(Image: Detail of Portrait of Mrs. Philip Hinkle by Frank Duveneck)

November 7, 2009 through April 25, 2010 in the Crosman Gallery.

(Rockland, ME) This exhibition draws on the museum’s collection of 19th century clothing and accessories including day and evening attire, nightgowns, undergarments, hats and shoes, fans, and jewelry dating from 1850 to 1900.

During the second half of the 19th century the coastal towns of Maine were in the midst of an economic boom. Maine was the largest producer of wooden sailing vessels, the lime industry in Rockport and Rockland were at their height and Bangor was the lumber capital of the world. Many of the captains commanding the American merchant fleet were native Mainers and a good number of these captains brought their wives to accompany them on voyages. These travelers, visiting foreign and domestic ports, shopped for the latest in materials and fashions. In Camden, Rockland and Thomaston men and women could be found wearing the finest in fashion and decorating their homes following the latest styles.

With a growing middle and upper class, entertaining became more prevalent. Dances, dinners and afternoon “calling” became a matter of routine. Women strove to look their best for these social occasions. This is the era before clothes were mass-produced and items of clothing were individually designed and sewn by a dressmaker to fit the client’s body. Style features included the 20” waistline achieved with the aide of whalebone corsets and bustles to emphasize the derriere.

It was the wish of Lucy Farnsworth, the museum’s founder, that the family jewelry be shown in the museum at various times. This 19th century jewelry includes such items as a brooch and earrings that resemble hot air balloons, a collection of personally engraved gold thimbles that were popular gift items of the time, and enameled and jeweled pocket watches once belonging to individual members of the Farnsworth family. In addition, evening and daytime dresses from the collection of Archie & Isabel Bailey, clothing that was once worn in the latter half of the 19th century by Maggie Shepard, wife of Captain Frank Shepard of Camden, and their daughter Annabel (Shepard) Hodgman will be included.

For more information, please visit the Farnsworth Museum website.

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