COLONIAL AMERICA BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fitting & Proper: 18th Century Clothing from the Collection of the Chester County Historical Society.  Sharon Ann Burnston. Calling all fashion conscious reenactors!  Ms. Burnston has done a remarkable job illustrating, describing and graphing various articles of clothing that were once worn by our 18th century neighbors.  Gowns, petticoats, shortgowns, shoes, caps, britches and children’s clothing are discussed as to the provenance, date and often the wearer.  A must see for anyone seriously interested in reproducing 18th century clothing for themselves and others.

Children in the House: Material Culture of Early Childhood, 1600 - 1900. Karin Calvert. Children on our school tours delight in hearing about 18th century childhood from our own Pat Casey. How babies were swaddled, dressed in petticoats (boys and girls), and not thought of as the cute little things we think of them today.  Ms. Calvert, discusses the “artifacts of  childhood” (furniture, clothing, toys) and prescribed methods of child rearing regarding health practices and gender specificity to train the children through the ages into perfect models of proper young men and women.   

Diary of Elizabeth Drinker: The Life Cycle of an Eighteenth-Century Woman. Edited and Abridged by Elaine Forman Crane. Often quoted in historical research, Elizabeth Drinker (1735-1807) gives her readers a glimpse into her role as wife, mother, and grandmother in 18th century Philadelphia.  From notations on illnesses and their treatments, visiting, summers in the country, preserving summer produce, the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, and much more, the reader is given a chance to experience 18th century Philadelphia, the good and the not so good, through the eyes of Elizabeth Drinker.

Links: Library │ Chester County Bibliography