Category: Identity Self

Sampler, 1787

Did you ever write in your books: Your Name—town—state—country—continent—the world—the solar system—the universe? Some samplers have a simpler version of this.

Abigail Whiting explains her birth and age before placing herself geographically. Concluding “when I am dead…” suggests she listed these facts so viewers might remember her after her death. And we do.

Made by Abigail Whiting, age 18, Wrentham, Massachusetts. Silk thread on linen ground. Gift of Elizabeth Schwinn  2011.41.3

Inscription:

Dec the 28 1787 I was born February 28 1769 and I am now in the 19 year of my age

Abigail Whiting is my name/ new England is my station/ Wrentham is my dwelling place/ and Christ is my salvation / When I am dead and worms me eat/ here you may see my name complete

Whitework Bedspread, 1828

Many early 1800s bedspreads boldly proclaim the maker’s name. Household textiles have traditionally been considered the property of the women living there, even when they had no legal property rights to speak of, so Mercy was building on tradition by inscribing her name on her handiwork. But she was also asserting her rights to something of her own in households where she was never mistress. Mercy Deuel never married; as a spinster sister living in various siblings’ households, she probably wanted to claim something as hers alone. 

Cambridge, New York. Cotton thread on cotton ground. Gift of Violet R. Ford 62.181

Evening Dress, about 1822-27

Our clothing expresses both personal identity and our affiliation with social groups. 

Before ready-to-wear, this was even more true. Women chose fabric and discussed dress design with their dressmaker. Ideas from fashion magazines, news from friends in large cities, and observation of neighbors would all be considered to create a unique design expressing personal taste but fitting in with one’s peers. 

This dress’s owner wanted an on-trend gauze evening dress embellished with bold applied trim from the mid-1820s, but opted for an unobtrusive color and a slightly conservative higher waistline held over from a few years earlier. Such compromises were possible when every dress was custom designed.

Silk net and silk satin with cotton wadding; reproduction slip. Gift of Louisa Eifrig Rauth 2017.16