Vintage Black Silk Skirt

Woven Textile

-

Windham Textile and History Museum

Back of skirt.: A long, black silk skirt mounted on a mannequin. The photo is taken from the rear. Decorative ruffles are along the hem. The skirt reaches to the bottom of the mannequin.
Back of skirt.

A long, black silk skirt mounted on a mannequin. The photo is taken from the rear. Decorative ruffles are along the hem. The skirt reaches to the bottom of the mannequin.

Name/Title

Vintage Black Silk Skirt

Entry/Object ID

2024.3.1

Description

Vintage black silk skirt. Probably handmade. Very poor condition. Black lace trim along hem. Closes with hooks, not buttons. Found with other garments in cellar of 151-F Pond Road in Franklin, CT. Some garments are marked RR. Donor believes the garments had belonged to Marjorie Burnham Ayer Robbins, born 1897, in whose home the garments 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. 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 Collection

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Skirt

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Main Garments

Nomenclature Class

Clothing

Nomenclature Category

Category 03: Personal Objects

Materials

Material

Silk

Material Notes

Black silk, badly damaged by age. Numerous large holes. Fasteners are metal hooks rather than buttons.

Location

Location

Room

Archives

* Untyped Location

Main Museum Building

Category

Storage

Date

March 23, 2024

Provenance

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.org

Create Date

March 23, 2024

Updated By

historian@millmuseum.org

Update Date

March 23, 2024