18CNewEnglandLife
Clothing & Accoutrements

Aprons

by Sue Felshin
Version of 8 Oct 2001

Your working apron protects your clothes from dirt and wear. You might also have a better quality apron, not only to wear with your other best clothes, but also to throw over your working clothes if company arrives unexpectedly. The very rich woman, if she wears an apron at all, wears a completely non-functional one of sheer fabric and/or lace.

Contents

General characteristics of aprons

Width and fullness:
For practicality, an apron should be wide enough to cover most of the petticoat or the skirt of the gown, but not so wide as to cover the pocket slits; it should be full enough to hang well, but not so full as to waste fabric (unless you want to show off how rich you are). In practice, this means a minimum width of about 32 inches and a maximum of about 45, and the fabric may be gathered at the waist to between three-quarters and the entire width of the front of the petticoat or gown. A dressy apron is sometimes fuller or extends around toward the back.
Length:
The length is generally a few inches shorter than the skirts it covers; about six inches shorter seems most common. This is a good compromise: a longer apron will protect more of your clothes but be prone to get into the fire when you are cooking. Occasionally an apron is full length, probably when a woman has no intention of nearing a fire. Very fancy dress aprons made of lace are often much smaller, probably due to the enormous expense of lace, and perhaps also so as not to hide too much of the fine fabric underneath.
Shape: The apron is invariably square at the sides and bottom (again, a practical shape), with the sole exception of some very fancy dress aprons with rounded bottom corners which are either edged with ruffles or wholely of lace. The waistline of the apron often dips down at the center, sometimes significantly (e.g., Walton's Ballad Seller.
Waistline:
The top of the apron may be made into a casing for the apron string, or the top may be gathered or pleated and then stitched to a cloth tape binding or, rarely, to a very narrow self-fabric binding. Apron artifacts and aprons in art are usually gathered to a binding rather than making use of a casing.
Apron string:
The apron strings are always, or nearly always, fabric tape (e.g., linen or cotton) rather than the fabric of the apron itself. (I have yet to find any examples of fabric apron strings (see Research Wanted). The strings are generally long enough to cross in back, come around again, and tie in front; you may leave the ties showing or tuck them behind your apron. Tying your apron strings in front is practical for many reasons: It requires less dexterity. Small children will be less able to untie your apron strings on you. You have more flexibility in tying the lower corners of your apron around the string to carry burdens in your apron. If you are wearing an apron with a sacque gown or pet-en-l'air, in which case the apron strings usually pass through the pocket slits and inside the gown in back, it is much easier to tie and especially retie the strings in front rather than in back, inside the gown, trying to tell the apron strings from the lacing of the lining of the gown.
Bib:
Children's aprons usually have bibs, regardless of nationality. Frenchwomen's aprons often have bibs. Englishwomen's aprons virtually never have bibs; some have suggested that most Englishwomen with bibbed aprons in art are either incipient, practicing, or "reformed" prostitutes. See the notes for Harriot Heedless. I have not yet studied aprons for other nationalities.
If an apron has a bib, it is pinned to the gown with straight pins. The bib has the advantage that it protects the clothes of the upper body. On the other hand, it makes it more difficult to adjust your neck handerchief or the front of your gown, and it takes practice to pin the bib so that the pins won't work their way out and get lost or scratch you. The bib is generally trapezoidal, that is, wide at the top and narrow at the waist; these lines are very pleasing to the eye but the shape is impractical for protecting the gown when working. The shaping of the bib may be tied to nationality; I haven't studied this sufficiently yet. The top of the bib is frequently curved as well, dipping down at the center and curving up into points at the sides. At the bottom, the bib sometimes? usually? drops below the top of the apron to end in a point. The top of the apron skirt can then be shaped to fit the bib. Can the point be appliqued over the apron? I don't know (see Research Wanted). It would certainly be quicker to construct, and this could explain why the bibs are so narrow at the waist: less to applique.
Fabric:
Dark-colored wool is the most practical as it shows little dirt, and wool is less flammable than linen, which is in turn less flammable than cotton. If you plan to wear your apron while cooking, I highly recommend that you use wool or linen rather than cotton. (It has recently been disputed that cotton is more flammable than linen; more information on this forthcoming eventually.) White is on the one hand practical, since it can be bleached, and on the other hand not, since not even bleaching will remove all stains. Wearing a white apron may be a way to show off that you do not need to do any work that will dirty your apron. Aprons in art are usually light-colored; possibly this is a factor more of who was pictured in art than of the average color of an apron. I have seen vertical stripes in art (sorry, I forget where), and many aprons in the Pennsylvania Gazette are described as checked.
Wearing the apron:
See preceding paragraphs. Also note that if your apron becomes dirty, you can tuck one bottom corner in at the waist on the other side, to show the clean reverse of your apron. This is often seen in art. If your apron has a bib, pin the bib to your gown and then send the points of the pins back through the apron but not the gown; then the pin won't stab you inside or out (as long as it stays in place). If using safety pins, pin them from the inside to hide them. Given who wore bibbed aprons, any bibbed apron is likely to be on a child, so I particularly recommend safety pins.
Construction:
If you are lucky enough to find fabric with a good selvedge, you can use it for one or two hems (depending on width of fabric). Narrow hem (1/4 inch or less) side(s) and/or bottom where not using selvedge. If making a casing, make it only as wide as necessary to pass the tape through. Otherwise gather or pleat the top and stitch the tape over it, encasing the top edge. Hem the ends of the tape to prevent fraying. If adding a bib, narrow hem it all around. The Williamsburg apron's skirt is made of two pieces of two pieces of fabric, seamed down the center, and angled at the top to fit the bib; I know of no other art nor artifacts which shows how to attach the bib -- I whip it on, or if it drops to a point, I applique it as neatly as possible over the gathers of the apron (if the bottom of the bib is very narrow, you can shift most or all of the gathering to the sides of the apron and then don't need to deal with the gathers, but I have seen no such examples). I have seen no examples of aprons lined in either the skirt or bib.

Recommendations for Battle Road

Your apron will, of course, depend on your impression. If you are portraying a laborer, a lowly servant (such as scullery maid), or a poor farmer's wife, I recommend you use medium or dark colored wool or linen, either plain, checked, or in a fairly narrow vertical stripe. If you are portraying a well-off farmer's wife or a ladies' maid, I recommend a white apron of linen or cotton. If you are portraying a very well-off farmer's wife or a lady, I recommend you skip the apron entirely. Avoid prints as it is very difficult to learn which are appropriate and prints were very rare for aprons. If you do not plan to use your apron around a fire, you may be able to find a cotton-linen or 100% cotton that looks a little like linen (JoAnn Fabrics used to sell some halfway decent cotton-linen blends). Be wary of modern broadcloth, which is often a cotton-poly blend or pure poly and even in pure cotton is the wrong weight.

I would make the apron a yard wide and about six inches shorter than your gown or petticoat. Use only narrow hems (1/2" or less). Bind the top with fabric tape, or optionally, with a lower class impression, make a casing at the top to pass the apron string through. You may have trouble finding fabric tape in a cloth store. Bias tape looks wrong and stretches too much and seam binding is all polyester these days. You can mail order linen and cotton tapes from the Najeckis (under Lace), Wooded Hamlet, and assorted other sutlers.

I strongly recommend that you leave off the bib except on aprons for children or if you are portraying a French working woman.

Documentation

It is difficult to find documentation of aprons, and particularly of the details at the waistline. Few if any working aprons have survived to modern times; they would have been used until worn out, and then used as rags or sold to the ragman. In art, a working woman often has her waistline obscured by her work, or a bundle she is carrying. Even when she does not, eighteenth century rules of posture call for a woman to hold her upper arms away from the body and curve her forearms back inward so that her hands obscure her waist. The usual difficulties hold in finding documentation particular to New England.

Items of documentation

Art:

American
(None.)
British
  1. Singleton, H. At the Inn Door. 1780s? Reproduced in Dress in Eighteenth Century England, p. 145. A woman, probably a serving maid (she is handing a container of ale to a man) wears a fairly dark half apron (no bib). She holds it up in one hand so one cannot tell the length. It is moderately wide, perhaps a yard or a little more. The top is gathered and stitched to a light-colored tape, which passes around the back and ties loosely in front. One can clearly see that it is tied in an ordinary bow such as one uses to tie shoes. The ends of the tape appear a little wider than where it is stitched to the apron, so the tape is probably stitched over, enclosing the raw edge of the apron. Eng, Late.
  2. Sandby, P. Winsor Castle, the Terrace. No date. Reproduced in Dress in Eighteenth Century England, p. 124. A woman (#1), clearly a servant by her dress, wears a fairly heavily gathered half apron which appears white. It is as long as her gown and nearly reaches the ground. No ties are visible. Beside her, a child (#2) of six or eight (a girl by her hat and lack of masculine toys) wears an apparently white apron with bib. It may tie in front. The bib is very slightly trapezoidal and the top edge is curved so that the outer corners are an inch or so higher than the top at center. The bib ends at the waist rather than descending to a point; the apron skirt is an inch or so wider than the bib at each side; perhaps three-quarter width in all. She holds her apron in her hand, so one cannot tell how long it is. Beside her, a well-dressed woman (#3), presumably her mother, wears a half apron, quite full and covering her whole front and perhaps reaching around back a little. It curves down a little at the waist, as if tied loosely; one cannot see how it is tied. It is as long as her gown, or an inch or two shorter. Vertical striping is visible, but one can't see whether it is part of the fabric (inch-and-a-half wide stripes?) or meant to indicate gathers. Eng, Unc.
  3. Walton, Henry. Plucking the Turkey, exhibited 1776. Available on the Web at the Tate Gallery. Reproduced in Dress in Eighteenth Century England , p. 104. The woman wears an apron in a square windowpane check. The repeat is in all perhaps two to three inches. Narrow dark lines divide the light-colored ground into ~1" panes and the four-squares of panes are separated by a ~1" medium dark band edged with narrow dark lines. She is sitting, and it is hard to tell, but the apron appears rather long and full. The weight of the turkey has pulled her apron down a few inches at the front. It appears that two apron strings (of plain, light-colored fabric) pass around the back; this should mean it ties in front, but the shadow of her arm completely obscures that part of her waist; also, there is an odd, undecipherable knot at the side as if the strings are knotted there. Eng, Unc.
  4. Walton, Henry. The Ballad Seller (a.k.a. A Girl Buying a Ballad), exhibited 1778. On the Web at the Tate Gallery. White half apron ties in front -- the bow could possibly belong to the gown, and I would like to see a more detailed version of the painting to be more sure that this is an apron string bow). The apron dips down to a sharp point at the waist and is clearly shaped to do so, given the evenness of the bottom hem. The apron is full length.
  5. Bowles, Carrington. The Modern Harlot's Progress; Harriot Heedless at Statue Hall. 1780. Reproduced in Dress in Eighteenth Century England, p. 110. Eight women are visible in the picture, all wearing apparently white aprons. From left to right, Woman #1 and Woman #2 are dressed very fancily with enormous hats and fancy gowns with flounced sleeves and ribbons; they are wearing aprons with narrow lace edging (approx. one inch) along sides and bottom and the same lace across the apron about eight inches from the bottom, and the one whose front is visible has a slightly trapezoidal bib with the top hidden by her handkerchief and the bottom by her arm. Their aprons go nearly from side seam to side seam and are lightly gathered; they end about six inches above the bottom of their petticoats. Woman #3 is dressed a little less finely and has a plain bibless apron which appears to sag a bit in front; she holds the opposite side hem up in one hand. Woman #4, at the center of the picture (she must be the "modern harlot" since she holds a case marked H H for Harriot Heedless), wears an apron about six inches shorter than her petticoats. The bib is slightly trapezoidal and comes to a point at the bottom; one cannot tell how it is attached. One can see the light gathering of the skirt of the apron connected to the bottom of the bib. The bib has a narrow band of the same(?) fabric, perhaps an inch wide, along its top. There is a vertical line an inch or two in from each side of the bib; they look like seam lines but it seems an odd place for seaming. The skirt of the apron is only as wide as the bottom of the bib, which appears to be nearly three-quarter width. Her apron strings tie in front; they are clearly visible at the center of the bib at the waistline. Woman #5 has an apron identical to woman #4, except that her arm obsures her waistline, and there are odd vertical lines along the center section of her bib which could be gathers, striping, or a fault in the artwork. Woman #6 looks much like woman #2, but her waistline is obscured. Woman #7 is hardly visible; we only see a bit of apron at her side. But she appears to resemble woman #6. Woman #8 looks much like woman #5. The band at the top of her bib has vertical lines which could be gathering, ruching, striped ribbon, or whatever else. You can see the point at the bottom of her bib (or stomacher? see below), just below where her arm covers where her apron strings would tie. Eng, Late.
    Nancy Watt and Dianne Tidy point out that this is a picture of a naive young girl being taken in as a prostitute; she may be wearing a bib apron as a sign of childhood or innocence; Harriot Heedless appears to be a teenager, perhaps young enough to be wearing an apron by virtue of her age. Woman #8 also appears quite young. Woman #5 is somewhat ambiguous. However, woman #1 does not appear to be a child. As for women without bibs, #2 appears young, #3 (talking to Harriot Heedless, and likely the procuress) does not, woman #6 appears young, and woman #7 does not. Possibly woman #8 is actually wearing a stomacher; there does appear to be a robing at her left (our right), running along the bib/stomacher and extending above it; also the point on the bib/stomacher is rounded. This does not appear to be the case with woman #5. Woman #1 could be wearing a stomacher, but I find it unlikely, given that the vertical edging of the bib matches that of the apron, and I find it unlikely that a woman who is otherwise so fashionably dressed would be wearing an utterly plain stomacher in 1780, when stomachers were no longer the fashion.
  6. Stubbs, George. The Haymakers. 1785. Available on the Web at the Tate Gallery. Reproduced in Dress in Eighteenth Century England, p. 126. Three women stand or rake hay in similar aprons, all apparently white, all as long or nearly as long as their gowns, all moderately full and wide. None have bibs. One cannot see any ties (the two raking have obscured their waists with their arms). Two have pulled up a lower corner and tucked it in at the side of the waist. Eng, Late.
  7. Zoffany, Johann. Beggars on the Road to Stanmore. 1770. Detail reproduced in Dress in Eighteenth Century England, p. ???. The woman wears a dark-colored half apron, much patched. It is longish and fairly full, but she is sitting so it's hard to tell. The waist is not visible. She is in extreme poverty (patches, holes in shoes), but appears to have been well off previously (shoe buckles, printed kerchief). One cannot tell if the apron was acquired before or after her descent to poverty. Eng, Unc.
  8. March. Hand-colored mezzotint engraving. Printed for Robert Sayer, England, 1767. Reproduced in black and white in Eighteenth Century Clothing at Williamsburg, p. 39. Richly dressed woman wears sheer lace apron, mostly net, with occasional vaguely floral figures of moderate size (one to several inches). Can't determine length, width, or fullness. Eng.
  9. The Studious Fair. Hand-colored mezzotint engraving. Printed by Henry Parker and Robert Sayer, England, 1760. Reproduced in black and white in Eighteenth Century Clothing at Williamsburg, p. 40. Richly dressed woman wears sheer lace apron, mostly net, with tiny speckles scattered at inch or so intervals. Can't see sides or bottom of apron, but if it matches her engageants, it is edged in two-inch-wide lace ruffle covered in small floral figures. Eng.
  10. Hayman, F. The Milkmaids' Garland. London, c. 1745. Reproduced in Dress in Eighteenth Century England, p. 144. Two young women dancing at the left wear apparently white aprons, very similar, both fairly full, as long as their gowns, and of a light-weight fabric. Woman #1 is facing away. She appears to have caught her apron under her arm so that it falls to the back. An odd line in back could be a knot in the apron string (which appears to be white), but is probably a fold in the back of her gown en fourreau. Woman #2 faces front. Her apron drops to a point at the front waist, although it has no bib. Perhaps the fabric is shaped, or the artist might have taken liberties. The apron string appears darker than her apron; one cannot see where it ties. The apron goes across her entire front, and may reach a little round the back. Woman #3 is older and stands at the right. Her half apron is equally long and also of a light-weight fabric, but less wide and full. These women are dancing at a Mayday frolic, and it is possible that they are wearing costumes particular to the occasion. Eng, Ear, Eph.
  11. van Aken, J. English Family at Tea.. Reproduced in Dress in Eighteenth Century England, p. 111, dated c. 1730. Available on the Web at the Tate Gallery, dated c. 1720. Three women are pictured. A servant woman, pouring tea, wears a floor-length apron, apparently white, over a floor-length gown. Her apron has no bib. It is very full and extends across the entire front of her gown, and perhaps an inch or two to the back. It does not appear to tie in front but one cannot be sure from the picture. Eng, Ear.
  12. ???. Joseph Andrews and his Friends and the Inn. 17??. Illustration from Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding. Reproduced in Dress in Eighteenth Century England, p. ???. Fanny wears a rather narrow apparently white apron, perhaps four inches shorter than her gown. No other details are visible. Eng, Unc.
  13. Collett, John. The Recruiting Serjeant. The young woman in the foreground (the recruit's sweetheart) wears a white-and-dark checked apron, no bib, with narrow white ties that tie in front (the relatively long ties hang in loops under her elbow). The apron is approximately the same length as her (quilted??) petticoat, which is to say low calf length, but as she has lifted a corner of her apron to dab a crocodile tear from her eye, it is difficult to tell. The young woman holding a bottle has ties at her waist which appear to be apron strings, but I'd like to see a better reproduction of this image before pronouncing judgement (I have not included her apron in the statistics below). Eng.
  14. ???. Magdalen Hospital girl, 1761. Frontispiece of William Dodd Account of the Magdalen Charity, 1761. Pictured in Cunnington & Lucas's Charity Costumes. The girl wears a narrow apron with a wide trapezoidal bib. It appears to be white. The waist is obscured by her arms. The skirt of her apron is as long as her gown.
    The Magdalen Hospital was a home for the rescue of seduced girls and prostitutes, so along with the Harriot-Heedless print, this makes two examples of bib aprons among prostitutes or reformed prostitutes. Perhaps this is a trend, or perhaps it is merely that the Magdalen Hospital girl is young enough for a bib. Eng.
  15. Penny, Edward. City Shower. Reproduced on p. 4 of Eighteenth Century London by Nichola Johnson, London, 1991. The painting shows "the maid so vigorously twirling her mop is wearing her mistress's cast-off clothes". She is wearing a white bib apron over a blue petticoat, brown jacket and some sort of printed handkerchief about her shoulders. (Thanks to Deb Peterson for reporting this example.) Eng.
  16. Walton, Henry. The Silver Age. Mid 1770s. A girl of around 10 years of age wears a checked, bibbed apron. (Also a bonnet -- a good example of this.) Eng.
  17. Nixon, John. A sudden surprize to the City Militia. 1774. On the Web Collage by the Corporation of London -- search for item number 18374. A woman near the right edge appears to be wearing a light colored bib apron. Horizontal lines are probably shading. The bib is fairly wide and only slightly trapezoidal. I have only seen this print at the Collage site, where the image quality is not very good; I would have to see a better copy before coming to a firm conclusion on whether this is truly a bib apron. Due to the poor image quality, I have not included this apron in the statistics section. Eng.
  18. Bowles & Carver (publs). The Catchpenny Prints: 163 Popular Engravings from the Eighteenth Century. The engravings were originally published in London in the late 1780s and early 1790s.
    • #38. "Mrs. Dorothy Dandle-puppy", in what appears to be bourgeois dress, wears a half apron which ties in front. The apron appears narrow on her, but this is probably simply because she is quite fat. Her apron is a few inches shorter than her petticoats.
    • #40. "Miss Sicamore" appears to wear a short-skirted, dark-colored bib apron. She is dressed in bourgeois style.
    • #68. "Mother Bunch" wears a half apron which ties in front. The apron appears narrow on her, but this is probably simply because of her large girth. Her apron is several inches shorter than her petticoats. There are many, many other aprons, and some day I will get around to analyzing the whole lot of 'em.
French
  1. Diderot, Denis. Engraving from Encyclopédie showing women in a gold-beating shop. Reproduced in Tidings. One woman in three-quarter view is wearing a solid-color apron which appears to be white. The apron has a bib which appears rectangular rather than trapezoidal and does not appear to dip to a point. One cannot see how the bib is fastened up. The waistline is hidden by her arm. The apron skirt is about six inches shorter than the petticoat. Her knees are spread to support a board on which she works, leaving the apron with no extra fullness and a little narrower than the petticoat; I estimate it is about 36 to 40 inches wide. The second woman has her back turned. A light-colored line at her waist appears to be an apron string; if so, it must tie in front as there is clearly no knot in back. Eur.
  2. Diderot, Denis. Black and white line engraving from Encyclopédie. France, ca. 1763. Detail reproduced in Eighteenth Century Clothing at Williamsburg, p. 58, shows embroiderers. Woman #1, at left, wears an apparently white apron with bib (bib largely obscured by arm, but does not have a point at the bottom). The apron is very short: barely more than half the length of her petticoat. It crosses her entire front and is lightly gathered. Woman #2 wears an apron slightly longer than knee length with a bib which is very wide at the top and curves upward to the top corners. Most of her body is obscured by the large embroidery frame she works at. Eur.
  3. Plate XIII from L'Art du Tailleur. British Museum. Reproduced in Patterns of Fashion 1, p. 7. One woman appears to be a customer; three others are working. Woman #1 is facing away. She appears to be in stays and is being measured by a tailor. There is a wide bow at her back which could be an apron which ties in back, but who knows? Woman #2 is more than half turned away; all one can tell is that she is wearing an apron and that it is probably white. Woman #3 is wearing an apparently white apron with a slightly trapezoidal bib. It does not appear to dip to a point. Are those apron strings tied in front? Hard to tell. The apron is not very full. Most of it is obscured by a table. Woman #4 is sitting with her back turned; one can't see a thing. Eur.
  4. Plate 1 from L'Art de la Lingere. British Museum. Reproduced in Patterns of Fashion 1, p. 7. Seven woman are in the linen draper's shop. Woman #1, a shop girl, wears an apparently white apron with a bib, possibly trapezoidal, can't tell if it dips to point. The waist is obscured by her arm; the hem by a table. Woman #2, probably a ladies' maid, is in profile; she wears an apron which reaches from side to side and is about 6 inches shorter than her gown. It may be of a medium color. Woman #3 is finely dressed and according to Arnold is a customer; she wears no apron. Woman #4, the proprietess according to Arnold is dressed equivalently to woman #3. Woman #5, a shop girl, wears an apron with a markedly trapezoidal bib; it may be of a medium to dark color, can't tell if it dips to a point. Woman #6, probably a maid servant, wears an apparently white apron. Woman #7, a shop girl, looks like she is wearing an apparently white apron under her gown, which is a pet-en-l'air; the apron is as long as her petticoats. (It is possible but very unlikely that she is wearing a full-length open gown under her pet-en-l'air, in which case the "apron" would really be the petticoat under the full-length gown.) Eur.
Other/Unknown

Artifacts:

  1. Apron. In the collection of Colonial Williamsburg. Dated 1770-1780. Photograph appears in Eighteenth Century Clothing at Williamsburg, p. 43. Described as block printed cotton, from France. White, printed in orange and brown moderately large floral pattern. Very full and wide; may extend around slightly to back. Bib is trapezoidal: very wide at top and slightly curved, and six to eight inches wide at waist. Below the waist it drops to a point. Someone told me they had seen this apron and that the front is two panels, seamed at the center, and shaped at the top with the bib seamed to the angle in the gathered skirt. This is surely a dress rather than a working apron. Note that the origin is listed as France; more non-evidence of English bib aprons. Eur, Sou.
  2. Apron. In the collection of Colonial Williamsburg. Dated 1770-1790. Photograph appears in Eighteenth Century Clothing at Williamsburg, p. 43. Described as sheer white linen worked with fine chain stiches and drawn work, England, or Continental Europe. Apron is wider than it is long, and very full. The waist seems to be finished with white tape through a casing, but it's hard to tell from the picture. Sou.

Writings:

  1. Laurie Kittle reported to the 18cWoman list on 27 Jan 2000 that she searched the Pennsylvania Gazette: "I searched the entire century and looked for pin*, pinners, pin-a-fore, pinafore, pinned, bib near apron. Only two references were found. One runaway ad lists a woman wearing 'pinned, check apron.' Another has a woman wearing 'ozenbrigs Apron, muslin Pinners'." The first ad reads "has on and took with her ... white thread stockings, and black everlasting shoes, pinned, check apron, , and cross barred red and white silk handkerchiefs, ..." It is possible that the shoes were pinned rather than the apron, but seems unlikely. The "muslin Pinners" are probably pinner caps, and don't refer to aprons at all. Given the large number of advertisements in the PA Gazette, and the fact that there is only one likely bib apron, it would seem that bib aprons were not worn in the Pennsylvania area, at least not by runaways, who were largely servants and slaves. Mid.

Other:

  1. Dianne Tidy reported to the 18cWoman list, 22 Jan 2000: "I have visited most of the 18th century clothing collections in the Delaware Valley and to my knowledge, (disclaimer) at this point in time, I know of no survivng 18th century bib front aprons in this region. Since most of the local museums have acquired their collections through donation and not through purchase, and since the thrifty Quakers and PA Germans found that donations are tax deductable, these museums are relatively rich in the fabric of everyday life. We have many surviving aprons; but, not bib aprons. ... At this point and based upon the documentation at hand, I do not see enough documentation for the wearing of bib front aprons by English women and women of the greater Delaware Valley." Posted to the 18cWoman mailing list, 22 Jan 2000. Mid.

Statistics

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