Pocket

PeriodCirca 1800 - 1820

Place MadeNew Jersey, U.S.A.

MediumPrinted cottons, linen, cotton tape

Dimensions14.5 × 11 in. (36.8 × 27.9 cm)

ClassificationsCostume, Women's

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1932

Object number243

DescriptionA woman's single pocket, with a front panel consisting of approximately eight different printed cotton fabrics arranged in a "Flying Geese" patchwork pattern variation. The back panel is comprised of a single piece of linen, reinforced on the inside with two additional smaller pieces of linen. All pocket edges are bound with narrow linen tape. Two lengths of twill woven cotton tape are sewn to the upper left and right pocket corners to fasten around the wearer's waist.
Curatorial RemarksPockets, either singly or in pairs, were important accessories in a woman's wardrobe throughout the eighteenth and into the nineteenth centuries. Most gowns and petticoats were not made with incorporated pockets. Instead, separate pockets such as this one were worn tied around the owner's waist. This particular pocket appears to date after 1800, as several of the small pieces of printed cotton calico date between 1800 and about 1830. The variety of fabrics even in this single accessory reveals the practice of saving small bits of fabric, as some of the prints date from the 1770s.NotesAlthough the original owner and/or maker of this single patchwork pocket is unknown, records indicate that it was donated to the Association in September 1932 by Mrs. J. Amory Haskell. Mrs. Haskell was a well-known and highly respected early 20th century collector who was pivotal to the Association's success and growth. Although she is best known for her focus on early American furniture, paintings, and decorative arts, Haskell also had an eye for the unique, quirky, and interesting, particularly those items that had Monmouth County connections. Mrs. Haskell may have purchased this boldly patterned pocket from one of the numerous Monmouth antique dealers.

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