Bodice

Clothing/Dress/Costume

Historic Germantown

Name/Title

Bodice

Entry/Object ID

1988.2.1

Description

Quaker bodice. Grey-green or taupe wool. Lined with coarse taupe linen. Crossover in front; no closures. Low, curved neckline. Bottom of front curved downwards into the center. Finished with fine brown thread. Back is pieced together following curvature of the back. Pieces are folded and stitched down the back center, creating pleated effect. Base of back is damaged, hem has come undone. Linen lining extends further down in back than silk. Three-quarter length sleeves, gathered at elbows. Shoulders are pieced. Pink, white, and black selvage.

Made/Created

Date made

1770 - 1785

Dimensions

Width

29 in

Length

17-3/4 in

Dimension Notes

Neckline to base: back is 14-1/8 in; front is 11-1/4 in. Bodice width, no sleeves: 15-5/8 in. Sleeve width: 5-7/8 in. Sleeve length: ~ 16 in from shoulders.

Provenance

Notes

Note in donation: "Both were probably worn by Hannah Rodman Fisher or her cousin Molly Robinson Morton, who were born in Newport, Rhode Island, but went to live in Philadelphia after they married. The bodices are the property of Esther Fisher Benson, 62 Washington Street, Newport, Rhode Island, who graduated from Germantown Friends School are moved to Newport after her marriage... As both Molly and Hannah often returned to Newport in the summers staying in the house at 64 Washington Street, it is hard to know whose the clothes were. Things were moved back and forth over the years."