BY JENNIFER NICOLE SULLIVAN

August 18, 2010

Trousers, the three-piece suit and the button-fly. Even the popped collar. What do they have in com­mon? Their fashion roots can be traced to the early 19th century.

In the Newport Historical Soci­ety’s latest fashion exhibit, “Dress­ing Manifest Destiny: Men’s Cloth­ing in America 1800-1850,” several pieces show that when Americans forged West to expand our land as part of Manifest Destiny, men also expanded their wardrobes to include key garments that have remained staples in men’s fashion.

Located in the restored 1730 Sev­enth Day Baptist Meeting House in the historical society’s Touro Street headquarters, the fascinating exhibit features a variety of men’s work, everyday, formal and militia wear from the era spanning the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson to Zachary Taylor.

“I think one of the misconcep­tions about men in this time period is you see old photographs and old paintings and they’re kind of uni­formly dressed in black. And you’re like wow, what a boring out­fit,” said the exhibit’s curator Matthew Keagle. “But early in the 19th century particularly, men actually had a wide range of color, texture and pattern options for their clothing.”

Throughout the 18th century, breeches — tight-fitting, cropped pants (think skinny capris for men) — were fashionable until full­length, baggier cut trousers, origi­nally a working-class pant, took off in the early 19th century and dra­matically transformed how men dressed. Only old-fashioned, old men still wore breeches through the 1840s.

Like breeches, the first trousers featured a fall front, a wide, rectan­gular flap over the crotch that but­toned at the waistband. Around the mid-1840s, a buttoned fly closure, similar to what we wear today sans zipper, became fashionable. On dis­play are a pair of off-white, knee­length cotton breeches circa 1790-1810 and a pair of silk and linen full-length trousers with eared pockets circa 1820-1840, possibly owned by a Quaker.

“And it’s (trousers) stayed until this day. Who knows when we’re going to go back to (breeches) because obviously fashion is cycli­cal,” Keagle said. (Hit the gym, guys — skinny jeans could bring us back to breeches!) In the heart of the Industrial Revolution, even before sewing machines were made in the U.S. in the mid-1840s, the clothing busi­ness changed dramatically when tailors streamlined the way they made clothing by piece-working the process — specialized pattern mak­ers, cutters and sewers worked together to produce clothing faster than a single tailor completing one garment. Therefore, men had more affordable, quality-made, ready-to­wear clothing options than ever before.

In a daguerreotype of an unknown boy circa 1845-1850 on display, the child wears a playful combination of patterns and colors — a plaid waistcoat, striped trousers and a patterned neck cloth—considered fashionable for the time. Men also could play with texture and color through neck cloths or cravats, which were knot­ted or bowed over their shirts. For early 19th century formal wear, men wore thick stiffened stocks around their necks covered with black silk, a flattened bow and fake white shirt tips.

Tailcoats moved from daywear in the mid-19th century to formal wear when the frock coat, a longer, looser fitting coat with a full- skirt­ed hem, became popular business.

GQ, CIRCA 1800-1850 Gilt metal buttons owned by promi­nent Civil War general and engineer officer Gouverneur K. Warren represent his entire service (from left, topograph­ical engineers, general staff and corps of engineers) from 1850 to the end of his career sometime after 1870. He died in Newport in 1882.

Early trousers, like this pair circa 1820-1840, which likely were owned by a Pennsylvania Quaker because of its extremely fine silk, featured a buttoned fall front, a precursor to a fly closure.

The 40-inch chest and 40½-inch waist of this tailcoat, circa 1840-1845, challenge the misconception that men were much smaller in the past. The top hat is circa 1840-1860 and the shirt and neckcloth are reproductions.

images courtsey of The Newport Mercury

The Newport Historical Society has received numerous calls in the past few weeks about the current window work at the Colony House on Washington Square, which is owned by the State of Rhode Island, and managed by the Historical Society. This work is funded by the State, and represents a growing resolve by several agencies to support the preservation and use of this important building. The Newport Historical Society would like to thank the Governor’s office, the State Department of Administration and the Rhode Island Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission for their attention to the Colony House, arguably one of the State’s most important buildings.  

 This work does not stand alone, however. It is part of a comprehensive, multi-year program to make Newport’s extraordinary history more accessible to our citizens, our visitors, and students and scholars of American history. In partnership with the City of Newport and the State of Rhode Island, and with the generous support of our members, the Newport Historical Society is bringing new life to important landmark buildings in downtown Newport, including the Brick Market and the Great Friends Meeting House. This includes preservation work to the structures themselves, and new plans for new uses.

 The Newport Historical Society is also focused on the objects, photographs, books and manuscripts in our collections which encompass the complete history of Newport. Our collections begin with the earliest days of settlement, continue through the remarkable liberty and prosperity of the 18^th century, the Revolution and its aftermath, the rise of a significant artists and writers colony, to the Gilded Age, and on to today. The Society’s purpose, established in 1854, was to accumulate these treasures and to provide access for the public to the stories, lessons and examples they represent.   For more than 150 years, Newport’s community has believed that preserving and disseminating local history is important, and has supported the Society and its work. A membership list from 1916 includes individuals whose names themselves embody history — Vernon, Bull, Perry, Dyer, Vanderbilt, James, King and Ellery are only a few.

Today, in addition to assisting with the Colony House, we are moving forward with plans to open the Great Friends Meeting House to a variety of community-based uses without making significant alterations to this iconic structure. We are also planning for the establishment of a full-service resource center for library and collections research at our headquarters at 82 Touro Street. We are preparing to publish information about our remarkable collections, including virtual exhibits, on our new website.  Furthermore, we are working with the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to provide information about our City’s history to the nearly one million individuals who enter the Gateway Center each year.

The Newport Historical Society is a diligent, creative and responsible steward of Newport’s history, and will continue to be an accessible resource for Newport, the nation, and beyond in the years ahead.

Collection 2009: Five Newport Cultural, Historic and Arts Institutions Pick Their Favorite Gifts Received This Year

By Janine Weisman

‘THE OTHER HESSIAN PAINTING’
To: Newport Historical Society
From: Mary Gall

No one knows the name of the artist who created the oil painting depicting Washington Square as seen from the steps of the Colony House in 1818. But local lore has it he was a Hessian soldier said to have done time in debtor’s prison. The painting may have even been how he got out. Now it hangs in the Muse­um of Newport History in the Brick Market, the 1762 building featured very prominently in the painting.

One day last spring, Newport Historical Society Executive Director Ruth Taylor received a phone call from a Pennsylva­nia woman informing her she had “the other Hessian paint­ing.” The woman was Mary Gall, whose maternal grandmother had been an art and antiques collector in Newport. Taylor drove to Gall’s Gladwyne, Pa., home to see the 21 x 30.5 inch oil painting and found it looked just like the one the society already owns except for the color palette. The society’s painting depicts a sunny day in 1818 while cloudy skies hovered over the scene in Gall’s. But the groupings of townspeople in the scene — including a little boy and his wheelbarrow in the lower left corner and the three ladies in white promenading with others on the lower right — are the same.

Were these two paintings done by the same artist? “You could make a case either way, in my opinion,” Taylor said. “You can picture two people sitting side-by-side and looking over each other’s shoulder.”

That mystery led the historical society’s staff to choose Gall’s gift as their favorite of the 37 donation lots received in 2009. The painting was restored through the generosity of board member and fine art dealer Roger King and eventually will be hung next to its sunny-day twin.

“This is forcing us to do more research,” said Taylor, who has been combing through the 1818 editions of Mercury in the soci­ety’s collection searching for news of who had been sent to debtor’s prison or who had gotten out of it.

“The great thing about Newport is yeah, I think we’re going to find the answer.”

Read the article here.

Jacqueline Marque — Daily News staff photos

Press Release 2010 Costume Exhibit open through Friday December 3, 2010

Press Release NHS Announces 2010 Exhibits and Improvements

Press Release Newport Historical Society Opens New Exhibit, Handwritten History

Press Release NHS Offers Many Summer Tours & French In Newport Tour

Press Release 2010 Newport Antiques Show a fundraiser for the Newport Historical Society and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County the weekend of August 13-15, 2010

Press Release Museum & Shop at Brick Market Open Daily

Press Release Newport History Tours 2010 Schedule

Press Release 2010 Newport Historical Society Annual Meeting

Press Release King of the Lobby a program on September 23, 2010

Press Release NHS and SRU Host Nathanael Greene Author a lecture on October 21, 2010 

Press Release Suited for the Sea a November 4, 2010 lecture

Press Release Newport Historical Society Holiday Programs 2010

PAST PROGRAMS

Press Release Fashioning Her World Lecture a lecture on January 27, 2010

Press Release 2010 Winter Festival Events

Press Release Rooted in History Hairstyles Presentation a lecture on February 20, 2010

Press Release NHS March Events special history walking tours during March school vacation

Press Release How to Apply to Hereditary Societies the application process revealed a library workshop on April 8, 2010

Press Release NHS Spring Break Childrens Events the week of April 19, 2010

Press Release NHS Offers Additional April Tours

Press Release Scrimshaw of Rhode Island a lecture on April 29, 2010

Press Release Newport Historical Society May Tours

Press Release Chocolate in Colonial Newport a lecture on May 6, 2010

Press Release Vintage Jewelry Trunk Show at the Museum & Shop at Brick Market on May 8, 2010

Press Release NHS Hosts National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist a program on June 24, 2010

Press Release Signing Their Lives Away: The Men Who Risked Their Lives to Sign the Declaration of Independence a program on July 3, 2010

Press Release Living History Program: Recruiting for the War of 1812

October 10 and 11, 2009

Long-lost historic gravestone is recovered

The footstone from the grave of Anne Hutchinson’s granddaughter was taken years ago from Newport’s Common Buying Ground

By Sean Flynn, Daily News Staff

Newport – The footstone that marked the grave of Ann Vernon, a granddaughter of Portsmouth founder Anne Hutchinson, was returned anonymously to the Newport Historical Society this summer after being removed from the Common Burying Ground sometime in the past.

“Some good citizen discovered it on Second Beach in Middletown,” said Ruth S. Taylor, the society’s executive director.

Local historian Bert Lippincott, the society’s reference librarian, said the discovery highlights how the historic cemetery has been plundered and vandalized over the years.

“We’ve had gravestones from Newport found as far away as Hopkintown,” he said. “Over the years, they have been used as doorsteps, walkways and even septic tank covers.”

Taylor said she would talk to cemetery experts and any heirs of Vernon who might be available to determine if the footstone is in the public domain.

“It’s an interesting dilemma,” she said. “The stones are owned by the family, but who has stewardship? If we work with the city to return it to the cemetery, it creates an opportunity for it to be stone again. Something this size is too easily picked up and taken away.”

John Stevens, a stonemason who opened a shop on Thames Street in 1705 and carved gravestones, carved Vernon’s footstone, Lippincott said.

“From the execution and the date, we know it must have been carved by Stevens,” he said. “At the time, there were no other stonecutters in the area.”

The footstone has a carved angel’s head at the top and is decorated on the sides with rosettes and vines, trademarks of the Stevens shop that is still located at 29 Thames St. and is believed to be the oldest continuously operating business in America.

Vernon’s headstone remains in the Common Burying Ground, in a plot of land reserved for Vernon family members. Her gravestone, just three stones away from Warner Street, says: “Ann, wife of Daniel Vernon and daughter of Capt. Edward Hutchinson, born 1643, died Jan. 10, 1716.”

Edward Hutchinson was Anne Hutchinson’s first-born child, Lippincott said.

Vernon’s husband’s gravestone is next to hers; it says Daniel Vernon also was born in 1643. He died in 1715.

“He was in 1658 the first clerk of King’s town and in 1686, marshal of King’s Province, Narragansett,” the gravestone says.

Vernon was his wife’s second husband. She previously was married to Samuel Dyer, who died in 1678, Lippincott said.

Her gravestone is one of the earliest original stones in the cemetery to include the father’s name, according to reference material in the Newport Historical Society. At the time, many of the graves had smaller footstones as well as the large headstones.

If the recovered stone isn’t returned to the cemetery, Taylor would like to display it, she said, along with the description of Vernon, her grandmother and the Stevens shop. Such a display could call attention to the resources of the Common Burying Ground, and explore what can be done to improve stewardship of the cemetery, Taylor said.

Some of the stones have been knocked over in past years and have sunk into the ground, Lippincott said.

Anne Hutchinson held Bible meetings for women in the Massachusetts Bay Colony that soon had great appeal to men, as well. Eventually, she went beyond Bible study to proclaim her own theological interpretations of sermons, some of which offended the colony leadership and she was banished.

Hutchinson established a settlement at the northern end of Aquidneck Island, then called Pocasset, with some of her followers. She is considered a key figure in the study of the development of religious freedom in the American colonies and the history of women in ministry. She moved in 1643 with her younger children to an isolated wooded area on Long Island Sound in New York, where Native Americans massacred her, her family and their servants. Hutchinson’s 10-year-old daughter, Susannah, survived the attack. Her older children, including Edward, had remained in Massachusetts, where his wife, Catherine, gave birth to Ann the year her grandmother died.

Click to see a review of the 2009 Antiques Show by Antiques and the Arts.

Cover of The Newport Mercury, August 19, 2009

The Newport Mercury, August 19, 2009

A RARE PUBLIC EXHIBIT UNVEILS FANCIFUL CLOTHING WORN BY COLONIAL NEWPORTERS

By Jennifer Nicole Sullivan

As Great Britain squeezed its American colonies in the 1760s and ’70s leading up to America’s war for independence, revolutionary era women squeezed their breasts into corset-like underwear but liberated their cleavage at the top of their elegant gowns.

Maybe revolutionary bosoms weren’t as tortured as it sounds, but political unrest in the colonies certainly did affect the social fabric of the times — its fashion. In a new Newport Historical Society exhibit, Homespun to High Fashion, visitors can see a fascinating sampling of clothing from the late 18th to early 19th centuries on display in the newly restored Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House.

Guest curator Rebecca Kelly was awed by all the fine, Newport-linked, American Revolutionary era pieces she discovered while delicately digging through hundreds of items in the Newport Historical Society ’s little-before-seen collection of historic clothing stored in acid-free boxes on the second floor of the society ’s Touro Street office.

“Just their age, it’s quite spectacular,” said Kelly, who works at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology and teaches at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. “It’s sort of daunting to take a dress out of a box and it’s over 200 years old.”

Set in one of the nation’s oldest Baptist churches, built in 1730, the exhibit gives a rare glimpse of life in our fledgling country and how, even in the midst of a war for independence fought on American soil, Newporters still knew how to look good. Beautiful, full-length, high-fashion gowns worn by wealthier women dating 1765 to 1785 comprise most of the exhibit.

“We were really surprised to see so many high styled gowns. I think that speaks to the economic stability in the early days,” Kelly said.

Never mind the homespun movement where revolutionary era women would weave their own cloth instead of importing British textiles or garments — wealthy Newporters still had their local dressmakers use fine British silk — most likely imported from London’s Spitalfields area — to construct sophisticated gowns that would have been fashionable in Europe. All of the dresses are open-gown, or open-robe style, meaning that the front of the dress is split to reveal an outer petticoat that often matched the dress and could be interchanged with different colored or textured petticoats. The older gowns feature stomachers, a decorative panel that filled a gap in the gown’s bodice.

Stomachers went out of style by the late 1780s, so the later gowns simply closed in the middle of the bodice with pins. Layers of clothing underneath the dress, such as a whalebone-ribbed stay (a precursor to the corset) and a shift (durable linen underwear that resembled a nightgown), protected the women from getting pricked by pins.

Stays provided support to the breasts much like a modern bra, but unlike corsets in the Civil War or the Victorian period, women of the revolutionary era didn’t pull their stays uncomfortably snug to strive for a tiny waist. The structured undergarment improved women’s postures. To maintain modesty during the day, women wore a fichu (pronounced fee-shoo), or handkerchief, around their necks, tucked into the top of the bodice to hide their cleavage. In the evening, they would ditch it, giving liberty to their décolletage.

“They were creating an idealized female form, which was cone-shaped from the waist up,” said Ruth Taylor, the society ’s Executive Director. As for the waist down, Taylor added, “ You could hide a kid under there.”

Under the skirt, women wore padding in a hoop structure that tied around the waist and layers of petticoats to dramatically poof out the hips and buttocks. As for panties, revolutionary women sort of went commando. “Underwear as we think of it today is really modern in its arrival … a 20th century kind of thing,” Kelly said. “So really, for men, they didn’t have anything other than an undershirt which was really long. For women it was many layers of cotton petticoats … not anything comparable to modern undergarments.”

Two of the dresses can be traced to prominent Newport families: a multi-colored floral brocade gown circa 1765 was likely worn by a woman of the Robinson family and an ivory and taupe geometric striped gown with a lavender quilted petticoat circa 1775 is said to have been worn by Catherine Malbone of the wealthy merchant family. In stark contrast to the evening gowns is a coffee colored Quaker dress circa 1775, possibly made with a wool/ silk blend and homespun linen lining (cotton was very rare). The simple dress is a style that Newport Quaker women would have worn through the late 1770s. A men’s outfit with an ornate waistcoat embroidered with silver thread dating from the early 19th century rounds out the display.

Kelly and interns Jennifer Robinson and Kaitlin Morton Bentley — both University of Rhode Island grads — made reproductions of stomachers, padding, fichus and men’s breeches to fill in missing wardrobe pieces or items too deteriorated to display. Some of the mannequin’s heads are topped with huge white, bouffant wigs that the interns modeled after period fashion plates and constructed from raffia and acid-free spider tissue paper.

“If you’ve seen the latest Marie Antoinette movie, in France, some of the hairdos were gigantic,” said MortonBentley. “ They weren’t quite as large here, but for a really formal event, they would have done a nice updo with rolls, powdered their hair and perhaps even had a wig.”