Mae Cohen

Findings

Biography of a Bone Button

The Danforth bone button likely belonged to an undergarment, shirt, or waistcoat because buttons for these items tend to be smaller (8–15mm). Bone buttons were thus mostly worn on leisure and undergarments.

The button would likely have been hand-carved with a rotating bit.

The button could have been from a manufactured item or one produced in the home. In account logs from the 1840s and 1850s, Mary W. Danforth received bills for fabric and other dressmaking supplies.

Corsets and Conventions

Corsets were a popular undergarment of the 19th century. It was a lucrative industry in Connecticut, with the three major factories being Straus-Adler, Warner Brothers/Bridgeport Corset Company, and Roth & Goldschmidt Corset Company. Fairfield and New Haven counties had nearly 50% of the labor force, over 55% of the capital, and 50% of the output of the corset industry (Smith 1991).

My research found that industrial employment allowed for greater mobility for women, yet at the same time, fashion standards of the era were highly restrictive.