Cap

Dateca. 1825

MediumCotton tabby with embroidery trim

DimensionsOL: 9"

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Carey

Object number1990-192

DescriptionWoman's cap of white tabby cotton trimmed with white embroidered insertion extending front to back in two rows at top of forehead and around the full high crown. Cap cut with ruffled band shaped to surround face, extending down over ears, and around to back neck. Gathered fabric forms a high, puffed crown. Self fabric ties under chin.
Label TextAccording to family tradition, the cap was worn by one of two sisters, either Hepsibah Melendy or Sarah Melendy, both of Amherst, New Hampshire. Mature women typically wore caps that covered more of their hair than those worn by younger women. The tall puffy crown of this cap is shaped for hair worn in a bun on the top of the head, a fashionable hairstyle in the 1820s.
ProvenanceWorn by one of two sisters living in Amherst, NH, Hepsibah Melendy (1791-1887) or Sarah Melendy ( 1792-1883).

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