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MADE IN GERMANTOWN: PRODUCTION, WEAR, AND REPAIR OF AMERICAN FRAME-KNIT STOCKINGS 1683-1830 by Emily Whitted A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in American Material Culture Spring 2020 © 2020 Emily Whitted All Rights Reserved MADE IN GERMANTOWN: PRODUCTION, WEAR, AND REPAIR OF AMERICAN FRAME-KNIT STOCKINGS 1683-1830 by Emily Whitted Approved: __________________________________________________________ Linda Eaton, B.A. Hon,; D. T. C. Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved: __________________________________________________________ Martin C. Brückner, PhD Interim Chair of Winterthur Program in American Material Culture Approved: __________________________________________________________ John A. Pelesko, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Approved: __________________________________________________________ Douglas J. Doren, Ph.D. Interim Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education and Dean of the Graduate College ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My most ardent and heartfelt thanks belongs to my advisor, Linda Eaton, who gave me unmitigated enthusiasm and constructive feedback throughout this process regardless of her own time commitments. Without her generosity, words of advice, and willingness to connect me with her vast network of textilians, this thesis would look very different. Linda advocated always for the value in making as a form of scholarly inquiry, and I plan to take that confidence in approach with me in my work beyond Winterthur. A generous grant from the University of Delaware’s Center for Material Culture Studies allowed me to begin my thesis research in the most hands-on way: learning to operate an eighteenth-century knitting frame and producing stocking-gauge fabric and patterning at the Framework Knitters Museum in Ruddington, England. Without that experience, which could only be done at that institution, I would never have understood the relationship between the complex machinery in Germantown’s stocking industry and the bodies who operated them. I am grateful to Jim Grevatte for his openness to my research visit, and to Matt Hamilton for his superb instruction. In my search for that elusive pair of Germantown stockings I embarked on a Grand Tour of sorts to visit collections along the east coast, funded by the Winterthur Program’s Research and Development Fund and the Brock Jobe Student Travel, iii Research and Professional Development Fund. I would like to thank the folks at those many institutions who opened their stocking drawers for me, including Tess Frydman at Wyck House, Alex Barlett at Germantown Historical Society, Kathy Haas at Girard College, Heather Hansen at Chester County Historical Society, Neal Hurst, Mark Hutter, and Erik Goldstein at Colonial Williamsburg, Alden O’Brien at the DAR Museum, and Cissy Shull at the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. My most valuable piece of evidence in this thesis, by far, was Godfrey Miller’s knitting frame used in Germantown, which now resides in the Paley Design Center at Jefferson University. I owe Betsy Solomon a great debt for the tip-off of its existence, as well as Jade Papa and Ann Wilson for the many hours I spent in their institution’s basement studying that frame. Godfrey Miller’s descendent, Matt Miller, kindly shared a wealth of information with me about his family history, greatly enriching my understanding of the frame itself. Sarah Towers of the WUDPAC Program offered her time and expertise to test textile samples on Miller’s frame, which has only reinforced my appreciation for collaboration with conservators. Alan Keyser graciously translated a German frame knitter’s account book from his private collection, and the physical evidence embedded within it was truly invaluable to this thesis. My Winterthur community has provided immeasurable support for this project, whether consulting on certain objects and ideas or reading drafts. I owe thanks to Ritchie Garrison, Catharine Dann Roeber and Greg Landrey, but most especially to Tom Guiler, who ensured I would finish a better writer than when I began. Thanks to Eliza West, Brooke Baerman, and Kate Budzyn for discussing our favorite topic, the iv work of women, when this project was in its nascent stages. I’d be remiss to neglect mention of the Winterthur goats, who provided much needed moments of zen every Friday morning for the last two years. I am grateful to my WPAMC Class of 2020 for two years’ worth of memories, with particular thanks to James Kelleher and Bethany McGlyn. James generously lent his keen eye and drawing skills to Godfrey Miller’s frame and provided a set of illustrations for this thesis, in addition to many edits of my work. As my roommate as well as classmate, Bethany has been exposed from the very beginning to this project’s highs and lows, and I am grateful for her patience, generosity, and friendship. And finally, to my family and friends cheering me on from Virginia and beyond, but most especially my parents and my siblings Anna and James, I want to express my love and appreciation. You called and asked about my work, provided edits, mailed me baked goods, and supplied stories from home to fuel me. In this and all things, you keep me moving forward, knowing you all are there when I look back. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. xviii INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... xix Historiography of Stockings ........................................................................... xxii Overview of Chapters ..................................................................................... xxv Historiography of Germantown and Methodology ...................................... xxvii Chapter 1 DEITSCHESCHTEDDEL OR GERMANTOWN?: THE HUMAN NETWORKS OF THE GERMANTOWN STOCKING INDUSTRY .............. 1 Visitors to Germantown ..................................................................................... 3 The Germans of Germantown ............................................................................ 6 The German Language and American Duality ................................................. 11 Industry on the Eighteenth-Century Landscape ............................................... 13 Post-War Industry and the Rise of Germantown Hose..................................... 22 2 FROM FRAME TO FEET: CREATION OF A GERMANTOWN STOCKING ...................................................................................................... 31 History of the Knitting Frame’s Technological Diffusion ............................... 34 Miller’s Frame, Miller’s Body ......................................................................... 36 Material............................................................................................................. 41 Stocking Finishing ............................................................................................ 50 Color ................................................................................................................. 54 3 VISIBILITY OF GERMANTOWN STOCKINGS: PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS AND PRIVATE REPAIRS ................................................... 72 Germantown Stockings as Recognizable Garments ......................................... 76 Hosiery Stores .................................................................................................. 80 Patriotic Consumption, Public Scrutiny ........................................................... 82 Identities of Germantown Stocking Wearers ................................................... 85 vi Beyond Consumption: Stocking Care .............................................................. 89 Stocking Repair ................................................................................................ 91 4 ABSENCE AND AFTERLIFE ...................................................................... 114 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 119 Appendix A GLOSSARY OF TERMS............................................................................... 125 B TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF GODFREY MILLER’S KNITTING FRAME .......................................................................................................... 127 C IMAGE PERMISSIONS ................................................................................ 137 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Identified Germantown Frame Knitters Operating in the 18th Century... 16 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Clocking, or embroidery on the ankle gusset area of stockings, was a common decoration for silk stockings in particular. Seen here on a pair of French frame-knit silk stockings belonging to Stephen Girard, the silk embroidery’s horizontal lines cover each row of knitting. Stocking. France and Philadelphia; 1800-1831. Frame-knit, silk embroidered on silk. The Stephen Girard Artifact Collection. 0450 (1- 2). Courtesy of Girard History Collections, Philadelphia, PA. Photo by author. .............................................................................................