Clothing & Accessories

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.

This stovepipe hat was worn around 1850 and is made of black beaver fur. Inside the hat bears a personal note, “Hat made for Uncle Abe.”Currently not on view
Description
This stovepipe hat was worn around 1850 and is made of black beaver fur. Inside the hat bears a personal note, “Hat made for Uncle Abe.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1837-1847
maker
Mugnier
ID Number
CS.015678
catalog number
015678
accession number
58845
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1830 - 1840
1830-1840
ID Number
CS.006614
catalog number
006614
accession number
28810
When this corset was made in the decade between 1810 and 1820 for an unidentified Indiana woman, it represented the latest evolution of a garment that had been essential women’s wear for centuries.
Description
When this corset was made in the decade between 1810 and 1820 for an unidentified Indiana woman, it represented the latest evolution of a garment that had been essential women’s wear for centuries. Today, the word corset conjures an image of painful tight-lacing that was endured to produce an unnaturally small waist. However, the woman who wore this garment used it simply to support her chest (the brassiere would not be invented for another century) and to confine her shift, a voluminous knee-length undergarment, so that her high-waisted dress would sit smoothly over her torso and hips. If laced correctly, the wearer would have left a gap of several inches between the back edges of the corset, preventing it from being “tight-laced.”
Even so, this early 19th-century corset was distinctly different from the variations that came before and after it. During the 1700s, women had worn heavily boned, cone-shaped corsets called stays that had flattened their chests and made their torsos triangular. By the middle of the 1800s, the corset was once again heavily reinforced with narrow bones or steels to produce a curvy, hour-glass shape that was round and full both above and below the waist. By contrast, the corset shown here was intended to produce a natural-shaped figure. Hence, it relied mainly on cotton cording rather than bone or steel to coax the wearer’s body into the desired form. The only inflexible part of this corset was a long wooden or bone insert called a busk that slipped into a pocket at the center front and could be removed for washing.
Because of its lack of boning, this type of corset could be sewn at home without great difficulty. However, making a garment that fit was more complicated. The English author of The Workwoman’s Guide, Containing Instructions to the Inexperienced in Cutting Out and Completing those Articles of Wearing Apparel, &c., Which are Usually Made at Home (1840) suggested that “with respect to the cutting out, it is recommended to those who make their own stays, to purchase a pair from an experienced stay-maker that fit perfectly well, and also a pair cut out, but not made up, so as to be a good pattern for the home-made stays.” Sturdy cotton jean or satin were the most commonly used fabrics for corsets in the early 19th century. White was the preferred color, but gray and brown were both thought to be practical for “inferior” corsets.
This tan cotton sateen corset is made to be laced up the back through nine pairs of irregularly placed bone eyelets. The shoulder straps are meant to tie in place at the front of the corset through one bone eyelet at the end of each strap and a corresponding one over each shoulder blade. The original lacing and ties are missing. Two triangular inserts of fabric called gussets provide shape and support for each side of the bust. A decorative three-leafed motif is backstitched at the lower end of each bust gusset. Another matching, inverted trefoil is centered below the bust gussets, rising from the midriff. The upper and lower edges, and the edges of the shoulder straps, are bound with dark tan twill tape.
The only rigid part of this corset would have been a separate smooth strip of wood or bone, just over a foot long and 1.5" wide, called a busk. This would have been inserted through a slotted pocket that is sewn through all layers of fabric onto the white twilled cotton lining, down almost the full length of the center front. The lowest 1.125" of the busk pocket is closed with thirteen closely spaced, vertical rows of quilting. All other shaping is achieved through rows of cording that are run through channels quilted in brown thread through all layers of fabric. Double or triple parallel lines of cording define the high waist, stomach, and hips of the corset. The center front length of the corset body is 14.75"; the center back length of the corset body is 13.875"; the strap length is 7.875"; the edge-to-edge measure at the waist is 20.75".
To see a cartoon showing a lady slipping a busk into her corset, link to Progress of the Toilet.—THE STAYS.—Plate 1., 1810, by J. Gillray at The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University. To find out how to make a corset, link to The workwoman's guide, containing instructions in cutting out and completing articles of wearing apparel, by a lady (Second edition: 1840), pages 80 to 83 and Plate 11.
Date made
1825 - 1849
1810-1820
ID Number
CS.256746.006
catalog number
256746.006
accession number
256746
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This half length hand colored portrait print depicts a young woman wearing a velvet hat accented with an ostrich feather. Her dark red dress is accented with a high white collar. Around her waist is a belt with a gold buckle. She wears a long necklace around her neck and gold drop earrings.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm of D.W. Kellogg & Co. Daniel Wright Kellogg (1807-1874) founded the company in 1830 Hartford, Connecticut. Before the opening of its first retail store in 1834, D.W. Kellogg & Co. lithography firm was well established and popular in United States, particularly in the South and the Southwest. As the founding member of the family company, Daniel Wright Kellogg established the initial growth and popularity of the firm. After he left the company it continued to flourish for decades under his younger brothers and other family members.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1833-1842
maker
D.W. Kellogg and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2510
catalog number
60.2510
accession number
228146
The traditional American leather firefighter’s helmet with its distinctive long rear brim, front shield, and crest adornment was first developed around 1821-1836 in New York City. Henry T.
Description
The traditional American leather firefighter’s helmet with its distinctive long rear brim, front shield, 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 front shield 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.
Though most work hats from 1836 on were shaped in the familiar Gratacap style with a prominent rear brim, some companies like Trenton wore hats that deviated from this standard. This leather fire helmet was made by Cairns & Brother of New York, New York around 1840. Reminiscent of British “bobby” or pith helmets this helmet has a rounded “bowl” shape. The helmet is painted white overall, with eight combs painted gold and a black diamond pattern painted in between the combs. It has a metal eagle shield holder, and a leather shield that reads "Trenton 1 Hose Co./THC/EW.” The interlocking “THC” initials in the center of the shield stand for the “Trenton Hose Company.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840
maker
Cairns & Brother
ID Number
2005.0233.0193
catalog number
2005.0233.0193
accession number
2005.0233
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This half length hand colored portrait print depicts a young woman with a rose adorning her dark upswept hair. She wears a red dress with huge puffy sleeves, a gold striped shawl and gold drop earrings on her right ear.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm of D.W. Kellogg & Co. Daniel Wright Kellogg (1807-1874) founded the company in 1830 Hartford, Connecticut. Before the opening of its first retail store in 1834, D.W. Kellogg & Co. lithography firm was well established and popular in United States, particularly in the South and the Southwest. As the founding member of the family company, Daniel Wright Kellogg established the initial growth and popularity of the firm. After he left the company it continued to flourish for decades under his younger brothers and other family members.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1833-1842
maker
D.W. Kellogg and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2509
catalog number
60.2509
accession number
228146
The miser purse gained popularity during the 19th century and was widely used until the 1920s. One end of the crocheted purse has twisted steel bead tassels and the other has looped fringe, allowing users to differentiate which end they needed to access.
Description
The miser purse gained popularity during the 19th century and was widely used until the 1920s. One end of the crocheted purse has twisted steel bead tassels and the other has looped fringe, allowing users to differentiate which end they needed to access. The center of the purse has two rings; separating the rings gave access to the small slit that served as the purse’s opening. The small slit and difficult access gave the purse its “miser” moniker, as it discouraged reckless spending.
date made
1835-1845
maker
McLane, Abby Knight
ID Number
CS.033867
accession number
63786
catalog number
033867
Women and ships were the most popular subjects for scrimshaw carved by crewmen on long, slow whaling voyages.
Description
Women and ships were the most popular subjects for scrimshaw carved by crewmen on long, slow whaling voyages. In this deeply engraved example, a beautifully coiffed and fashionable young lady, possibly in mourning dress, has pulled a locket from her bodice and is gazing at the image of a smiling young man. The curls of her girlish hairstyle would indicate that she is unmarried, although the traditional ring finger of her left hand is not shown. The mid-19th-century date of this tooth is suggested by the style of the dress.
Date made
ca 1840
maker
unknown
ID Number
TR.374506
catalog number
374506
accession number
136263
This flounce of stylized floral motifs is executed in Blonde bobbin lace. The flounce is made of cream colored silk thread in three sizes. The ground is point ground, with the motifs made in dense linen stitches and lighter half stitches outlined with a heavy gimp thread.
Description
This flounce of stylized floral motifs is executed in Blonde bobbin lace. The flounce is made of cream colored silk thread in three sizes. The ground is point ground, with the motifs made in dense linen stitches and lighter half stitches outlined with a heavy gimp thread. Honeycomb ground is used as decorative fillings. The flounce is edged with a narrow machine made picot edge on both sides.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830-1845
maker
unknown
ID Number
1984.0111.243
accession number
1984.0111
catalog number
1984.0111.243
This colored print depicts a male from infancy to old age in decade-long spans. This was a popular and recurring theme of genteel society during the 19th Century.
Description
This colored print depicts a male from infancy to old age in decade-long spans. This was a popular and recurring theme of genteel society during the 19th Century. The figures are shown on ascending steps up to age 50 and then descending, with age 100 being the lowest to the right. Each image portrays a well-dressed youth or man in appropriate attire for his position in society (i.e., gentleman, soldier, elder). Verses beneath each figure associate a depicted animal with that stage of life. A small vignette of two people standing near a monument in a cemetery is in the center foreground.
This print was produced by James S. Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840s. He was a prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives, and his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. James Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1847
distributors
Sowle & Shaw
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.2935
catalog number
60.2935
accession number
228146
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This full length colored portrait is of a young woman standing by a window. Behind the woman is a table with a vase of flowers framed by floral drapery and on a patterned carpet. The woman is wearing a pink and white dress with flowing sleeves, a bracelet on both arms and a necklace. The scene through the window depicts a fenced in house and a sailboat on a river.
This print was produced by James S Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840’s. A prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives; his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. J. Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1846
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.2493
catalog number
60.2493
accession number
228146
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This full length hand colored portrait is of a young woman standing by a window wearing a bonnet and heavy shawl over a red dress. Behind her is blue drapery with fringe, and she stands on a patterned carpet. A sailboat and a windmill can be seen through the window.
This print was produced by James S Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840’s. A prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives; his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. J. Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1846
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.2495
catalog number
60.2495
accession number
228146
This hand colored print depicts a male from infancy to old age in decade-long spans. This was a popular and recurring theme of genteel society during the 19th Century.
Description
This hand colored print depicts a male from infancy to old age in decade-long spans. This was a popular and recurring theme of genteel society during the 19th Century. The figures are shown on ascending steps up to age 50 and then descending, with age 100 being the lowest to the right. Each image portrays a well-dressed youth or man in appropriate attire for his position in society (i.e., gentleman, soldier, elder). Verses beneath each figure associate a depicted animal with that stage of life. A small vignette of two people standing near a monument in a cemetery is in the center foreground. A flag waves at the top of the pyramid.
This print was produced by James S. Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid-1840s. He was a prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives, and his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. James Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1848
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.2931
catalog number
60.2931
accession number
228146
maker number
131
Colored print of a young boy dressed in a white sailor suit with a brimmed hat, facing slightly left. He stands with his back to the ocean with two sailing vessels vessels in the background.
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a young boy dressed in a white sailor suit with a brimmed hat, facing slightly left. He stands with his back to the ocean with two sailing vessels vessels in the background. Ironically, this is probably a modified copy of the December 1846 portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter of a young Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. The original painting does not have the ships in the background, the prince faces in the opposite direction, and their are minor facial discrepancies and stylistic differences.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1847
depicted (sitter)
Edward VII King of the United Kingdom
lithographer
Nagel, Louis
graphic artist
Prevost, Victor
original artist
Winterhalter, Franz Xaver
ID Number
DL.60.2434
catalog number
60.2434
accession number
228146
This black and white etching is the last of eight scenes designed and etched by George Cruikshank depicting the progressive degeneration of a family due to the evils of drinking. This print is an interior scene of a cell with a man huddling in a corner before a caged fire.
Description
This black and white etching is the last of eight scenes designed and etched by George Cruikshank depicting the progressive degeneration of a family due to the evils of drinking. This print is an interior scene of a cell with a man huddling in a corner before a caged fire. He is being visited by his grown children, now a thief and a woman of shame. A guard is visible through an open doorway in the background. This series is a folio edition. On the reverse of Plate I. is the title page of the series and an inscription from the artist, including the cost of one shilling or six shillings for prints block tinted for shading on finer paper. The series is contained in a portfolio.
This series of prints is by the English artist George Cruikshank (1792-1878). Cruikshank’s father, Isaac Cruikshank, was an artist who specialized in song sheets and caricatures and trained George and his brother Robert Cruikshank in these arts. George started as a caricaturist for magazines and children’s books. His most famous works included The Bottle and The Drunkard’s Children, designed and etched by Cruikshank to show the wickedness of alcohol. Cruikshank's father and brother were both alcoholics and he himself drank heavily until he took a vow of abstinence in 1847. These prints were published by David Bogue, who published most of Cruikshank’s works in the 1850s. David Bogue (1807–1856) was born in Scotland and moved to London in 1836. Bogue began working in Charles Tilt's bookshop as a publisher and bookseller in 1836 and became Tilt's partner in 1840. Bogue bought the shop in 1843. He was the principle publisher of Cruikshank’s short-lived periodicals, brief illustrated stories, and the Comic Almanack 1835-53. David Bogue published The Bottle series in 1847. Bogue suffered from heart disease and died in 1856 at the age of 48.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1847
maker
Cruikshank, George
publisher
Bogue, David
ID Number
DL.60.2917
catalog number
60.2917
accession number
228146
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1842-1848
maker
E. B. & E. C. Kellogg
ID Number
DL.60.2512
catalog number
60.2512
accession number
228146
Colored print; interior scene depicting Polk in his death bed surrounded by three men (One is probably a clergyman, one a doctor) and two women (his mother and wife). There is a cloth covered table beside the bed and heavy drapery in the background.
Description (Brief)
Colored print; interior scene depicting Polk in his death bed surrounded by three men (One is probably a clergyman, one a doctor) and two women (his mother and wife). There is a cloth covered table beside the bed and heavy drapery in the background. Polk died of cholera.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1849
distributor
Needham, D.
depicted
Polk, James K.
Polk, Sarah Childress
Polk, Jane Knox
maker
Kelloggs & Comstock
ID Number
DL.60.2553
catalog number
60.2553
accession number
228146
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a short story by celebrated American author Washington Irving, was first published in 1820 without illustrations in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.” Best known for his popular stories of Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Irving
Description
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a short story by celebrated American author Washington Irving, was first published in 1820 without illustrations in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.” Best known for his popular stories of Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Irving achieved acclaim in Europe and the U.S. over the course of his successful writing career. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was included in “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent” while Irving was living in Europe. Thus, he was one of the earliest American authors to survive merely on his writing. Irving’s stories have remained an emblem of American culture as they were some of the first short stories that aimed to entertain rather than educate. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow story inspired artists to create beautiful illustrations like the one included in this print.
The gothic story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow tells of a man named Ichabod Crane who comes to Tarrytown, New York, known in the story as Sleepy Hollow, as a teacher. As he tries to win the heart of the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel, he ultimately finds himself being chased by the village’s feared legend, the Headless Horsemen. The story ends with a smashed pumpkin being found in the place where Ichabon disappeared, never to be seen again. This story is particularly popular around Halloween.
This lithograph from the artist’s 1848-1849 engraving, shows Ichabod Crane, the protagonist of Irving’s legend, as a schoolteacher sitting on a stool in the middle of the classroom. He is surrounded by his students as he sharpens a quill pen. The illustration coincides with the description in the story of Ichabod as a reasonable teacher, not too strict with his students. He rests calmly atop his stool as the children murmur their reading and lessons.
Sarony, Major, & Knapp was one of the largest lithographic firms at the end of the 19th and the early of the 20th centuries. However, before it achieved this success it started out small in 1843 when Napoleon Sarony and James P. Major joined together to start a business. Later in 1857, Joseph F. Knapp joined the company making it Sarony, Major, & Knapp. At the time that this was printed, Knapp was not a part of the business, so it was just Sarony & Major.
Felix O. C. Darley (1822-1888), the artist behind the twelve best-known illustrations for The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, is considered one of America’s best illustrators. The publisher was the American Art Union, (1839-1857) a subscription organization created to educate the public about American art and artists while providing support for American artists. For $5.00 members would receive admissions to the gallery showing, a yearly report, and an engraving of an original work, as well as any benefits each chapter might provide. Two special editions of the story, each with a set of six of Darley’s illustrations were published; the special edition including this illustration was published in 1850. This print has been rebound with the five others at the back of the book and the cover is incorrectly from the earlier Rip Van Winkle edition published for the American Art Union, however the title page and text are of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1849
copyright holder, publisher
American Art Union
artist
Darley, Felix Octavius Carr
maker
Sarony & Major
ID Number
DL.60.2424
catalog number
60.2424
accession number
228146
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This three-quarter length hand colored print is of two young women with arms around one another. Both wear dresses with lace collars, long sleeves, tight bodices and full skirts. The woman on the left has light hair and wears a blue dress with a brooch and a double strand of beads. She holds in her right hand a rose. The woman on the right has much darker hair. She wears a red dress and a crown of flowers in her hair.
This print was produced by James S Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid 1840’s. A prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives, his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. J. Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1849
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.2310
catalog number
60.2310
accession number
228146
Colored print of a hunter on horseback with a crop in his raised hand. In the foreground a pack of hounds attack a fox. Two verses of a poem appear in the bottom margin on either side of the title.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a hunter on horseback with a crop in his raised hand. In the foreground a pack of hounds attack a fox. Two verses of a poem appear in the bottom margin on either side of the title.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1846
distributor
Needham, D.
Kelloggs & Thayer
maker
E.B. and E.C. Kellogg
ID Number
DL.60.2672
catalog number
60.2672
accession number
228146
This hand colored memorial print depicts two gentlemen standing on each side of a tombstone. Behind the monument is a weeping willow tree and a white rosebush.
Description
This hand colored memorial print depicts two gentlemen standing on each side of a tombstone. Behind the monument is a weeping willow tree and a white rosebush. The monument is inscribed "To the memory of {blank}” and contains the comforting words of Psalm 91:2 and Psalm 49:15, which profess a belief in the resurrection and salvation of the faithful. On the monument are the words: I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge, my God, in him will I trust. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for he shall receive me." Memorial prints depicting gave monuments were common during the antebellum or Victorian period and the Kellogg family produced several similar prints.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. Edmund Burke Kellogg (1809-1872) and Elijah Chapman Kellogg (1811-1881) were brothers of the founder of the Kellogg lithography firm, Daniel Wright Kellogg (1807-1874). After D.W. Kellogg moved west, his two brothers took over the family lithography firm in 1840 and changed the name to E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. The younger two of the four Kellogg brothers, they were responsible for the continued success of the family firm. These two brothers were also involved in the eventual partnerships between the company and Horace Thayer in 1845 or 1846, John Chenevard Comstock (1818-1862) in 1848 and William Henry Bulkeley (1840-1902) in 1867.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1847
distributor
Needham, D.
maker
E.B. and E.C. Kellogg
lithographers
Kellogg, E.B. and E.C.
ID Number
DL.60.2981
catalog number
60.2981
accession number
228146
This print references the election of 1848. In this image, Free Soil Party candidate and former Democratic president, Martin Van Buren is seated on a stool milking a cow while Whig candidate Zachery Taylor holds her tail and Democratic candidate Lewis Cass holds her horns.
Description (Brief)
This print references the election of 1848. In this image, Free Soil Party candidate and former Democratic president, Martin Van Buren is seated on a stool milking a cow while Whig candidate Zachery Taylor holds her tail and Democratic candidate Lewis Cass holds her horns. Published by Whig artist, Henry R. Robinson, this print serves as a warning of what will happen if the issue of slavery is continually held back by Democrats and Whigs while being “milked” by the Free Soil Party. Both Taylor and Cass hold firm to their party’s principles, while Van Buren says, “I go in for the Free Soil. Hold on Cass, don’t let go Taylor (that’s the cream of the joke).” Both Democrats and Whigs feared that Van Buren and the Free Soil Party would split the vote, ensuring a victory and second presidential for Van Buren and his radical new ideas.
The publisher of this print is Henry R. Robinson (1827-1877). Robinson worked in New York, and had a store to sell his prints. In 1842, he was arrested for selling obscene pictures and books leading to the September 28, 1842 court case, People vs H. R. Robinson found in the District Attorney Indictment Papers, Municipal Archives. He was politically affiliated with the anti-Jackson Whig party which was made obvious by the wig silhouette used in 1838 as an advertising logo for his shop.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1848
depicted
Van Buren, Martin
Taylor, Zachary
Cass, Lewis
maker
Robinson, Henry R.
ID Number
DL.60.3362
catalog number
60.3362
Black and white print; a broadside announcing that the race horse,Trustee, would stand for mares during the present season at a particular stable.
Description (Brief)
Black and white print; a broadside announcing that the race horse,Trustee, would stand for mares during the present season at a particular stable. A small view of a man holding the reins of a horse is above the text giving the details of the horse's pedigree and performance.
Description
A black and white print of a man holding the reins of a black stallion in a meadow. The broadside announces Trustee will stand for mares.
Trustee was foaled in 1837 from Trustee and Fanny Pollen, a distant mare of Messenger. Trustee’s pedigree is significant because it represents a shift from the traditional method of breeding running stallions to trotting mares to the newer method of breeding proven trotting champions together. He was famous for trotting 20 miles in 35.5 minutes in 1848.
Jared W. Bell was born in 1798 and died in 1870 from Bright’s Disease in New York. He had been married and was a painter by profession.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
printer
Bell, Jared W.
ID Number
DL.60.3597
catalog number
60.3597
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This colored print is a three-quarter length portrait of a man standing outdoors, letter in one hand, cane in the other. Dressed in a fitted jacket, bow tie and patterned vest. In the left background is a stone monument with gothic arches that is topped by a two handled covered metal cup decoated with a pierced pattern.
The print was produced by the lithography firm of Kelloggs & Thayer. Kelloggs and Thayer was the first partnership formed by Elijah Chapman and Edmund Burke Kellogg after they took over the family firm from their brother Daniel Wright Kellogg. Horace Thayer was a map dealer. In 1845 or 1846, the partnership opened a shop in New York. The partnership was short-lived however and appears to have dissolved in 1847. In 1848, the Kellogg brothers formed a new partnership with John Chenevard Comstock.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1846
distributor
Needham, D.
publisher
Kelloggs & Thayer
lithographer
E.B. and E.C. Kellogg
ID Number
DL.60.2279
catalog number
60.2279
accession number
228146

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.