Images(4)

Bodice

DateCa. 1780, remade 1795-1800

OriginGreat Britain

MediumCotton textile, block-printed in brown, red, purple, pencil blue, yellow, and overprinted green.

DimensionsBust measurement approx. 38 1/2" Rib cage (raised waist): 31 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1947-510,1

DescriptionWoman's gown or dress bodice (skirt removed) of cotton, block printed in red, purple, brown, pencil blue, yellow, and overprinted green in a design of wide stripes with undulating floral vines on white between ribbon and bowknot stripes on red ground. Bodice has double front closure. A printed under bodice is fastened closed at center front with hooks and eyes, probably original. The outer bodice consists of two loose panels that would cross over the hooked underbodice. Slim sleeves, cut on the crosswise of the fabric, are cut to curve over the elbow, ending just below the elbow. No sleeve or edge trimming. Bodice back is cut high at the neck with very narrow shoulder blades. White linen bodice lining with eyelets sewn into the lining of the back bodice for inserting boning.

Construction History:

1. 1780: Initial Construction
2. 1795 - 1800: Remade
3. September 4, 1956: Cleaning, restoring by Ernest LoNano for the Margaret Hunter Shop
Label TextThe cotton textile used for this bodice was block printed in madder colors, with the addition of blue and yellow penciled, or brushed on, after printing. The green was produced by overprinting blue and yellow. Three blue threads in the selvages indicate that the textile was cotton, printed in Britain between 1774 and 1811.

The bodice was originally constructed in the style of the 1780s, but was remade in the late eighteenth century, when waistlines were getting higher and cross-over draped effects were fashionable. This bodice once had an attached skirt, which was later removed and the panels saved (see 1947-510, 2-4).

MarkingsBlue threads in selvages