Name/Title
Vintage Silk and Velvet Woman's BlouseEntry/Object ID
2024.3.9Description
Black silk and velvet woman's blouse/bodice. Bodice is silk, while the sleeves are velvet. Decorated with black lacework. Cuffs decorated with blue/gray beadwork. Fastens with hooks rather than buttons. Good condition. May be handmade; there is no sewn-in manufacturer's tag. Found with other textiles (mostly garments) in cellar of 151-F Pond Road in Franklin, CT. Some of the garments are marked RR. The donor believes the textiles had belonged to Marjorie Burnham Ayer Robbins, born 1897, in whose home they were found, and/or the Robbins family into which she she married. RR could have been Marjorie's second husband, Roger Robbins. The black clothing fits with the fact that Marjorie was a widow for many years before she remarried -- these may be mourning clothes.
Marjorie was born in Hampden, CT, in 1897, the daughter of Frederic Augustus Burnham and Mary Eleanor [Copeland] Burnham. She attended local schools and one year at the Bay Path Institute, from which she graduated in 1917. She taught school and worked as a secretary. In 1920 she married Joseph Eugene Ayer of Franklin, CT, a farmer. Joseph was born in 1893. He and Marjorie had two children, Eugene and John. Joseph died in 1926. Marjorie operated their farm for many years, and was still an unmarried widow in 1940. Sometime after that, she married Roger Robbins. She died in Franklin in 2003 and is buried next to Joseph on the Ayer family plot in Franklin.Collection
Burnham-Ayer-Rogers CollectionLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
BlouseNomenclature Primary Object Term
ShirtNomenclature Sub-Class
Main GarmentsNomenclature Class
ClothingNomenclature Category
Category 03: Personal ObjectsLocation
Location
Room
Archives* Untyped Location
Main Museum BuildingCategory
StorageDate
March 30, 2024Condition
Overall Condition
GoodDate Examined
Mar 30, 2024Provenance
Provenance Detail
Found in the cellar of 151-F Pond Road, Franklin, CT, the former home of Marjorie Burnham Ayer Robbins, when the house was being cleaned out by family members prior to sale.Created By
historian@millmuseum.orgCreate Date
March 30, 2024Updated By
historian@millmuseum.orgUpdate Date
March 30, 2024
