SEWING FOR CHARITY: BAZAARS and FANCY FAIRS
Women were criticized for their involvement in “unladylike” commerce when they started holding charity bazaars in the 1830s. Nevertheless they persisted, and such events became common and profitable. They paved the way for women’s organization of Sanitary Fairs in both North and South during the Civil War, which raised millions of dollars to support hospitals for the troops.
The novelty craft projects which proliferated in ladies’ magazines were popular offerings, as were sewing accessories such as needle books and pin cushions. Dolls, often with extensive wardrobes, were popular raffle items.
Clockwise from upper left:
Stuffed-dog pen wiper, cotton velvet on wool, 1850–1900, DAR Museum, 2017.9
Blue silk plaid needle case, 1840–1870, gift of Anna Oldin Reed, 2868.4
Perforated paper watch pocket bound and backed in silk, about 1850, 91.194.3
Abolitionist pin disk, silk, made in Birmingham, England, 1820s, gift of Margaret Broecker, 82.137.3
Pen wiper with china doll’s head, silk velvet, wool, glass beads, 1850–1875, gift of Mary Augusta Rand, 4115
Doll, 1864-1865, ceramic, silk cotton, leather, gift of Mary Augusta Rand, 4119