Name/Title
Vintage Men's Linen ShirtEntry/Object ID
2024.3.2Description
Vintage men's linen shirt. Fair condition. Was pinned around cardboard, probably by a professional launderer. Rust spots where pins were located. Cardboard removed. Short collar. White buttons down front and on cuffs. Decorative ribbing on breast. Long tails. Manufactured by the Usona Shirt Co. Size 14 1/4 in. The Usona Shirt Co. was located in New York City and existed from at least 1909 until at least 1939. The word "Usona" was invented around the turn of the century as an alternative to the word "America" as a short form of the United States of America, and is an acronym for United States of North America. The word was incorporated into the artificial language Esperanto. The shirt was 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.Collection
Burnham-Ayer-Rogers CollectionMade/Created
Manufacturer
Usona Shirt Co.Time Period
20th CenturyInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Garment tagLocation
CollarTranscription
USONALexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
ShirtNomenclature Sub-Class
Main GarmentsNomenclature Class
ClothingNomenclature Category
Category 03: Personal ObjectsColors
Color
WhiteColor Notes
Much discolored by time.Location
Location
Room
Archives* Untyped Location
Main Museum BuildingCategory
StorageDate
March 23, 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 23, 2024Updated By
historian@millmuseum.orgUpdate Date
March 23, 2024
