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1986-212,2
DescriptionChild's small stays of cotton and linen coarse satin, boned with baleen, trimmed with linen tape and edged with leather. Channels for boning sewn with cream color linen back stitches. Stays have no shoulder straps, tabs over hips, and back lacing with 12 eyelets (6 each side.) Lined with blue checkLabel TextThese tiny stays have a history of being worn in Rhode Island by little Elizabeth Butler, age 1. Stays were thought to give support to the back and promote a straight shape, and children were often put in stays at a very young age. By the late eighteenth century, the use of stays for very young children was discontinued.
ProvenanceTradition of having been worn by Elizabeth Butler (Mrs. Robert Davis) around age one. See 1986-212,1 for text of accompanying paper.
