Rockin' Out: New England Stone Walls

Sewing and 18th century research have taken a backseat during the last few weeks to mommy work, of course, and attempting to garden.

In the garden I've been learning the obvious: my 1/3 acre of New England soil has lots of rocks. A bunch of big ones (like our front step as seen on the left), lots of little ones and oodles of medium sized ones. Each time I try to plant something and unearth one I curse and wonder, "how did colonial-era farmers work with this?"

A medium-sized rock that was hiding in my veggie garden.

As a college geology student, I once knew all about different kinds of schist (like Wissahickon and Manhattan) and I knew a little about New England rocks. Ten years later, the knowledge is hazy and I dumped my geology textbooks during one of our many moves making it harder to scratch my geology-history nerd itch.

People often say that early American farmers used stones from their fields to build the stone walls that are commonly found in the New England landscape, though I have not yet found a local primary source discussing this. I am quite fond of the region's stone walls and I'm lucky to have one in my backyard...

A break in the stone wall leads to a hiking trail and bird sanctuary.

The 2005 New York Times article A Stone's Throw From History cites a stone wall expert as saying that, "the iconic stone walls of New England were built, generally, between 1775 and 1825...the use of concrete mortar wasn't prevalent until after the Civil War." Given the stacked nature of my stone wall, I like to think that it was built during that era--not that I'm biased towards the 18th century / early 19th century.

The stone wall needs some repair.

With many medium-sized rocks piling up in my yard, I used the idea behind the quintessential New England stone wall as inspiration for a little landscaping project: I'm (slowly) collecting enough rocks to act as a border between the grass and garden.

The completed side of my rockin garden border...and evidence of the never ending weeding process.

The border for the other side of the garden is a work in progress.

Do you have a stone wall / rock collection? Do you have a creative method for using them?

For more about New England stone walls...

• Visit the UConn Stone Wall Initiative. 
• Check out Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History of New England's Stone Walls by Robert Thorson. (As a former museum store sales associate, I once thought this book seemed on the dull side but I must confess that I am now intrigued.)
• Want to get your hands dirty? If you're in the southern New England area, the Newport Restoration Foundation offers an annual stone wall workshop.

A snowy glimpse of my stone wall, Winter 2013

Which State House is it?

Who follows The Essemplaire newsletter? April's email announced that they now sell the Cynthia Burr sampler kit (the original sampler is pictured on the right).

Their description of the kit offers background information about the original 18th century sampler, which is in their collection. They write,

Cynthia Burr was one of Mary Balch’s students. The central building is the State House which is found on a number of other samplers worked under Mary's tutelage, it's either the State House in Newport or Providence.

I have an inclination that the building in the center is the Providence State House and not the Newport State House, which locals call the Colony House. Here's why...

 

Detail of the State House from the Cynthia Burr sampler. Which State House is it?

Here are photos of the properties in debate:

 The 1739 Colony House in Newport, RI.

The c.1761 State House in Providence, RI.

Image from the Rhode Island Historical & Preservation Commission website.

From first glance, it appears that the Newport Colony House is a closer match than the Providence State House. But when learning about the State House's architectural history, it didn't always look like this. The Rhode Island Historical & Preservation Commission website explains, "Before the present tower on the west façade and the wing on Benefit Street were added in the nineteenth century, the Old State House bore a striking resemblance to the Newport Colony House." The illustration below, also from their website, helps show what the building originally looked like:

When comparing the three side-by-side...

...there are many architectural similarities which actually makes it less straightforward to distinguish which property is represented in the sampler.

The back of the Colony House.

• Both have a modified version of the 12 over 12 double hung windows. 
• Both are constructed from brick with a grand double door entrance. (The medieval-influenced door is my favorite feature of the Colony House).
• Both properties have side chimneys; the photo of the Colony House at the right better illustrates this.

However the Newport Colony House has one feature that's missing from the Providence State House which is not depicted in the sampler: it has dormers. Knowing that dormers were generally a 19th century modification to older buildings, I suspect that this might be a later addition.

Looking back at the Essemplaire sampler description, they describe Cynthia Burr as being a student of Mary Balch. When searching the Rhode Island historic newspaper database I learned that...

Mary Balch died in November 1800 at 34 years old, so she was born in 1766 and her maiden name was Mary Stillman. Providence Gazette, November 19, 1800

She was married to Nathaniel Balch in 1789.

Providence Journal and Country Gazette, December 26, 1789

Detail of the restored Colony House window, July 2010.

While I didn't come across an ad for Mary's needlework school, I think it's safe to conclude that she was probably a Providence girl since these ads ran in the Providence newspaper and not the Newport newspaper. If that's the case, it would be more likely that her students' samplers take inspiration from their surrounding landscape and not the architecture on an island relatively far away.

The Providence State House versus the Newport Colony House. Which building do you think is represented?

To learn more about the Old State House visit the Brown University website; to read about the Colony House visit NewportHistory.org.

The Crazy Brown Gown: Tackling that Pucker Problem

Remember the puckering problem on the crazy brown gown? The gown closes not with pins or a stomacher, it's front lacing (even though it has robings)--which caused an ugly pucker. 

A detailed image of the pucker problem, courtesy Kitty Calash.

It's all straightened out now...
 

Good-bye pucker!

I added two boning channels, one on each side of the eyelets to add strength.

I sewed the boning channel on top of the lining.

I'm pretty sure that the NHS gown doesn't have boning at this spot. When I initially made the gown, instead of trimming the excess fabric so it meets perfectly in the middle for the center front closing, I tucked in the fabric. There are two layers of linen and two layers of fashion fabric supporting the eyelets. You can faintly see the outline of the linen below.

One would think that four layers of fabric would be enough to minimize puckering, but it wasn't.

The downside of adding the boning channel is that it's visible from the front--but it's better than the pucker problem.

Lastly I wanted to share my new found favorite thread brand: Mettler. I discovered this cotton thread at my local quilting store and found that it was wonderful for hand sewing.

The Crazy Brown Gown

For ages I've wanted to copy this gown that's in the collection at the Newport Historical Society...

 NHS Accession Number 99.3.87

As some of you know, it's crazy because it front closing and it has robings. I was fortunate to obtain fabric that's a close match to the original--a dark brown silk/linen blend that has a great weight and nice sheen--and I was able to tag along during a research appointment to see it up close. A 2013 New Year's resolution was to recreate this gown as closely as possible and last week I finished--sort of. Here's how it came together...

Getting started was the same as any other English gown, though I made a new bodice pattern mimicking the "bib" shape from the front of the original.

Eventually it was all pleated, sewn and mostly constructed. (This process is much slower going now that my toddler has discovered the joys of climbing.)

As you can kind of see in the photo above, I goofed slightly on the center back pleats which I didn't realize until I was setting in the sleeves. The pleat on the left is slightly wider than the right pleat, which throws off the symmetry. Knowing that 18th century gowns were constructed without meticulously measuring pleats, and that there are a different number of skirt pleats on the opposite side of gowns, I'm trying to convince myself that this isn't an error.

I tried to use as many details from the original as I could:

1) There's no lapped seam on the sleeve...

2) ...but there's a lapped seam attaching the bodice to the center back panel.

3) The skirt pleats are quite wide, they're more like knife pleats and not the tiny, tight pleats I often associate with extant gowns.

Of course I ran into a few road blocks! I thought I had taken copious notes after viewing the original gown along with detailed research photos. However I asked myself many construction questions that I couldn't answer as thoroughly as I would like, i.e.: what's going on with those crazy robings?

I initially made them the same size as the robings from my red damask gown last summer, which were 2 inches wide, but that didn't work for this project. As you can see in the arrow above, it was too short. And when I compared it to the original, this version isn't wide enough. I remade them at 3 inches wide and 6 inches longer. When I sewed them, I made them as tubes with the right side out (not the kind you sew and reverse) with a lapped seam and I used a running stitch for the first time on an 18th century gown. 

View of the left robing attached to the top of the center back panel.

I attached the crazy robings as one piece with shoulder strap. There's no lapped seam here on the original so I backstitched it on at 12 SPI to make sure it's (hopefully) strong enough and won't pop off.

I then tried it on to determine the right fit for closing the center front.

At this point in the fitting, the robings reminded me of leading strings from a child's gown as I had not yet tacked them to the shoulder straps. : )

I chalked the eyelet holes. I didn't think to count the number of eyelets on the original. I ended up with 15 on each side, which are about 1in apart.

To close the gown, I tea stained cotton tape.

 I used three tea bags and soaked it for 24 hours...

...which turned the tape a nice antique beige color. From there, I thought I was ready for Saturday's event: Battle Road. But I wasn't.

Image courtesy Kitty Calash.

The eyelet holes need to be stretched out to fit the cotton tape, which I didn't have the patience to do when running late and trying to get the family out the door. I resorted to China silk ribbon which, as we all know, isn't very strong or sturdy. As you can see in the photo above, the bodice puckered terribly. This may be a result of how I laced it--I zigzagged one long ribbon across rather than weaving two ribbons like an "X" from a pair of sneakers. I also think the bodice closing could benefit from something to give it extra strength, such as a few boning channels (like a child's back lacing gown) or a lining with a sturdier fabric.

Another "pucker up" photo.

For improvement:

• I need to decide which method I'll use to fix the puckering. 
• The original has fun cuffs, so I need to finish drafting my pattern and add that.
• The original also has a linen ruffle along the front and sleeves, which I could add though I'm not sure I will.
• I also need to find a system for being prepared when viewing an original gown. A comprehensive checklist or outline would work for this reminding me to look at details like how wide are the skirt panels, how many pleats are on each side, how do the robings attach, etc.

Overall I can't say that this is my favorite gown. I know it's a transitional style that dates to the mid 1770s (the NHS has dated it c1775) but I'd like to determine a more precise year so I know which events it is best suited for. Does anyone know of any extant gowns in museum collections or antique dealers' archives for comparison purposes?

Front Lacing Gowns?

I always had a tendency to think that gowns that lacked up the front fell into the "bodice / mob cap" category. While great for a pirate costume, it seemed as if this approach wasn't technically accurate.  

But there are plenty of primary sources that prove me wrong. Let's look at a few...

Lady Carteret, mid 18th century

National Portrait Gallery UK, Accession Number NPGD32717

 It's interesting how her gown laces closed. The crossing pattern suggests that she used two ribbons or strings. I wonder if she started lacing them at the bottom and tucked the excess into her stays?

Miss Wilkinson, mid 18th century

National Portrait Gallery UK, Accession Number NPGD8344

 Looking at this closer, she might be wearing an open front gown without a stomacher thus exposing her front lacing stays. It's unfortunately hard to tell.

Maria Countess of Coventry, c.1750-1760

National Portrait Gallery UK, Accession Number NPGD34175

With twelve bows lining her front lacing gown, it looks like she's using one ribbon to close this gown. However I have to wonder if this might be a variation on a fantasy gown.

Elizabeth Sandby,1756-1766

National Portrait Gallery UK, Accession Number NPGD4142

Miss Sandby uses two ribbons when lacking her gown closed. Given the bow at the top of her stomacher, she probably laced them from the stomach working upwards. 

These examples are all from mid-century prints. Are there any extant gowns that use this technique? I know of two or three.

Museum of London c.1790

Accession Number 51.20/1

This gown is exhibited by using one ribbon. (I wish we knew the curator's inspiration for this technique.) I also find the cutaway shape of the bodice interesting, it reminds me of a "polonaise" gown.

I took this image when I saw the gown exhibited in 2010. I don't think I violated any photography rights but if someone knows otherwise, please let me know.

Newport Historical, c.1775

Accession Number 99.3.87

This is a closed front gown that laces closed, instead of pins, and has robings. Crazy, right?!

I know there must be other examples from prints, paintings or extant garments out there. (For example the gown featured on p.22 of Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion, from the Laing Art Gallery and Museum, is front lacing though I can't find it in the NT database.) Though the prints I've found are mid century, I think there's enough evidence to support that the style was used throughout most of the 18th century--and I'm going to try this on my next gown. Do you know of any other examples?

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April 2, 2013 Update: Many thanks to Cassidy for her insightful email! She offered that Lady Cartwright and the Countess of Coventry are probably wearing "costumes", that the gowns worn by Miss Wilkinson and Miss Sandby could have a stomacher that appears as if it's front lacing and lastly that the Museum of London gown could have buttoned to a stomacher. If these are true, which is certainly possible, it would debunk my thought that front lacing gowns are acceptable for reproduction gowns and confirm my initial instinct that they're rather "mob cap" like.

However the brown NHS gown is the reason for the research behind this post as it's my current sewing project. I had the opportunity to view this gown closely in the fall of 2011. While I thought that I had taken detailed notes, I wish that I had taken a closer look at the eyelet holes and the surrounding fabric. Did this gown once pin closed? Were the eyelet holes added later in an attempt to "update" this outdated garment (such as for Oldport Days)? When I viewed it, I didn't see any signs that this was altered from an open front gown, which reminds me of the nagging question what is going on with those robings?

Sew I'm quite stumped by both this gown and the concept of front lacing 18th century gowns! Does it seem legitimate that the brown NHS gown laced closed when it was worn in the last quarter of the 18th century? There must be other examples out there, though I have not yet found any and I don't know of other research on this topic to build from. Thoughts?