Browse Items (83 total)

This daguerreotype of a young woman resides in a case made of leather-covered wood. A small clasp opens and closes the case. When the case is opened up, two distinct parts are revealed. The left-hand side has a worn red velvet embossed with a leaf…

This daguerreotype in a case features a young woman associated with the Gardner family of Exeter, Rhode Island. She is wearing a striped, one-piece dress. Draped bodices were popular in the 1830s and 1840s. During the 1830s, the fabric would go from…

This photograph is a tinted ambrotype, which is typically kept in a case such as this one to protect the image from sunlight and heat. Ambrotypes appeared in the early 1850s and became very popular, displacing the early daguerreotype. The well-worn…

Three generations are having their photograph taken on the porch of a house, sometime around 1900. Two older women stand at the back, each dressed in a light-colored blouse with a dark skirt. One blouse buttons down the front, as evidenced by the…

Mary Whitlock (1892-1977), the founding mother of URI’s Historic Textile and Costume Collection, is seen here in her high school graduation outfit. She wears a light-colored dress with a stand-up collar, full sleeves, and floor-length skirt. She is…

This post-card photograph features four women in a field wearing shirtwaists and dark skirts. Shirtwaists were new in the 1890s, and women wore them for many occasions, including sport activities. Many American factories manufactured shirtwaists for…

Three women pose near a tree in the forest wearing shirtwaist blouses and long dark skirts. The women wear embellished hats for their walk in the woods; one of the women has taken off her hat. One of the women carries a parasol to protect her skin…

Posing outdoors, this trio represents appropriate outdoor wear for the 1890s. The women are wearing shirtwaist blouses and walking skirts, a new look that was associated with the Gibson Girl. Their hats are festooned with bird feathers and flowers.…

The sitter shown in this cabinet card is possibly from Wakefield, Rhode Island; the donor, a Mrs. Nilson, bought it at an estate auction on Wakefield’s Main Street. The young woman in the photograph is wearing a double-breasted winter coat with…

The girl (the donor) appears to be two or three years old and is sitting on a table posing for the photograph. Her hair is cut short in the new bobbed hair style. She wears a drop-waisted dress with scallops and pleated details. Ms. Morris also…