Artifact: Gloves
Materials: Leather
Dimensions:
Date: Early 19th Century
Origin:
Collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art
License: OASC
Ledger Entry: Gloves
Department: Outerwear
Customer: Captain Lewis Ellzey
Ledger Page: 30
Imported From: Most of the clothing accessories sold in the Ramsay store would have been imported from England.
Product Description
Gloves are hand coverings that functioned primarily to protect the hands from the elements or labor. They were typically made of leather, linen, or silk and could even be knit. In the eighteenth century, they also served a social function as a sign of respect and modesty in public. Gloves were given by the family to mourners to wear in the funeral procession, this was both a symbol of esteem for the deceased and a symbol of community solidarity.
Citation: Bullock, Steven C. and Sheila McIntyre. “The Handsome Tokens of a Funeral: Glove-Giving and the Large Funeral in Eighteenth-Century New England.” The William and Mary Quarterly, 69, No. 2 (April 2012): 305-346;
Historical Price: 15 pence per pair; Modern USD: $14
Product Variations
The databases record twenty-nine pairs of gloves with prices ranging from ten pence for womens washing gloves to six shillings for buckskin gloves.
