Bonnet
Name/Title
BonnetEntry/Object ID
G2007.066Description
Entirely hand stitched bonnet-cap of shot silk lustring, grey warp almost entirely covering a plum weft- the colors look oddly green in places. Crescent-shaped pasteboard visor lined with pale yellow silk persian; its inner edge is wired. The crown is gathered onto the brim, its free neck edge, straight and on-grain, is finished with a casing and drawstrings made of what appears to be two 3/4” strips ripped along the selvage of a very fine and thin off-white cotton or linen. Most surprising, the crown was originally lined with a thin hand-laid paper like a heavy tissue paper. The casing was formed by sewing the paper lining to the silk, right sides together, at the neck edge, then turning them right side out and stitching a casing along that edge. Then the 2 layers were whipped together in gathers to the brim. At the top, the gathers are on the outside, as if there was some sort of ornamental addition there. The paper is still rather "clothy" in texture, not brittle as modern tissue paper would be. This would appear to have been almost a whimsy, not particularly sturdy and not expected to last.Collection
Bruce and Susan Greene Costume CollectionMade/Created
Date made
1795 - 1805Notes
User Age: Adult Gender: FemaleEthnography
Culture/Tribe
English