Portrait of Mabel W. Borden
Subject
Photograph
Title
Portrait of Mabel W. Borden
Date
1900 or 1901
Description
Mabel donated this photograph to the university in 1959, along with one of her husband as a boy (URI 1959.11.06). She also gave the dress we see her wearing here, although the lace and rosette around the yoke had been removed.
The seated posture and generic background indicate the photograph was taken in a photo studio. This practice was popularized, especially among the middle-to-upper classes, since the 1840s.
Though the lower half is not visible, the dress extends just past the knee. Like Mabel in this photograph, female children in the Victorian era wore shortened versions of adult styles. As they aged, the skirts lengthened until reaching adulthood around sixteen to eighteen. Though still quite young at nine or ten, Mabel demonstrates her maturity with her hair pulled well away from her face. The large bow, however, is a symbol of childhood that became popular in the 1890s and extends to modern times.
The dress is made of an off-white fabric printed with an unobtrusive medium disperse pattern of a flower. The waist, cuffs, skirt and neck are trimmed witih green velvet and lace. The bodice gathers at the center front waist seam, evoking the monobosom look of adult styles. The long bishop sleeves also gather into wide cuffs. Knife pleats decorate the sleeves and upper chest, creating cohesive decorative elements.
albumen on cardboard
The seated posture and generic background indicate the photograph was taken in a photo studio. This practice was popularized, especially among the middle-to-upper classes, since the 1840s.
Though the lower half is not visible, the dress extends just past the knee. Like Mabel in this photograph, female children in the Victorian era wore shortened versions of adult styles. As they aged, the skirts lengthened until reaching adulthood around sixteen to eighteen. Though still quite young at nine or ten, Mabel demonstrates her maturity with her hair pulled well away from her face. The large bow, however, is a symbol of childhood that became popular in the 1890s and extends to modern times.
The dress is made of an off-white fabric printed with an unobtrusive medium disperse pattern of a flower. The waist, cuffs, skirt and neck are trimmed witih green velvet and lace. The bodice gathers at the center front waist seam, evoking the monobosom look of adult styles. The long bishop sleeves also gather into wide cuffs. Knife pleats decorate the sleeves and upper chest, creating cohesive decorative elements.
albumen on cardboard
Source
Donor: Mabel W. Borden Sullivan (Mrs. John L. Sullivan)
Identifier
URI 1959.11.04
Contributor
Michelle Leung
Medium
albumen on cardboard
Collection
Citation
“Portrait of Mabel W. Borden,” Historic Textile and Costume Collection, accessed April 28, 2024, https://uritextilecollection.omeka.net/items/show/271.