{"id":472,"date":"2018-10-10T17:15:40","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T17:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/net4573.net.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/?p=472"},"modified":"2018-10-10T17:15:40","modified_gmt":"2018-10-10T17:15:40","slug":"a-man-and-his-clothes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/2018\/10\/10\/a-man-and-his-clothes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Man and His Clothes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amanda Eversz \/\/ AMH 4110.0M01\u2014Colonial America, 1607-1763<\/h4>\n

We can gain some insight into the economic priorities of those living in colonial Virginia from an account ledger from John Glassford and Alexander Henderson\u2019s Colchester store in Fairfax County dating back to 1760-1761 which contained an accounting record for the overseer, Jeremiah Thomas, of Colonel Thomas Lee\u2019s farm.[1]<\/sup><\/a> At first glance, these purchases seem to be a part of the typical shopping experience with a customer buying clothing materials and household goods. It is not until after further research that we can uncover more specific usage and purpose in Thomas\u2019 purchases of these goods. This account gives a record of the items purchased by Thomas and may shed light on the societal purpose for some of his choices.<\/p>\n

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Jeremiah Thomas’ account in the Glassford and Henderson ledgers, showing the variety of his purchases (Folio 51D).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thomas\u2019 transactions show that various textiles were purchased with supplies such as buttons, thread, and lace with the likelihood of making clothes. The materials Thomas purchased imply he was a man concerned with his appearance and status within society. He purchased coat straps, silk handkerchiefs, and combs\u2014things intended to keep up his appearance\u00a0of wealth, even as an overseer of another man\u2019s land. Appearances played a vital role in colonial Virginian society. This was especially the case because colonists often tried to emulate the\u00a0current fashions and trends of England.[2]<\/sup><\/a> Mr.\u00a0Thomas\u2019s largest line items were for women\u2019s shoes, stockings, blue wool, and an assortment of buttons. He spends significantly less on home goods\u00a0like nails, salt, and sugar. Clearly, if one were trying to make it in society, one needed to make a serious commitment to budgeting for his wardrobe.<\/p>\n

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Rendering of a 1750s tailor shop from London. These shops would have been extremely important for the upkeep of one’s appearance. \u2013 \u00a9 Trustees of the British Museum. G, 12.111.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is another aspect of Virginian life that is revealed by the textiles purchased by Jeremiah Thomas: climate. In order to pursue wealth through agriculture, Virginia colonists were willing\u00a0to go through extreme temperatures throughout the year. Mr. Thomas\u2019s purchases reflect these extremes of hot and cold. He purchased expensive cotton for its breathability in warm climates. He also purchased dufill, which is a heavy wool, frequently used in making heavy coats.[3]<\/sup><\/a> It is worth\u00a0noting that even while Jeremiah Thomas was being practical when purchasing cotton and dufill fabrics, he purchased the \u201cbest Cotton\u201d and a rather expensive \u201cBlue Dufill.\u201d[4]<\/sup><\/a> It seems as\u00a0though his public presentation still maintained priority no matter the weather.<\/p>\n

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A wool and silk coat, ca. 1755-1765, made in England. Colonists often copied fashions of the homeland. Images courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; H. Randolph Lever Fund, 1968. 2009.300.916a, b.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reading a ledger at first seems like a meaningless glimpse into someone\u2019s finances. However, we can gain a deeper understanding of who Jeremiah Thomas was. He was clearly a man that chose to spend a large portion of his spending money on fashion and appearance. This\u00a0 shows that he pursued a social life in front of other colonists. This familiar aspect of staying up to date with the newest European trends is common to both eighteenth-century Virginia and twenty-first-century America.<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/sup><\/a> Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia<\/em> folio 51 Debit, from the John Glassford and Company Records,<\/em> Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Microfilm Reel 58 (owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies\u2019 Association).<\/p>\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> Linda Baumgarten, \u201cLooking at Eighteenth-Century Clothing,\u201d Colonial Williamsburg, accessed May 3, 2018, http:\/\/www.history.org\/history\/clothing\/intro\/clothing.cfm?showSite=mobile-regular.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a> Oxford English Dictionary, \u201cduffel, n. and adj,\u201d OED Online, accessed May 3, 2018,
\nhttp:\/\/www.oed.com.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu\/view\/Entry58272?redirectedFrom=duffel#eid.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a> Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761<\/em> folio 51 Debit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amanda Eversz \/\/ AMH 4110.0M01\u2014Colonial America, 1607-1763 We can gain some insight into the economic priorities of those living in colonial Virginia from an account ledger from John Glassford and Alexander Henderson\u2019s Colchester store in Fairfax County dating back to 1760-1761 which contained an accounting record for the overseer, Jeremiah Thomas, of Colonel Thomas Lee\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,34],"tags":[11,74,13],"class_list":["post-472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-goods","category-people","tag-clothing","tag-jeremiah-thomas","tag-textiles"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":697,"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472\/revisions\/697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/economyofgoods\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}