Housewives

[Angel of Mercy]

Hi,
I want to sew a few Housewives but need directions or general guidelines for makeing one. Also, materials like fabrics and such. If anyone could help me that'd be great. Thank you.

[Matthew.Rector]

Krystin,
I have seen dozens of housewives in a variety of different sizes, colours and fabrics. I suppose you might want to decide if you want to make one from an original or make your own from your own design. Since this was a privately purchased/made item, I do not believe there any guidelines for making one really. Not even sure if there is an average size for a housewife-though there might be. The housewife I use has measurements of 12" long by 6" wide when folded out.It has more than three or four different cotton and wool materials incorporated in its construction.

Just to point you in a coupe directions, I believe an online search might aid you in finding images of originals. Also look in the Echoes of Glory books (published by Time Life Books) for some images.

To be more specific with the Echoes of Glory books:
page 213 in The Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy and
page 222 in The Arms and Equipment of the Union

[Angel of Mercy]

Matthew,
Thank you for your help on this. I did look in the Echoes of Glory books and I have a general idea. The fabric I want to use is tan and maroon/red striped ticking-like. I may just create my own, but any advice would be helpful. I looked online and found a pattern and some friends have given me info on them too. Thank you for your time.

[Sprowls]

Probably the most readily available description of an identified
Civil War sewing kit can be found on page 18 of "A Confederate
Sketchbook". The caption accompanying the sketch reads:
"Housewife (sewing kit) carried by Thos. A. Conklin of
the 11th Va. Regt.. Conklin surrendered at Appomattox.
Made of many different types of cotton and wool material."

"A Confederate Sketchbook"
Michael R. Thomas
1980 Michael R. THomas
2nd Printing, 1981


Hope this helps.

Chuck Sprowls

Originally Posted by Angel of Mercy

Matthew,
Thank you for your help on this. I did look in the Echoes of Glory books and I have a general idea. The fabric I want to use is tan and maroon/red striped ticking-like. I may just create my own, but any advice would be helpful. I looked online and found a pattern and some friends have given me info on them too. Thank you for your time.

Housewife

[markj]

Hi,

If you really want to get adventurous, try the "Gentlemen's Housewife" pattern depicted in the November 1864 "Godey's Lady's Book." I had an exact reproduction made (completely embroidered) and it's really something to see in "living color."

Regards,

Mark D. Jaeger

[Jersey Devil]

The name escapes me right now, but there is a feller making special housewives that double as canister shot or giant fire logs. They also make great giant pillows for sleeping.

Check with Joe Skillet, I think he carries them.

TIC-Toc.

[Angel of Mercy]

Mark,
Hi, I do have that pattern and I'm useing that and a pattern my friend has from an original. I'm using a sturdy blue and white striped material for the outside and a blue and tan ticking-like material for the inside. Thank you again!

[KarinTimour]

Dear Krystin:

Housewives are one item of daily use that did get preserved in large numbers, and most Civil War museums will have at least a few, some of them have hundreds. If you find that you enjoy making them, you might want to call a few of the museums around you and ask to make an appointment to see some originals. You can then take measurements, sketch and some museums will even let you photograph them if you agree to use the photographs only for your own study.

Best of luck,
Karin Timour
Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.com

[Angel of Mercy]

Karin,
Thank you for the advice! I plan on making a few of these, I always make at least 2 or 3 extras when I make items for people. I'm not sure if there are any museums around the Dover, Delaware area that would have any originals. Do you know of any near Delaware that would? Thank you again!

[KarinTimour]

Dear Krystin:

As a Midwesterner, my idea of "close" is "anything within about five hours driving time" -- your definition may vary. But within that amount of time from Dover, roughly in geographical order of closeness, here are the museums I'd call to ask if they had housewives:

Delaware
The State Historical Society or Museum for Delaware -- it's probably there in Dover, and listed in your phone book.

Winterthur is famous for it's textile collection. I don't know it's exact location in Delaware, but it's probably pretty easy to find. They might have have housewives that were made for wives to use at home, not for husbands to take to war, as housewives were often used at home in the Federal period and the 1840s. They may have suggestions about other museums that might have some.

Pennsylvannia
The MOLLUS museum in Philadelphia is pretty close to you, and I would be very surprised if they didn't have quite a few housewives.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Delaware Museum of Art (Dover Museum of Art? whatever the art museum is named in Delaware), or Baltimore Museum of Art might have some in their textile collections -- the Philly MOA had some very surprising artifacts from the 1840s and 1850s in their display of Shaker artifacts a few years back, all of them from our period.

The Civil War Museum in Harrisburg might very well have some housewives.

The Pennsylvannia State Museum, which I assume is in Harrisburg might have some -- if they haven't sent them all to the Civil War Museum across town.

The Quartermaster's Museum in Carlisle, Pennsylvannia might have some -- don't know that much about their holdings, but it's worth a phone call.

The Visitor's Center Museum in Gettysburg certainly has housewives. Granted it's a few hours driving, but well worth the effort.

New Jersey
The New Jersey State Historical Society -- might be in Trenton or Newark.

Trenton, if it doesn't have the State Historical Society might well have a city Historical Society. New Jersey sent a lot of troops to the War, they might well have a housewife or two in their collection.

Maryland
The Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Maryland might have housewives.

The Maryland State Museum/Historical Society and or the Baltimore Musuem of History or Historical Society might have some housewives.

Washington D.C.
The Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. might well have some housewives.

Virginia
The Museum of the Confederacy is farther still, but they certainly have housewives, probably more than you could see in a day.

The Museum of the Civil War Soldier in Petersburg, VA must have some housewives. Again, a further drive, but if you planned on spending a weekend in Richmond to see the MOC items, perhaps you could visit Pamplin Park as well.

In terms of how to approach museums to set up a study session. I call them up and ask to speak to their curator of Military History. It may take a few phone calls back and forth to get this person on the phone. Museums are some of the institutions that get hit hard in budget cutting times, and staff are often stretched thin and doing more than they should to cover vacant, frozen staff positions. When you get that person on the phone, explain that you are researching housewives from the years 1845 - 1865 (or whatever period you want to name) and ask about how you set up a study session. Ask about fees to see the artifacts, and ask whether you can bring a camera to take pictures FOR YOUR OWN STUDY USE ONLY. Most museums charge additional fees for photographs that you want to use to illustrate a talk or presentation or article. You will be asked to sign a researcher's agreement about where and how you will use the information, and the attribution that the museum requires if you refer to their artifacts. Ask how long a study session is -- usually they are two hours or less, again because the staff have other things to do and they won't leave you alone with the artifacts. Take a clean pair of white gloves (in case they allow you to pick up the artifact), several pencils with erasers, your notebook, measuring tape, ruler and magnifying glass. If they will allow photography, they often don't allow flash, so take your camera, lots and lots of fast film, blue filter for photographing indoors, and tripod if you have one, for longer exposures.I call to reconfirm the day before, even if I'm just leaving a message. Make sure you are prompt, be patient if they are delayed, and when it's time to go have all your stuff packed up and ready. If you have some research papers or other items to give them, they always appreciate something to add to the research files. Do NOT give them something that is under copywrite, because that is signalling to them that you don't respect the copywrite (and will raise questions in their minds about whether you will respect their researcher's agreement). Send a thank you note within the week of your return.

Hope that's helpful,
Karin Timour
Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.com