Clothing & Accessories - Overview
Work, play, fashion, economic class, religious faith, even politics—all these aspects of American life and more are woven into clothing. The Museum cares for one of the nation's foremost collections of men's, women's, and children's garments and accessories—from wedding gowns and military uniforms to Halloween costumes and bathing suits.
The collections include work uniforms, academic gowns, clothing of presidents and first ladies, T-shirts bearing protest slogans, and a clean-room "bunny suit" from a manufacturer of computer microchips. Beyond garments, the collections encompass jewelry, handbags, hair dryers, dress forms, hatboxes, suitcases, salesmen's samples, and thousands of fashion prints, photographs, and original illustrations. The more than 30,000 artifacts here represent the changing appearance of Americans from the 1700s to the present day.
"Clothing & Accessories - Overview" showing 9 items.
Amerith powder box
- Description (Brief)
- A powder box made of orange celluloid with a pearlescent finish. The Art Deco style box has a lift-off lid that is decorated with a tulip motif. The box has the Amerith trademark. Amerith was a tradename of the Celluloid Corporation. It is also marked with the pattern name, Brinkley, which was introduced in 1929.
- date made
- ca 1929
- maker
- Celluloid Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.1674
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.1674
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Amerith jewelry box
- Description (Brief)
- A jewelry box made of orange celluloid with a pearlescent finish. The Art Deco style box has a hinged lid that is decorated with a tulip motif. The bottom of the box is lined with felt. It has the Amerith trademark. Amerith was a tradename of the Celluloid Corporation. It is also marked with the pattern name, Brinkley, which was introduced in 1929.
- date made
- ca 1929
- maker
- Celluloid Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.1675
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.1675
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fatherless Children of France
- Description (Brief)
- Pin for the Fatherless Children of France Society. The group was established to unite French orphans with American "godparents" through charitable giving. On the front is an image of a woman standing behind two children, against a green background. Green print on reverse reads, "10 cents a day // $3.00 a month // $36.50 a year saves a child for France." Mrs. Walter S. Brewster is listed as the chairman of the Chicago, Ill., branch.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1915-1920
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0130
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0130
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Oak Hall Clothing Co.
- Description (Brief)
- A stamp holder and pocket calendar of cream celluloid. The inside contains a calendar for 1900. A promotional novelty, it advertises Oak Hall Clothing Co. of Boston. The front resembles a stamped envelope.
- Oak Hall was a well-known men’s clothing retailer in Boston started by George W. Simmons. The name derives from the new woodwork in the store following an 1842 renovation—a look that became synonymous with high-end men’s clothing stores. Thanks to Simmons's aggressive marketing campaigns, the store was familiar to most residents of New England in the mid-19th century. It is mentioned in works by Nathaniel Hawthorne (“Main Street”) and derisively by Henry David Thoreau (“Ktaadn”), as well as in correspondence by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was incensed at the store’s use of advertising poems (written by “Professor Goodfellow”), and patterned on Longfellow's style.
- Source: “Oak Hall in American Literature” by Steven Allaback, in American Literature Vol. 46 No.4 Jan. 1975, p. 545-549.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1900
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0980
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0980
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Jamestown Exposition - Garrett's American Wines
- Description (Brief)
- Advertising pin for Garrett & Company made specially for the Jamestown Exposition of 1907 in Norfolk, Virginia. The front features color images of Pocahontas, Virginia Dare and Minnehaha (described as "The Cousins") and a crest for Garrett's American Wines. An image of the Virginia Dare clock atop the Garrett and Co. building in Norfolk is on the back. The back also reads "Take Berkley ferry in Norfolk, Va."
- Garrett & Company, established in North Carolina in 1835, was a manufacturer of American wines using the indigenous Scuppernong grape. Virginia Dare was their most popular wine, named for the first child born in America to English settlers. Dare was born on Roanoke Island, which is also home to the Mother Vine, a Scuppernong vine known to be the oldest cultivated grapevine in the world. Pocahontas and Minnehaha were names of two other Garrett & Company wines.
- The company moved to Norfolk, Virginia, in 1903, after the growing temperance movement in the South made North Carolina an unfriendly environment for a wine business. By 1912, the spread of dry counties northward compelled the business to relocate for a final time to New York State. Eventually, nationwide Prohibition forced the company to abandon its wine manufacturing altogether. In the Dry years, the company diversified into Virginia Dare flavoring extracts and the sale of grapes for use in home winemaking.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1907
- depicted
- Pocahontas
- advertiser
- Garrett & Company
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0141
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0141
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Factory Gates
- Description
- This pair of iron gates from the 1870s hung in the Dobson textile mill in Philadelphia, Penn., until 1991.
- In the late 18th century most workers were farmers or artisans, accustomed to overseeing their own work and schedules, and setting the pace of their work by the seasons and centuries-old traditions. With the rise of the factory system of production in the 19th century, managers sought to mold workers into disciplined and coordinated armies of employees. They tried to regulate each laborer's schedule, pace, and work habits. They prohibited amusements, reading, games, and consumption of alcohol—diversions that had been permitted in the flexible work schedule of artisans' shops.
- Fences around factories protected property and symbolically established who was in control. A fence forced workers to file through a gate past a timekeeper's office. Americans who worked in textile mills were among the first to experience the new relationship between managers and workers. Not everyone adapted to the new rules. Some workers found ways to continue to control their own work, formed unions to enforce their own work rules, or quit.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- user
- Dobson Mill
- owner of the mill
- Dobson, John
- ID Number
- 1991.0731.01
- accession number
- 1991.0731
- catalog number
- 1991.0731.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fire Helmet, "Liberty 7 Daniel Gregory"
- Description
- The traditional American leather firefighter’s helmet with its distinctive long rear brim, frontpiece, and crest adornment was first developed around 1821-1836 in New York City. Henry T. Gratacap, a New York City luggage maker by trade, is often credited as the developer of this style of fire helmet. Gratacap created a specially treated leather helmet with a segmented “comb” design that led to unparalleled durability and strength. The elongated rear brim (also known as a duckbill or beavertail) and frontpiece were 19th century innovations that remain the most identifiable feature of firefighter’s helmets. The body of the helmet was primarily designed to deflect falling debris, the rear brim prevented water from running down firefighters’ backs, and their sturdy crowns could aid, if necessary, in breaking windows.
- This leather fire helmet was manufactured by Cairns & Brother of New York, New York in the late 19th century. The 16 comb hat is painted black overall, with ivy vine scroll work stamped around the brim, and a two hoses flanking an inset metal frontpiece on the back of the brim. There is a metal frontpiece holder in the form of the fireman with a speaking trumpet to his mouth. The frontpiece is black leather with a red background and white lettering. The frontpiece reads “LIBERTY/7” in white leather and is signed “Daniel Gregory/Paterson, NJ” in the center. Gregory served as a member of several different Paterson Fire Companies, and was an officer in the Exempt Association of Paterson.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1875
- maker
- Cairns & Brother
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0209
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0209
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Firefighter's Parade Helmet
- Description
- Worn by Peter Zeluff, assistant chief engineer
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1883-1885
- user
- Zeluff, Peter
- maker
- Cairns & Brother
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0015
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0015
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Washington Fire Hat
- Description
- Beginning in the late 18th century, some volunteer fire fighters began to wear hats painted with their company’s name to identify themselves at chaotic fire scenes. During the 19th century, these fire hats became more ornate, as portraits of historical figures, patriotic scenes, allegorical images, or company icons were painted alongside the company’s name, motto, or founding date. Made of pressed felt, these “stove-pipe” hats were primarily used in Philadelphia, but other nearby cities such as Baltimore and Washington adopted them as well. Fire hats were personal items with the owner’s initials often painted on the top of the hat. While these hats were worn at fires, they are more colloquially known as “parade hats.” Fire companies commonly marched in the many parades of the period and these ornate hats contributed to the visual culture of their day. These distinguishing features in a company’s regalia often proclaimed the members’ cultural and political identity as well as their position on contested topics such as work, religion and immigration.
- This fire hat dates to the first half of the 19th century. The hat is painted brown overall, with a portrait of George Washington painted inside a golden oval surrounded by green foliage. The text “Washington Co.” is arching above the portrait in gold paint. The back of the hat has the date “1820” in gold paint surrounded by a gold oval. The Washington Bucket Company was founded in 1820 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the company’s initials “W.B.” are on the top in gold block letters.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1820s
- associated
- Washington Co.
- depicted
- Washington, George
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0094
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0094
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center