Clothing & Accessories

Women's Gown (cheong sam) ca. 1930

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.

Resource Type: Chromolithographs

Hunting the Deer

This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould.
Description (Brief)
This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 11. Hunting the [Virginia] Deer. A.B. Frost. It depicts a hunter crouched behind a log, aiming a rifle at a stag.
The artist was Arthur Burdette Frost (1851-1928), known for his wildlife and sporting scenes even though he had an aversion to deer hunting. Frost was a noted illustrator (Uncle Remus), even though he was color blind.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1889
publisher; copywriter
Bradlee Whidden
lithographer
Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
artist
Frost, Arthur Burdette
ID Number
DL.60.2720
catalog number
60.2720
accession number
228146

Charles Sumner

On May 22, 1856, during the Bleeding Kansas crisis, Massachusetts Republican Senator, Charles Sumner, delivered a speech to Congress in which he denounced the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and demanded that Kansas be admitted to the Union as a free state.
Description
On May 22, 1856, during the Bleeding Kansas crisis, Massachusetts Republican Senator, Charles Sumner, delivered a speech to Congress in which he denounced the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and demanded that Kansas be admitted to the Union as a free state. In his oration, he verbally attacked the pro-slavery South Carolina Senator, Andrew Butler. Two days later, Preston Brooks, a South Carolina Congressman and also Butler’s cousin, nearly beat Sumner to death on the Senate floor with a cane. Responses to the attack in the North and the South further polarized the people of the nation, leading it further down the path to war. Even before he had gained renown as the victim of “Bleeding Sumner,” the Senator had been a strong proponent of abolition and civil rights for African Americans. In 1848, the city of Boston denied Sarah Robert, a five-year-old black girl, enrollment at a white-only school. Sumner represented the Roberts in front of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, challenging the racial segregation of Boston schools in the state. Although the Court ruled in favor of Boston, deeming that racial segregation was not unconstitutional, Sumner’s argument was cited in Brown v. Board of Education, which prohibited segregated schools nationwide.
This print containing a three-quarter length portrait of the statesman celebrates one of his last efforts for racial equality. While Sumner tucks right hand tucked into his jacket, his left points down to a pile of papers exclaiming, “Equal Rights to All … Do Not Let the Civil Rights Bill Fail.” While the lithograph was produced to memorialize the Senator after his death in 1874, it also urged support for the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which Sumner drafted and proposed during the 41st Congress of the United States. The Act guaranteed African Americans equal access to public accommodations and transportation and was passed by Congress a year after Sumner’s death and signed into law by President Grant. The Act did indeed die, however, in 1883, when the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional during the Civil Rights Cases.
Henry Schile, the creator of this print, was probably a German immigrant, as many of his prints relate to the German immigrant population in New York. He founded the H. Schile and Company, producing very brightly colored chromolithography in the late 1860’s and 1870’s and much of his work is done on heavy black paper. He was married to Marguerite Schaeffer (1830-1895).
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1874
depicted
Sumner, Charles
maker
Schile, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2458
catalog number
60.2458
accession number
228146

The Flag That Waved One Hundred Years by E.P. & L. Restein

The subtitle, “A Scene on the Morning of the Fourth Day of July 1876,” dates the image to Centennial celebrations in Washington D.C.
Description
The subtitle, “A Scene on the Morning of the Fourth Day of July 1876,” dates the image to Centennial celebrations in Washington D.C. This inclusive chromolithograph depicts a black man, a white man, two women, and a child raising an American flag on a rooftop or terrace overlooking the U.S .Capitol. This chromolithograph was drawn by immigrant artist Dominique C. Fabronius and produced by E. P. & L. Restein. Its idealized view of America would have been popular as a Centennial commemorative.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1876
copyright holder
Munyon, J. M.
maker
E.P. & L. Restein
publisher
National Chromo Company
graphic artist
Fabronius, Dominique C.
ID Number
DL.60.2586
catalog number
60.2586
accession number
228146

Washington Family

Colored print of George and Martha Washington on a veranda. In this popular image, he is seated and she stands behind him. A boy (George Washington Parke Custis) and girl (Eleanor Parke Custis) stand at the left. Older girl enters at left with tea service.
Description (Brief)
Colored print of George and Martha Washington on a veranda. In this popular image, he is seated and she stands behind him. A boy (George Washington Parke Custis) and girl (Eleanor Parke Custis) stand at the left. Older girl enters at left with tea service. A large standing globe is in the foreground. This is a copy of the family portrait by Edward Savage which was painted 1789-1796 and published from a mezzotint engraving March 10, 1798.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1869
depicted
Washington, George
Washington, Martha
Custis, George Washington Parke
Custis, Eleanor Parke
maker
H. Schile and Company
originator
Savage, Edward
ID Number
DL.60.2457
catalog number
60.2457
accession number
228146

Untitled (Hunter and his dog)

Colored print of hunter and his dog. The hunter is loading his rifle and looking over his shoulder at a woodcock that is flying away.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of hunter and his dog. The hunter is loading his rifle and looking over his shoulder at a woodcock that is flying away.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880
copyright holder
Zink, C. H.
maker
Earle, L. C.
ID Number
DL.60.2678
catalog number
60.2678
accession number
228146

Rysdyk's Hambletonian

Color print of a bay trotting horse (Hambeltonian) standing in a stable with wood floor. A man with a long white beard (William M. Rysdyk) stands in front of him.
Description (Brief)
Color print of a bay trotting horse (Hambeltonian) standing in a stable with wood floor. A man with a long white beard (William M. Rysdyk) stands in front of him. "Hambeltonian" is written on a blanket on the floor beside him.
Description
A color print of a bay trotting stallion with powerful chest muscles and a narrow sensitive face standing in his finely built stable. It has a plank floor, plastered walls, and built-in water and hay troughs. His owner is a middle-aged man with a long, white beard, wearing stylish informal dress of a maroon sport jacket and white pants, and he is smoking a cigar.
Hambletonian was bred in Sugar Loaf, NY on May 5, 1849 by Jonas Seely. He was registered as Hambletonian 10 but commonly known as Rysdyk’s Hambletonian, named after the British thoroughbred of the same name. His dam was the Charles Kent Mare, or “Kent Mare”, a descendant of the Norfolk Trotter breed known for its smooth gate; and his sire, Abdullah was known for being both mean and ugly, and had been bought for only $5. Nevertheless, William Rysdyk, one of the farm hands, purchased Hambletonian for $125. Hambletonian’s unusual build allowed for his long hind legs that were the key to his success, providing more length for every push. His first race took place at the Orange County Fair in Goshen, NY and immediately stirred public attention for his appearance and his competition with his half-brother Abdallah Chief. The rivalry was finally settled in 1852 at the Union Course on Long Island when Hambletonian trotted the mile in 2:48 ¼ seconds, a full seven seconds before Abdallah Chief. Rysdyk put Hambletonian to stud for the first time at age two, when he mated with four mares for $25 a mating. During the height of his career, Hambletonian earned $500 per mating, and his Rysdyk’s total stud earnings came to $200,000. Hambletonian fathered 1,331 foals with 1,900 mares by the end of his life on March 27, 1876, and at least 40 of his progeny were able to trot the mile in less than 2:30. Hambletonian’s blood runs through most of today’s Standardbred trotters and several Morgans, earning him the title of “Father of the American Trotter.” He was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame as an “Immortal” in 1953 and the prestigious harness race, the Hambletonian Stakes, is named after him.
Henry C. Eno was a New York City lithographer and publisher, operating under his own name between 1863-1869, and as the firm Thomas and Eno (a partnership with Henry A. Thomas) prior to that from 1862-1864. Eno was born in Connecticut in 1828, and was married to Caroline Eno. He left New York City for Orangetown, Rockland, New York where he died in the early 1900’s.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1866
maker
Eno, Henry C.
original artist
Wright, James H.
artist
Geissler, L.
ID Number
DL.60.3544
catalog number
60.3544

Unabhangiger Deutscher Orden der Harugari

Chromolithographed certificate for German Order of the Harugari (a fraternal organization). Print composed of text surrounded by vignettes and fraternal order symbols.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Chromolithographed certificate for German Order of the Harugari (a fraternal organization). Print composed of text surrounded by vignettes and fraternal order symbols.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1868
maker
Herline & Hensel
ID Number
DL.60.2405
catalog number
60.2405
accession number
228146

A Day with the Chickens

This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould.
Description (Brief)
This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 12. A Day with the [Prairie] Chickens. R. F. Zogbaum. Depicted are two hunters shooting at prairie chickens. A dog stands at point flushing birds out of the brush. In the background a man sits in a horse-drawn wagon.
The artist was Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum (1849-1925) known for his images of horses, cowboys, and battle scenes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890
publisher; copywriter
Bradlee Whidden
lithographer
Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
artist
Zogbaum, Rufas Fairchild
ID Number
DL.60.2721
catalog number
60.2721
accession number
228146

My Protector

Colored print of a little boy wearing eyelet-trimmed shorts, vest and jacket. He holds the leash of a brown and white dog that is seated next to him. Toys are scattered on the rug at his feet and on a table in background.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a little boy wearing eyelet-trimmed shorts, vest and jacket. He holds the leash of a brown and white dog that is seated next to him. Toys are scattered on the rug at his feet and on a table in background.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1874
maker
Schile, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2463
catalog number
60.2463
accession number
228146

Farewell

Colored print of a woman supporting a little girl who is standing on a stone pier rail and waving a handkerchief to a vanishing steamship. A leashed dog (Spaniel) stands beside them watching the ship.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a woman supporting a little girl who is standing on a stone pier rail and waving a handkerchief to a vanishing steamship. A leashed dog (Spaniel) stands beside them watching the ship.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
maker
Schile, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2478
catalog number
60.2478
accession number
228146

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