[Gutenberg 42682] • The Heritage of Dress: Being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes

The Heritage of Dress / Being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes by Wilfred Mark Webb : (full image Illustrated)

THE HERITAGE OF DRESS

BEING NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF CLOTHES

BY WILFRED MARK WEBB

FELLOW OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON

CURATOR OF ETON COLLEGE MUSEUM

WITH ELEVEN PLATES AND ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-NINE FIGURES IN THE TEXT

LONDON E. GRANT RICHARDS 1907

PREFACE

It would be difficult to find a subject of more universal interest than that of dress, and hosts of books have been written which deal with the attire that has been adopted at different times and by various nations or social classes. The ornamental and artistic sides of the question have also received much consideration, but the volumes that have appeared serve chiefly as works of reference. The present book aims at being of more immediate interest and usefulness; it starts with things as they are, and is really a popular contribution to the natural history of man.

On all sides the advantages of observation and the need for the nature-study method in education are being rightly urged, but there is a tendency to narrow the purview. Anything in our environment is worthy of notice, and though attention is well directed towards that which is least artificial, we should not leave man and his works altogether on one side. There is material for observation, research, and deduction, even in a bowler hat and a cut-away coat.

One of the pleasantest features in connection with the making of this book has been the kind and ready help which I have received from all sides. Here and there throughout the text the names of friends and correspondents who have given their assistance have been mentioned. To these I offer my hearty thanks, as well as to the following, who with suggestions, information, or with material for illustrations, have contributed in no small way to the interest of the book: Messrs. Fownes Brothers & Company, Mr. Allan A. Hooke, Mr. W. S. Ward, Mr. Karl, of Messrs. Nathan & Company, Messrs. Tress & Company, Messrs. Lincoln & Bennett, Mr. M. D. Hill, the Rev. A. W. Upcott, Head Master of Christ’s Hospital, Miss Clark, Miss Hodgson, the Rev. R. Ashington Bullen, Mr. Henry Miller, of the Church Association, Mr. Ravenscroft, of Messrs. Ede Sons & Ravenscroft, Mr. Paley Baildon, Mr. George Hertslet, of the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, Messrs. Wilkinson & Company, Mr. C. M. Mühlberg, Mr. W. S. Parker, of Messrs. Debenhams, Ltd., Capt. H. Trench, Major J. W. Mallet, of the Army and Navy Gazette, Mr. Basil White, of Messrs. Hawkes & Company, Mr. W. H. Jesson, Messrs. Souter & Company, Mr. William Lawrence, Mr. Heather Bigg, Dr. J. Cantlie, and the Rt. Hon. Viscountess Harberton.

CONTENTS

1\. THE THRALL OF DRESS PAGE

The principles of evolution applied to clothes

2\. THE ORIGIN OF DRESS

3\. DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN COAT

The ancestral shawl—Problematical buttons

4\. BUTTONS AS CHRONICLES

Episodes in the later history of the coat and cuffs

5\. COLLARS AND BANDS

Nicks in coat lapels—The why and wherefore of the white shirt front

6\. VESTIGES IN THE HAT

How hats were evolved—Why plumes are on the left side—The growth of the busby—Helmets and cocked hats

7\. SHOES AND STOCKINGS

Early foot-gear—The origin of the clock—A modern imitation of tattooing—Gaily coloured garters

8\. PETTICOATS AND TROUSERS

The belted plaid and kilt—Early skirts—The antiquity of trousers—Trouser stripes

9\. COATS OF ARMS

Signet rings—Armorial bearings—Escutcheons—Crests—Badges

10.