Woman's Summer Day Dress
Period1868
MediumCotton
ClassificationsCostume, Women's
Credit LineGift of Mary Minturn Adams in memory of her Hartshorne Ancestors, 2018
Object number2018.10.22
DescriptionA woman's simple summer one-piece day dress of muslin printed in a scattered pattern of 1" black squares surmounted with trios of yellow and black arrow motifs. The gown is constructed with sloped shoulders, a relatively blousy, loose-fitting bodice with an inner muslin lining with hook and eye front closure, long shaped sleeves, and a wide elliptical skirt silhouette with a slight train. The bodice fastens with a front button closure, with hand-sewn buttonholes along the right bodice edge and small hand worked eyelets along the left bodice side to accomodate removable decorative button. The dress retains is off-white pearlized glass buttons with brass shanks and circular double wire ring stops.The gown's waistband fastens with a single hook and eye at left. The bodice includes a simple tab collar, piped armscyes, and full shaped long sleeves tapered and gathered at the wrists. Half-inch wide dagged-edge bands are sewn on either side of the armscyes' piped seams. Additional single bands are sewn around both sleeve edges as cuffs. A three inch width of plain white muslin is used as an inside facing along the skirt hem, with a narrow woven black wool or horsehair braid tape used as an edging.
Curatorial RemarksThe wardrobe of Julia Norton Hartshorne, carefully preserved and protected in the years following her untimely death at the age of thirty, provides a rare glimpse into virtually an entire wardrobe of one woman at one moment in time. It is not uncommon for special garments of one particular person to be saved over time from various special occasions. Julia's wardrobe, however, presents a slice of a moment in time in her fashion choices. This casual and summery one-piece gown is simply yet beautifully made, and was either sewn by a San Francisco-area dressmaker where Julia and her husband lived, or by a New Jersey-area dressmaker. The family did spend a number of months visiting Benjamin Hartshorne's family in Monmouth County during the spring and summer of 1868, returning to the west coast in November of that year. This summer dress, along with several others in Julia's wardrobe, would have been well-suited to the sultry New Jersey summer days. This dress is virtually identical in overall construction to another summer day gown (please see 2018.10.21) and was almost certainly made by the same dressmaking establishment. The full skirt is constructed in the elliptical silhouette fast replacing the earlier rounded bell-shaped hoop skirts. The skirt's fullness moves towards the back of the gown, creating a graceful line and lending itself to a slight train. Gowns of this nature were easily laundered at home. The delicate nature of the fabric makes the survival of this gown and the others in the collection unusual.NotesJulia Norton was born in Buffalo, NY, on 19 November 1838, a daughter of Charles Norton (1805 - 1870) and Julia A. Maltby (1804 - 1875). Between 1854 and 1861, the four Norton children moved to San Francisco, CA. Their parents moved to join them in the winter of 1862. In the spring of 1861, Julia became engaged to Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826 - 1900), son of Robert Hartshorne (1798 - 1872) and Mary Ann Minturn (1802 - 1861) of Highlands, NJ. The couple married in San Francisco on 13 February 1862. Julia and Benjamin had three children: Julia Norton (b. 1863), Robert (1866 - 1927), and Mary Minturn (b. 1867). From May through November of 1868, Julia, Benjamin and their three children made an extended visit to the east coast, staying at Portland with Ben's father. They also visited friends and relatives in the New York area. Shortly after returning to San Francisco, Julia Hartshorne contracted a serious illness requiring the care of physician Dr. Charles Bertody from 4 December through 3 February 1869. On 5 December 1868, the doctor vaccinated Ben and the children. This suggests that Julia may have been suffering from smallpox, as the vaccine for it was the only one in common usage at that time. Julia Norton Hartshorne died on 3 February 1869 at the age of thirty. For more biographical information, including letters by her father-in-law Robert Hartshorne describing his son's wife to other family members, please see the portrait of Julia Norton Hartshorne 1999.7. The Association also has a portrait miniature of Julia Hartshorne (please see 2018.10.1.)
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