Antique Christening Dress, Victorian Era, Made by Mary Elisa Arrington, Estimated Between buying 1880 and 1890

Item Number 20-670

Antique, hand sewn, lawn cloth (handkerchief linen) Christening dress from the Victorian era. Made by Mary Elisa Arrington, probably from Massachusetts as we acquired it at an estate sale in Beverly, Mass. It was hand sewn by Mary Elisa the grandmother of the mother of the person selling it based on the note pinned to it so that is the basis of our estimate as to its age of having been made between 1880 and 1890. It measures 34 inches from top of shoulders to bottom hem, has a waist of 15 inches in circumference (7 1/2 inches wide), it has 6 inch armhole circumference and the length from waist to hem is 28 inches. There are small crocheted covered buttons at the shoulders so the sleeves can be folded back and fastened to the buttons to choose sleeve length, as seen in Picture 7. In Picture 7 it shows one sleeve fastened up and the other sleeve fully extended. The small 1/4 inch sleeve buttons are shown in several of the pictures. It has ties at the neck and waist to fasten to size. The skirt and waist has tape lace hand sewn to them.

In very good condition except for two buying small light stains on one sleeve, about 1/4 inch in diameter as seen in Picture 6. The dress is sold as-is as we don't want to damage it and would leave the stain removal to someone who is more familiar with this type of cleaning. The hand sewing of the entire garment is exceptional. It was definitely made by an expert and made with love.