There are 2,214 items, dating from the mid-17th century to 1915. Among the very earliest are lace edgings that date to 1650.Genesee Country Village & Museum has acquired what has been regarded by some to be the best privately held collection of historic clothing in the United States.

More than 2,000 items of rare, mostly 19th-century garments and accessories were recently purchased from Susan Greene, a well-known authority in American costume study.

The collection is meticulously documented with photographs, history and detailed descriptions that will be a resource for improving the accuracy of the reproduction clothing worn by the museum’s interpreters at what is among our nation’s largest living history museums. In addition, elements of this superb collection will be the subject of future exhibits in the museum’s John L Wehle Art Gallery, as well as a resource for historic clothing scholars.

“Naturally I am sad to part with the costume collection that my husband, Bruce, and I assembled over the last 25 years,” Greene said. “Nevertheless I am delighted to see it move on to a greater existence serving a large audience at the Genesee Country Village & Museum, which so poignantly captures the flavor of 19th-century western New York State.”

“This collection represents 25 years of research and study, assembled with the purpose of highlighting salient features of style, textile, construction and purpose for a period which happens to coincide closely with that of the museum. The individual items stand on their own as objects of interest, yet each illuminates and enhances the meaning of the others. Placed within the historical context of the museum, the collection will help connect more history dots.”

Karen Augusta, appraiser for the Antiques Roadshow, calls the collection “a gem” that “stands alone as one of the finest collections of its kind in North America. I have never seen another such costume collection so carefully edited either in private or public collections.”

As the first major museum acquisition since the early years when the museum’s founder John L (Jack) Wehle (1917-93) was collecting works of art, Charles LeCount, the museum’s senior director of programs and collections, says that “this acquisition has the potential to influence the direction of future exhibits and programs at the museum for years to come.”

Most of the clothing dates from between 1800 and 1860. Although there is some formal attire, the focus is on items once worn by ordinary people in everyday situations; clothing, that rarely survives. Unusual, too, is the large representation of men’s, children’s and adolescent ware, found far less often then women’s clothing. All of it is in very good condition and with excellent provenance.

“Generally the elegant clothes of the upper, generally urban, classes are most strongly represented in museum collections,” explains Lynne Z. Bassett, former curator of textiles and fine arts at Old Sturbridge Village. “So the Greene collection is particularly important for information it offers on the working classes of people of the rural Northeast.”

Most of the items in the collection were acquired or have a history in Upstate New York or New England, including an unusual number of items belonging to Quakers.

The Greene collection comes complete with its own storage containers, as well as an illustrated, searchable database, an advantage to any researcher. Most items will remain in storage until renovation of the Wehle gallery is complete. Meanwhile, the gallery will be closed this season as the work progresses.

A number of the pieces, however, will be on display on June 26, during the museum’s War of 1812 in the Genesee Country event. Parts of the collection will also be the focus of several workshops at the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums (ALHFAM) regional conference at the museum next March. A larger exhibit will be mounted after the Wehle gallery reopens.

There are 2,214 items, dating from the mid-17th century to 1915. Among the very earliest are lace edgings that date to 1650.

The collection includes: belts, buckles and jewelry; coats, vests, waistcoats, shawls, capes and caplets; chemises and shirts; aprons, pinafores and bibs; drawers; dresses; fans, gloves and mitts; hats, hoods and caps; kerchiefs, cravats and scarves; collars, hoops, bustles, petticoats and underskirts; pants; suits; parasols, purses and pockets; stockings; banyans, tea dresses, night shirts and dressing gowns; swimwear; shoes and booties; buttons, ribbons and lace.

The collection is nationally recognized by the historic clothing and textile community with elements of it having been exhibited at various museums across the country. It has also been featured in several costume books and used for the production of patterns for historical reproduction clothing by various pattern makers. The collection will remain available to museums, researchers and pattern and reproduction clothing makers in the future.

Greene is the owner of American Costume Studies in Alfred Station (Allegany County), a collections management consultant and the author of Textiles for Early Victorian Clothing, 1800-1855. In 2011 she is expected to publish a book on historic textiles that will feature the museum’s new collection.
POST: 2024-11-24