Artifact: Lawn Dress (detail)
Materials: Lawn with embroidery
Dimensions:
Date: 1825-1830
Origin: England
Collection: Victoria & Albert Museum
Ledger Entry: Lawn
Department: Textile
Customer: Mrs. Sarah Wigginton
Ledger Page: 272
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. Lawn was produced in England, Flanders, France, St. Quintin, and Scotland.
Product Description
Lawn was a lightweight linen similar to cambric used primarily for clothing and handkerchiefs. It was sold in a variety of ornamental styles including flowered, sprigged, striped, and plain.
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: 3 shillings, 6 pence per yard; Modern USD: $39.2
Product Variations
The databases record twelve purchases of lawn. Qualifiers for lawn include plain, flowered, striped, and numbered types. It was sold by the yard and the prices ranged from two shillings ten pence for a flowered lawn to eight shillings three pence for lawn No. 1332.
