Fashion2Fiber

1868 Boy's Brown Wool Dress

Description

Brown wool child's hand-stitched A-line dress with black velvet trim. Wide neck dress with pleated fronts and backs coming off squared yoke; pleats in groups of four emanating from center, 2 front and 3 back. Center front opening of (originally 14) flat black buttons on metal shanks (replaced by black dome shape buttons in places) top 3 buttons have corresponding hand-worked buttonholes. Two buttons also decorate bottom of pleats (center back missing). Three rows of 3\8 black velvet ribbon decorate center front either side of opening and extend down front and around skirt hem. Velvet ribbon also edges neck opening and yoke. Seven parallel lines of ribbon also decorate bottom front of skirt. Short sleeves are stitched on to fronts, backs and yoke are also trimmed with three rows of velvet ribbon. Pleats and yoke are reinforced with a plain weave tan cotton. Hem 2 1/8".

Source

HCT.1992.111.1

Date

1868

Provenance

This dress was worn by Thomas John Heck, who lived from 1866-1942. Thomas lived in Millerstown, Ohio with his parents, George Washington Heck and Lydia Norman Heck. His father, Washington, was a farmer whose family moved to Ohio in 1836. The farm was eighty-nine acres. Thomas was the middle child. He had a brother, Charles, who was born in 1862 and a sister, Laura, who was born in 1868.Thomas' mother, Lydia, died of consumption in 1888. Thomas would later work as a high school teacher. Thomas would have been around two years old when this dress was worn.

Fiber/Fabric Information

fiber content=Wool

Decade

1860-1869

Color

Brown

Files

1992.111.1 F.jpg
1992.111.11 LF.jpg
1992.111.1 L.jpg
1992.111.1 LB.jpg
1992.111.1 B.jpg
1992.111.1 RB.jpg
1992.111.1 R.jpg
1992.111.1 RF.jpg
1992.111.1 Front Detail.jpg
buttons.jpg
design attachment.jpg
interior construction.jpg
interior stitching of design.jpg
moth damage.jpg
Thomas Heck.jpg

Collection

Citation

“1868 Boy's Brown Wool Dress,” Fashion2Fiber, accessed December 12, 2024, https://fashion2fiber.osu.edu/items/show/729.