Cap

Unknown

ca. 1813 · cotton · Costume Institute

Finely embroidered baby caps such as this were kept by families as much for their sentimental value as for their obviously pleasing aesthetics and fine workmanship. Many have subsequently been accepted into museum collections. The interesting provenance of this piece enhances its value as a museum object. The accession record states that it was "worn by the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe," (1811-1896) author of the great novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. The Beecher family consisted of eleven children, seven boys and four girls. Harriet was the eleventh child. Three boys were born to the family between 1809 and 1815. The brother most likely to have worn this cap as a baby was the prominent Brooklyn preacher and reformer, Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887).

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1813

Medium

cotton

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Louis Loughlin, 1948