Name/Title
Men's Shirt CollarsEntry/Object ID
2024.3.3Description
Eight men's shirt collars: two Van Heusen / Phillips-Jones Van Jack no-starch (iron flat while damp) 15 1/4; six Arrow Duncan 15 1/4. Fair condition. 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.
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.
From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detachable_collar): "The local history of Troy, New York attributes the invention of the detachable collar in 1827 to Hannah Montague, who wished to avoid washing her husband's shirts when only the collars were dirty. She cut off the collars and attached lengths of fabric tape so that they could be tied around the neck of the collarless shirt. This meant that collars could be washed independently, saving time and labor. The Rev. Ebenezer Brown, a businessman in town, proceeded to commercialize the concept. The manufacture of detachable collars and the associated shirts became a significant industry in Troy. It was later that the benefit of being able to starch the collars became apparent, and for a short time, various other parts of the shirt, such as the front and cuffs, were also made detachable and treated to rigid stiffness. As more emphasis started to be placed on comfort in clothing this practice declined, and the stiff collar is the last surviving use of such heavily starched cotton in daywear. Today a full dress shirt (worn with white tie and occasionally black tie) still has a stiff (but attached) front and cuffs to accompany the stiff detachable collar. The collar is attached to the shirt by a pair of studs. The shirt has a tunic collar, a short upright band of fabric with a hole at the back and one on each side at the front. The stiff collar is attached at the back before the shirt is donned (and the tie placed under the collar for a turndown collar), then the shirt is put on, after which the front stud is pushed through the collar to fasten it." These collars have holes for studs.Collection
Burnham-Ayer-Rogers CollectionLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
CollarNomenclature Sub-Class
Clothing AccessoriesNomenclature Class
ClothingNomenclature Category
Category 03: Personal ObjectsLocation
Location
Room
Archives* Untyped Location
Main Museum BuildingCategory
StorageDate
March 24, 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 24, 2024Updated By
historian@millmuseum.orgUpdate Date
March 24, 2024
