Yeah, it is not a good time to be a historian. Just trying to decide if this is more like Germany 1932, the Soviet Union in 1936, or inching toward Cambodia in the early 70s is enough to really drive one to drink.
March 23, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Yeah, it is not a good time to be a historian. Just trying to decide if this is more like Germany 1932, the Soviet Union in 1936, or inching toward Cambodia in the early 70s is enough to really drive one to drink.
At a moment in the United States where the official stance is to erase the failings of white men, to celebrate men like Washington as heroes, Mount Vernon is doing something important, reminding us visually, viscerally of who else was critical to our history. This is critically important work.
March 23, 2025 at 9:52 PM
At a moment in the United States where the official stance is to erase the failings of white men, to celebrate men like Washington as heroes, Mount Vernon is doing something important, reminding us visually, viscerally of who else was critical to our history. This is critically important work.
Estates like Mount Vernon are lovely. Gowns like Martha's are elegant. But none of it could exist without the ceaseless, brutal exploitation of men, women, and children. The sewing project that begun yesterday is an act of re-embodiment, of re-placing the enslaved child in our history.
March 23, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Estates like Mount Vernon are lovely. Gowns like Martha's are elegant. But none of it could exist without the ceaseless, brutal exploitation of men, women, and children. The sewing project that begun yesterday is an act of re-embodiment, of re-placing the enslaved child in our history.
Will the finished product be an exact replica of what enslaved children wore in Virginia in the late 18th century? No. But it may be close. And more importantly, its presence in the museum, like the doll on the ticking mattress on the floor, stands in for what was once hidden.
March 23, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Will the finished product be an exact replica of what enslaved children wore in Virginia in the late 18th century? No. But it may be close. And more importantly, its presence in the museum, like the doll on the ticking mattress on the floor, stands in for what was once hidden.
No extant garment from an enslaved child of the 18th century exists. There are no detailed descriptions, no careful sketches showing what fabric, what style may have been used. This project is an act of re-storying, of trying to bring forgotten voices back, to commemorate lost children, unseen.
March 23, 2025 at 9:52 PM
No extant garment from an enslaved child of the 18th century exists. There are no detailed descriptions, no careful sketches showing what fabric, what style may have been used. This project is an act of re-storying, of trying to bring forgotten voices back, to commemorate lost children, unseen.
The garment being created will be a tunic, made from an old shift that had been worn for years by a historic interpreter, because there are accounts of clothing for enslaved children being made out of the old, worn garments of adults.
March 23, 2025 at 9:52 PM
The garment being created will be a tunic, made from an old shift that had been worn for years by a historic interpreter, because there are accounts of clothing for enslaved children being made out of the old, worn garments of adults.
The other is a child's garment, being made from a rough linen, with very little documentation. Washington raised sheep and grew flax, his spinners and weavers made cloth and his tailors and seamstresses stitched the garments worn by the enslaved men, women and children on the estate.
March 23, 2025 at 9:52 PM
The other is a child's garment, being made from a rough linen, with very little documentation. Washington raised sheep and grew flax, his spinners and weavers made cloth and his tailors and seamstresses stitched the garments worn by the enslaved men, women and children on the estate.
One is a recreation of the gown Martha Washington wore to marry George. A scrap of yellow silk damask from the original remains, and a new bolt of silk has been woven especially for the project. The gown will be a lovely Watteau-style dress, based on the high fashion of the late 1750s.
March 23, 2025 at 9:52 PM
One is a recreation of the gown Martha Washington wore to marry George. A scrap of yellow silk damask from the original remains, and a new bolt of silk has been woven especially for the project. The gown will be a lovely Watteau-style dress, based on the high fashion of the late 1750s.