Shirts, Shifts and Sheets of Fine Linen: British Seamstresses from the 17th to the 19th centuries

Cover
Halftitle page
Series page
Title page
Copyright page
Contents
Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 The ‘art and mystery of simistry’ in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
	Shirts
	Smocks
	Neckwear
	Sleeves
	Shifts
	Drawers
	Children’s Clothes
	Household Linen
	Conclusion
2 ‘Well-handed needlewomen’
	Economic Background
	Earnings and Prices
	Fabric Costs
	Case Studies
	The Job of the Seamstress
	Apprentices
	Wills
	Conclusion
3 The development of ready-to-wear
	Joseph Ashley
	Other Suppliers
	Naval Supplies
	Civilian Slops
	Exports
	Conclusion
4 ‘Linnen drapery at reasonable rates’: 1720–1820
	Fabric Prices
	Apprentices
	The Various Categories of Seamstresses
	Case Studies
	Conclusion
5 Slops and slop-sellers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
	The Prevalence of Slop-Working
	Slop-Workers
	Examples of Ready-made Clothing
	Conclusion
6 ‘Seam and gusset and band’
	‘Grinders’ and ‘Sweaters’
	The First Inquiries
	The Causes of the Problem
	The Response
	Destitution
	Henry Mayhew
	Emigration
	Conclusion
7 ‘Society came and shuddered’
	The Sewing Machine
	‘Outcast London’
	Initiatives to Help
	The Select Committee on the Sweating System
	More Initiatives and Inquiries
	The Sweated Industries Exhibition and Its Aftermath
	Conclusion
8 Bespoke needlework
	Lady FitzHerbert
	Henry Mayhew – Again
	Other Case Studies
	Schools and Institutions
	Shops
	Servants and Others
	Charity
	Conclusion
9 Real lives
	Seamstresses in Whitechapel in 1851
	The Cambridge Charity Organization Society
	Lady Haberfield’s Almshouses
	Conclusion
10 The seamstress in art and literature
	‘The Song of the Shirt’
	Images of Needlewomen
	Cartoons and Magazines
	Novels
	Conclusion
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Image Sources
Index