Cloth and Costume 1750-1800 Cumberland County, Pennsylvannia

By Tandy and Charles Hersh

211 pages, hardcover: $34.95

Reviewed by Beth Gilgun

Cloth and Costume 1750-1800 Cumberland County, Pennsylvania by Tandy and Charles Hersh is a wonderful book that many of you may not even know exists. The Hershs wrote this book for the Cumberland County Historical Society, and it as available only through the Society. This book tells the story of how the people who settled Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, dressed and how they furnished their homes with textiles. Analysis of all 1,220 estate inventories filed in the county from 1750 to 1800, together with wills, deeds, administrative papers, tax lists, indictments, newspapers and manuscripts, gives a great deal of information about clothing for men and women, local and commercial textiles, household textiles such as bed coverings, and the transportation of goods.

The book has eight chapters, each broken up in an orderly fashion. It is richly illustrated with black and white photos of extant garments, textiles, textile tools and other related items. Apart from the photos are numerous advertisements from contemporary newspapers and, above all, wonderful charts and graphs. The charts and graphs put the numbers into a visual perspective and are also a quick reference.

Even though the county was on the frontier, its inhabitants demanded that the materials offered in Philadelphia and Baltimore be available. It has also been shown elsewhere that the Colonists were far from self-sufficient in cloth production, and thus merchants recognized a market for imports. There is a list of 36 merchants who were located in the county during these years. These merchants’ day books give a picture of how goods were obtained from Philadelphia, the costs of those goods, and sometimes even give directions to the store with the order.

Those of you who have read many of my articles will know that I use the information from inventories quite often. While it is true that inventories do not generally reflect what the lower classes might own, they are a useful tool to see what was available and being used in an area. This book provides a study of an area not previously available, which, used with other studies, can provide a more rounded view of the 18th century in the Colonies.

For those of you interested in the Cumberland County area of Pennsylvania, this book is a must. For others, it is a valuable addition to your textile and clothing library. It is only available by mail from Cumberland County Historical Society, 21 North Pitt Street, Carlisle, PA 17013. Phone: 717-249-7610; fax: 717-249-9332. The price is $34.95 plus $4.00 shipping. If you are a resident of Pennsylvania, add $2.10 sales tax per copy. They also accept Mastercard and Visa.

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