Images(2)

Gown, block-printed cotton

Dateca. 1790; textile ca. 1780

OriginEngland (textile); worn in America, Virginia

MediumCotton, linen lining

DimensionsOL: 56 1/2 in.
Textile selvage width 28 in.
Waist (raised) 27 to 30 in., depending on overlap

Credit LineGift of The Valentine Museum, Richmond, VA

Object number2023-181

DescriptionWoman's gown of block-printed cotton in a small-scale print of red, pink, brown, and pencil blue roses and leaves on a dotted, or "pinned," ground with scrolling vines and leaves. The bodice has a wide squared neckline and a raised waistline with a center-front closure. The front bodice is pieced vertically suggesting it may have had earlier robings. The back bodice is seamed down the center back and has curved seams running from the sleeves to the waist. All bodice seams are narrow and overcast to finish raw edges. Fitted three-quarter length sleeves cup over the elbows without cuffs. The sleeves and bodice are lined with two different plain-woven linens. The unlined full skirt is fastened to the bodice with small pleats and is styled to be open in the center front. Two pocket slits are incorporated into the skirt at right and left front. The skirt is stitched in a raised position above the finished bodice, suggesting later alteration. The skirt consists of three full-width panels plus narrow strips piecing out the fronts. Narrow turned and stitched hems finish center front skirt and hem. The gown has numerous worn areas, holes, patches, and iron-on tape repairs.

Originally 1780s, probably with robings and cuffs or sleeve ruffles
Restyled 1790s, with raised waist
Later repairs and mendsLabel TextAs fashion moved from the natural waist to a new style with raised waistlines in the 1790s, women altered their older gowns to follow the mode. The owner of this gown altered her printed cotton gown by modifying the original bodice and reattaching the skirt at a higher position.ProvenanceDate unknown, Mrs. Ruth Johns Moody or her ancestor; dates unknown probably descended in the family to her great-great-granddaughter, Miss Louise Johns (Richmond, VA); 1953 given to the Valentine Museum (Richmond, VA); 2023-present given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)