Includes bibliographical references (pages 385-415) and index.
Contents:
Introduction. Elizabeth's and Caty's failed escapes : the materials of legal meaning -- Part I. Old clothes in a new country. Polly's yarn : legal principles ; Roger Taney's long underwear : federalism ; Mr. Robinson's fabrics : merchants ; Rebecca Coles's factory : manufacturers -- Part II. Protective coverings in a hostile world. The Prison Society's problem : currency ; Jane Cooley's loom : capital ; Margaret Ten Eyck's accounts : credit ; Eliza Cauchois's shift : exchange -- Part III. Rags. Sarah Allingham's sheet : enforcement ; Catherine Brennan's haul : criminality ; Charles Lohman's dresses : suppression ; Mrs. Harris's marriage : erasure -- Conclusion. Mrs. Lincoln's old clothes : just material.
Summary:
"What can dresses, bedlinens, waistcoats, pantaloons, shoes, and kerchiefs tell us about the legal status of the least powerful members of American society? In the hands of eminent historian Laura F. Edwards, these textiles tell a revealing story of ordinary people and how they made use of their material goods' economic and legal value in the period between the Revolution and the Civil War"--Dust jacket.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.