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Fall 2004 From The Godey Room By Madelon Ali
The overall appearance of the textile is that of a subdued plaid in pink and white, with a woven vertical design achieved by the use of floats, extra bobbins that are suspended from above the loom and dropped into the weave at intervals by hand. Flower embroidery in pink and green spaced at about 2-inch intervals was worked by hand all over the textile before the garment was hand sewn into a dress. Before the later 19th century bridal gowns were not always made out of white fabric. This dress is part of the over-1000 piece costume collection owned by the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society, housed in the Nathaniel Winsor House; mostly 19th century items. Sarah Loring’s dress has special significance because it is most likely the earliest piece in the collection, and the provenance is known. According to costume expert, Nancy Rexford who evaluated the collection, 18th century gowns are not usually seen in most historical societies. The wedding dress is carefully laid out on a specially prepared table covered with washed unbleached muslin. The dress is then stuffed with museum quality acid-free tissue paper to maintain its shape, and is now ready to be packed away in an acid-free, lignen-free, archival box that will protect it from dust, pests, and harmful chemicals. Every effort is made to preserve this precious item for future generations to enjoy, and to absorb the aura of Sarah, the young bride who died in 1797, after just four years of marriage and 3 children. Overlooking the work table are lovely original 19th century Godey’s Ladies Book prints, donated by members of the costume and textile committees; thus the name “The Godey Room.” |
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pbrowne@duxburyhistory.org with
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In
February, 1793, Sarah Loring and Reuben Drew were married in Duxbury,
Massachusetts. Sarah was 23 years old. She wore a beautiful dress that
had been made in the 1780’s, and may have been worn as a wedding dress by a
previous family member, packed away and saved for future special occasions. The
dress textile is woven, using linen or cotton warp (vertical) threads and silk
weft (horizontal) threads.