Friday 14 December 2018

Review of Patterns of Fashion 5

Patterns of Fashion 5: the content, cut, construction and context of bodies, stays, hoops and rumps c.1595-1795, by Janet Arnold, Jenny Tiramani and Luca Costigliolo, et al. London: The School of Historical Dress, 2018. 160p., £35. ISBN 978 0 99317442 1


I have had my copy of this for a few weeks now; it is an absolutely tremendous resource. It examines forty one surviving items.  The first twenty one pages are an introduction to the subject including such things as the terminology used for the different parts of the garments, the materials they were constructed from, and the examination of surviving drawn and printed patterns. There is also information on staymakers themselves, their customers, and how to put on stays. The last section of the introduction looks at hoops and rumps. 

Pages 30 to 152 form the bulk of the book, looking at the forty one surviving garments, divided into two sections the bodies and stays, and the hoops and rumps. Many of the garments have not had patterns taken from them before, several of them have but in far less detail. For each garment there are a large number of colour photographs of the original and portraits of similar items being worn, plus a pattern with detailed notes.

The Elizabethan/16th century garments 
There are three Elizabethan period items: the Dorothea Sabina bodies that appeared in Patterns of Fashion 3, the Elizabeth effigy bodies that were first examined in Costume, vol.41, 2007, and a Spanish farthingale of linen stiffened with ropes of bents.

The Stuart/17th century garments
There are thirteen seventeenth century bodies or stays, plus an ivory stay busk in the book, but there are no hoops from this period. There are two distinctly Dutch/German stays from the museum in Darmstadt, of the type that can bee seen in the portrait of Rubens with Isabella Brandt. The other stays are mainly in English or private collections. The garments include the stays that were found under floorboards in Sittingbourne. 

The Georgian/18th century garments
There are fourteen eighteenth century stays, ten hoops and one rump. They are from a wider range of museums including those in Stockholm, Munich, Paris, Toronto, New York, Boston and Williamsburg, as well as British museums.  

Codicil: the last nine pages
In this section is information on taking measurements, on the scales of the various patterns, and on the drafting of patterns.There are photographs showing reconstructions of some of the garments. There is a two page multilingual (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and some others) vocabulary of terms, and finally a page of references.

Ordering
The book can only be ordered from the publisher, The School of Historical Dress, for more information go to https://shop.theschoolofhistoricaldress.org.uk/
 

Saturday 1 December 2018

Men in aprons: 1590-1720


Introduction
Fig. 1: Robin the Cobbler, 1655

Although aprons are more normally associated with women in the early modern period many tradesmen wore aprons, and references appear in literature, wills, probate inventories and illustrations of the period. In fact the term apron-men is often used to indicate tradesmen. In Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, Menenius Agrippa says “You and your apron-men; you that stood so up much on the voice of occupation” 

Leather aprons

Aprons for men in the dirtier, heavier trades, came in leather. In Shakepeare’s Henry VI part II John Holland, an armourer comments that “the nobility think scorn to go in leather aprons,” and Peter, his apprentice says, “Here, Robin, an if I die, I give thee my apron: and, Will, thou shalt have my hammer.” 

This association continues across later centuries as well. The young Benjamin Franklin in one of his first essays says  that ‘‘the Generality of People’’ were unwilling to judge what they read until they knew ‘‘who or what the Author of it is, whether he be poor or rich, old or young, a  Schollar or a Leather-Apron Man.” Franklin and his father were printers, and when Franklin formed a club in 1727 it was originally called the Leather Apron Club, the political connotations of this have been examined by several writers. (1, 2)

Of nine men for whom we have aprons in their wills or probate inventories, only two are specified as leather. In 1632 in Suffolk,  George Keritch a single man, bequeaths his brother in law “my leather apron and my hedging gloves” (3) While in 1621 the mason John Cheetam of Stockport lists both an apron/barmskin and a barmskin.(4) Barmskin is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary as a dialect term for a leather apron. 

Leather aprons are also frequently associated with shoemakers and cobblers. An illustration of Robin the Cobbler (Figure 1) in the 1655 pamphlet The Witch of the Woodlands shows him wearing a leather apron. These aprons were often made from a whole skin and one corner might be pinned or buttoned to the doublet to form a bib.  

Fabric aprons

Fabric aprons were made from various materials. Canvas was one option, and in 1609 Richard Mascoll, a butcher, owned three canvas aprons (5) Spufford mentions a 1658 yeoman who owned both a calico and a holland apron (6), and another yeoman in 1682 has four blue aprons of unspecified fabric.(7)

Which tradesmen wore aprons?

Fig. 2: Barber, 1688
So far we have mentioned armourers, carpenters, printers, hedgers, masons, shoemakers, cobblers, butchers and yeomen. Other tradesmen who leave aprons in their probate inventories, but do not indicate what they are made from include barbers and vintners. A page of Randle Holmes illustrations of workmen for his Academy of Armory can be seen here, showing a labourer, shoemaker, smith and baker wearing aprons. Below are a few, it is not a comprehensive list, of the trades for whom we have references for or illustrations of men in aprons.

Barbers

In 1638 Anthony Hatt, a barber left  “3 aprons and other shopp instruments...” in his probate inventory (8). In 1632 William Turner’s probate inventory listed among other things, “two ould shearen clothes two ould towelyes and one ould apren”(9). Randle Holme in his Academie of Armory 1688 has a crude woodcut of a barber (Figure 2) and says, “A barber is always known by his cheque parti-coloured apron; it needs not mentioning; neither can he be termed barber (a poller or shaver as anciently they were called) till his apron be about him.”
Fig. 3: Brewer, 1625

Brewers, tapsters and vintners

Those who worked in brewing and in the making and sales of beers, wine and spirits often wore aprons. In 1616 Thomas Ablestone, a vintner left “1 shirt, 1 aporne, 5s” in his probate account (10). One of the Roxburghe Ballads, dating to around 1625, shows a master brewer (Figure 3) with an apron hanging from his waist. 

Building Trades (Masons, carpenters, joiners, etc.)

We have mentioned the leather aprons of the mason, and in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar when a commoner says that he is a carpenter, Marullus asks him, “Where is thy leather apron and thy rule?” Randle Holme depicts a joiner and a box maker, both wearing aprons.

Fig. 4: Confectioner, 1647
Food Trades (Butchers, bakers, cooks, etc.)

We have already mentioned the butcher who owned three canvas aprons. The 1641 pamphlet The Lamentable Complaints of Hop the brewer and Kilcalfe the butcher, show both men in aprons. The 1647 broadsheet These Tradesmen are Preachers shows a confectioner in an apron (Figure 4)

Smiths

Smiths of various types are among the leather apron trades, as can be seen in another of the These Tradesmen are Preachers illustrations. However the 1635 In Praise of Black Smiths broadsheet appears to show them in fabric aprons, note the addition of tassels at the bottom corners of the aprons. (Figure 5)
Fig 5: Blacksmiths, 1635

Street vendors

At least nine of the men in Laroon’s 1688 Criers and Hawkers of London series have aprons, these are: the vinegar seller, the oyster seller, singing glasses, puff pastries, knife grinder, tinker, onion seller, pear seller and river water. The various Cries of London series had been around for many years and often plagiarised one another, but there are differences. The late 16th century mat seller doesn’t have an apron, the early and mid 17th century ones do, and the Laroon version doesn’t. (11) The later street sellers seem to have longer aprons that earlier, as can be seen in Laroon’s pear seller, note that like this apron, many are tied at the front. (Figure 6)
Fig. 6: Pear seller, 1688

References

1. Newman, S.P. (2009) Benjamin Franklin and the leather-apron men: the politics of class in eighteenth-century Philadelphia. Journal of American Studies, v.43(2), pp. 161-175.
2.  Kulikoff, Allan, (2014) Silence Dogood and the Leather-Apron Men. Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, v.81 (3), pp. 364-374.
3.  Evans, Nesta, ed. (1987) Wills of the Archdeaconry of Sudbury 1630-1635. Suffolk Records Society, v. 29, p.189
4. Phillips, C. B. and Smith, J. H., eds. (1993) Stockport probate records, vol 2, 1620-1650.  Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, v. 131, pp.154-6
5. George, E. and S. -eds. (2002) Bristol probate inventories, Part 1: 1542-1650. Bristol Records Society publication v.54, p.8
6. Spufford, Margaret (1984) The Great Reclothing of Rural England. (London: Hambledon), p. 128
7. Williams, L. and Thompson, S. eds. (2007) Marlborough probate inventories 1591-1775. Wiltshire Record Society, v. 59, p.165.
8. Williams, L. and Thompson, S. eds. (2007) Marlborough probate inventories 1591-1775. Wiltshire Record Society, v. 59, p.85.
9. Wilson, J. H. ed. (1983) Wymondham Inventories: 1591-1641 Creative history from East Anglian sources, no. 1, p.35
10. Brinkworth E.R.C. and Gibson, J.S.W. eds. (1985) Banbury wills and inventories. Pt.1, 1591-1620. Banbury Historical Society, v. 13, pp.213-14.         
11. Laroon, Marcellus (1990) The Criers and Hawkers of London; edited with an introduction by Sean Shesgreen. (Aldershot: Scholar Press)                                     

Thursday 22 November 2018

Early Modern Knitted Waistcoats and Jackets

Waistcoat. Norsk Folkemuseum.(CC-BY-SA)
This post was originally written in 2017, and up dated with links checked and another four survivals added in September 2020.

The silk knitted waistcoats mainly of the seventeenth century are fairly well known. The push for putting together this, very incomplete overview and list, came from this month’s Knitting History Forum meeting, (November 2017) where Jana Trepte (Kiel University) gave a presentation on ‘Piecing the Bremen waistcoat together: an everyday knitted garment of the early 1600s.’ 

Jana talked about an excavation by the river in Bremen between 2004 and 2007, which produced finds dating between the 1590s and 1630. Among the vast number of finds were at least 10,000 fragments of textiles and leather, of which at least 2% are knitted. Jana had investigated twelve of these fragments closely, at least one of which, the largest, would appear from the shape to be from a waistcoat. The fibre is wool, and the shaping was produced by adding and decreasing stitches. The gauge at which it was knitted was 68 to 10 cm. by 84 per 10 cm. (Please note that having spent nearly 60 years talking about stitches and rows per inch, I am still having difficulties converting to wale (vertical column of stitches) and course (horizontal row) per 10 centimetres) The garment from which the fragment had come had obviously been worn and was ripped or cut in places. 

Other recent literature

Ruth Gilbert has done work on the Lindisfarne knitted fragments These fragments were from a late 19th century excavation on Lindisfarne, and were examined by Elizabeth Crowfoot in an unpublished paper in 1951, and then by Ruth in 2007. Crowfoot thought that seven of the sixteen knitted fragments might be from a knitted jerkin, and Ruth has created a conjectured reconstruction of where the fragments might fit on a waistcoat. The yarn is wool knitted at 30 stitches and 40 rounds to 10 cm. Ruth Gilbert, 2015. Not so much Cinderella as the Sleeping Beauty: Neglected Evidence of Forgotten Skill. In: North European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles X; edited by Eva B. Andersson Strand, Margarita Gleba, Ulla Mannering, Cherine Munkholt (Oxford: Oxbow)

Maj Ringgaard has published about knitted waistcoats in the Scandinavian context, and although this mainly examines silk waistcoats, she also looks at knitted wool, linen and cotton. Her paper has a comparative analysis chart of seventeen surviving damask knitted silk waistcoats, two in the UK and the rest in Norway, Sweden or Denmark.  The gauges for these run from 56 to 78 stitches to 10 cm and from 70 to 105 rows to 10 cm. Ringgaard comments that “consistent differences in the damask knitted waistcoats indicate two different places of production with highly divergent knitting traditions.” She also examines the difference between brocade knitted and damask knitted waistcoats.  Maj Ringgaard, 2014. Silk knitted waistcoats: a 17th century fashion item. In: Fashionable Ecounters: perspectives and trends in textile and dress in the Early Modern Nordic World. (Oxford: Oxbow), pp.73-103

Susan North has examined and produced a pattern from a coral and yellow surviving waistcoat, in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The flower pattern is similar to those published in a c.1650 German design book.  Susan North, 2011, Knitted silk waistcoat. In: Seventeenth Century Women’s Dress Patterns, book 1; edited by Susan North and Jenny Tiramani. (London: Victoria and Albert Museum) pp.88-97

Deborah Pulliam says she has examined seventeen waistcoats, but unfortunately does not provide a list. She mentions those in the Los Angeles Museum (AC1995 1.1), the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (06.2397), (1940.22 43.877), (43.869)and (95.501), Museum of Costume Nottingham (#22), Victoria and Albert Museum (346.1898), National Museums of Scotland (1973.29), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (TSR14.134.18) and (TSR46.156.117), Burrell  Collection, Glasgow  [29/126], unfortunately these are only eleven of the seventeen. She also mentions the example in the  Musée de la mode et du textile Paris (UCAD #996.68.1), which she says she has not actually examined, and the two adult knitted jackets in the coffins of two children in Roskilde Cathedral in Denmark. Deborah has deliberately not looked at the pull over the head style of waistcoat. Deborah Pulliam, 2002, Knitted Silk and Silver: those mysterious jackets. Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1540&context=tsaconf

For more information on the Roskilde waistcoats see Else Østergard,  The coffins of two royal children in Roskilde cathedral. In: Textiles in Northern Archaeology: NESAT III Textile Symposium in York 6-9 May 1987, edited by  Penelope Walton and John P. Wild, (London: Archetype, 1990)

Survivals
Jacket, 1630-49, Glasgow Museums CC-BY-NC

Below is a selection of links to surviving knitted waistcoats/jackets. This is by no means complete. I am very well aware of many others, however many cannot be found in museums online collections. 
 
Please note that the terms used to describe the garments are those that appear on the various museums’ websites.

16th-17th century – Jacket – Boston Museum of Fine Arts (Accession Number 43.877), silk https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/jacket-120364


1580-1610 – Man’s jacket – LACMA. (Accession No. AC1995 1.1) Silk and metallic thread. Note no image is available on the LACMA link https://collections.lacma.org/node/176893
 
Late 16th century - Man or woman's jacket – National Museums of Scotland (Accession Number A.1973.29), pale blue silk and silver metal threads. https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/collection-search-results/?item_id=350708

17th century – Jacket – Boston Museum of Fine Arts (Accession Number 43.869), silk and metallic thread https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/jacket-120252

17th century – Jacket – Boston Museum of Fine Arts (Accession Number 38.1085), silk and metallic thread https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/jacket-46670

17th century – Jacket – Boston Museum of Fine Arts (Accession Number 62.65), silk and metallic https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/womans-jacket-114824 Note no image is available on the link

17th century – Jacket – Boston Museum of Fine Arts (Accession Number 06.2397), silk and metallic, grey blue and gold. https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/jacket-69127

17th century – Knitted hunting jacket – Cleveland Museum of Art, silk, green and gold http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1931.62

17th century - Woman or man's jacket. National Museums of Scotland (Accession Number A.1973.28) red silk and gilt metal https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/collection-search-results/?item_id=352634

17th century – Jacket (baby’s), Victoria and Albert Museum. cotton, white http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O108312/jacket-unknown/

17th century – Baby’s knitted jacket. Museum of London. Cotton, white. https://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/89770.html

1600-1620 – Jacket – Victoria and Albert Museum. silk, blue and yellow http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O129527/jacket-unknown/

1600-1625 – Jacket in pieces – Victoria and Albert Museum, silk, purple and silver http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O139884/jacket-unknown/

1600-1625 – Jacket– Victoria and Albert Museum, silk, green and silver http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107796/jacket-unknown/

1630s – 1640s – Bodice/jacket/waistcoat. Glasgow Museums (Accession Number 29.126), silk http://collections.glasgowmuseums.com/mwebcgi/mweb?request=record;id=36162;type=101

1630-1650 – Informal woman’s jacket – This was on display at the Royal Ontario Museum when the photograph was taken, but I can’t find in the museum’s online collection. Silk and metal thread, red. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Informal_woman%27s_jacket,_Italy,_1630-1650,_knitted_silk_yarn_-_Patricia_Harris_Gallery_of_Textiles_%26_Costume,_Royal_Ontario_Museum_-_DSC09364.JPG

1640-1649 – Waistcoat- Museum of London. silk, blue. Association with the execution of King Charles I  https://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/88989.html

Mid 17th century – Trøye – Norsk Folkemuseum (Accession number NF.1960-0520), silk, red https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023192485/troye

1630-1700 – Waistcoat – Victoria and Albert Museum, silk, coral and yellow. Pattern similar to those of the waistcoats in waistcoats in the Royal Ontario Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Museum der Stadt in Ulm.  http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O10383/waistcoat-unknown/

Late 17th century – Sweater – Metropolitan Museum New York. (Accession Number: 14.134.18)  Silk, green  https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/84229?searchField=All&sortBy=relevance&when=A.D.+1600-1800&ft=knitted&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=10

Late 17th century – Vest – Royal Historic Palaces. Silk, red. Vest belonging to William III (1650-1702) Sadly the Twitter feed photograph is now showing as corrupt, however it appears halfway down this list. https://www.hrp.org.uk/media/1072/rcdc_top-10_items_2.pdf
 

 Added to list at 11th Sept 2020:

 17th century. Sweater of yellow silk, with knitted patterns in purl stitches in the form of curved tulips with contours of white yarn. NM inv.nr 221941 Nordiska museets, Stockholm
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011013854472/troja-av-gult-silke-silketroja-1600-tal-nm-inv-nr-221941

17th century - red silk jacket, knitted with a star pattern and embroidered with silver thread. Inventory no. GM:4123. Göteborgs Stadsmuseums, Sweden. http://62.88.129.39/carlotta/web/object/41562

 17th century – Nattrøye - Norsk Folkemuseum
 https://digitaltmuseum.no/011013445120/nattroye

1600-1625 -Knitted jacket - Museo Stibbert.  Florence. Image can be found on the page at http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/workbox/extwomclo4.jpg

Mid 17th century – Vest - Purl-patterned, embroidered with gold and silver and silver spangles. Oslo Kunstindustrimuseum. Image can be found on the page at http://www.fashioningtheearlymodern.ac.uk/about/theme-5/