Artifact: Crape Bonnet
Materials: Silk Crape
Dimensions:
Date: 1880s
Origin: United States
Collection: LACMA
License: Public Domain
Ledger Entry: Crape
Department: Textile
Customer: Mrs. Penelope French
Ledger Page: 343
Imported From: Most of the textiles sold in the Ramsay store were either produced and imported from England, or imported to the colonies through England.
Product Description
Crape was a lightweight gauzy fabric made of silk, worsted, or worsted with silk. It was used primarily for clothing and head wear. Though it was made in a variety of colors, black crape was particularly popular for mourning clothes.
Citation: Florence M. Montgomery. Textiles in America, 1650-1870 : a Dictionary Based on Original Documents : Prints and Paintings, Commercial Records, American Merchants' Papers, Shopkeepers' Advertisements, and Pattern Books with Original Swatches of Cloth. (New York :Norton, 1984);
Historical Price: 2 shillings, 6 pence per yard; Modern USD: $28
Product Variations
The databases record only three purchases of crape. One is identified as silk crape, another as black crape, and the third as hat band crape. Their prices range from two shillings six pence per yard for silk crape to one pound seventeen shillings and six pence for fifteen yards of black crape.
