The 183 Year Old Cap

Hello friends!
Some of you may recall that I spent much of the summer acquiring antique clothing to expand the Period Clothing Exhibit at The Oldest House. I still hope to have that Exhibit mounted in time for The Christmas Tea. It may even be ready for The Fancy Fair!
But as I was bidding on dresses, men's shirts, hats, caps and other garments to donate to and display at the House, I couldn't help getting a couple of things for me.
Today, for the first time, I wore a little cotton cap from the 1830's along with my Regency/Empire dress, to staff the House. This little cap is just beautiful: all hand stitched, even the tiny tiny stitches along the border of the bavolet.
The what?
Yes, I had to look that word up too! It's French, and it means the little flap that hangs down at the back of a hat, bonnet or cap.
This cap has eyelet trim and tiny gathers at the crown. The minute I took it out of the tissue paper it had been packed in, I felt a kind of tingle, and even though I am not a hat person, I couldn't resist putting it on. And keeping it!
Today, as I walked outside with the cap on my head, I thought back and wondered when the last time had been that it saw the sunshine or felt a breeze blow along its light cotton material. It's in such good shape, I can only imagine that it was packed away long ago and has been periodically taken out to be oohed and aahed over, and examined, and then put away carefully once again.
I couldn't help smiling and thinking that the little cap was probably happy to be out and about again in the world. 
Here's a photo of me in the cap. I've changed my profile picture to this one on Twitter (@LadyCourville) and on Facebook (Deborah L. Courville/Deborah Courville)

Expanding the Period Clothing Exhibit

Apologies, dear readers, for being away so long. The acquisition phase, as I call it, of the new items to expand the Period Clothing Exhibit at The Oldest House, is now concluded. That doesn't mean I won't occasionally bid on something outstanding. But, with about 40 pieces all tolled, I think I have enough to make a really good exhibit, and also enough to rotate some of the items out seasonally.
The Oldest House is large for its time, but the PCE will be confined to the upstairs. There are three bedrooms and a large hallway up there, but they are already chock full of other displays, all worthy of attention.
The Period Clothing is meant to draw people in so they can get a feel for various time periods, and also to highlight what life was like during different time periods, not to overwhelm the other items we have in our collection.
Having said that, I will first apologize for not having any photos right now: the new items are all in my humidity and temperature controlled basement, and I'll post photos as I put them up. However, I will tell you that I will have a special 'corsets and caps' section which will include knickers, chemises, nightgowns and of course corsets and caps. Only one of these items is a reproduction: the rest are antique, most from about 1870. Some earlier!
There will be a 'Victorian' room, with a range of clothing from about 1840-1890, a special separate room devoted to Civil War clothing (1850-65) a small spot with reproductions of early clothing from the post Colonial and Regency eras, and another area devoted to post Victorian/Edwardian clothing. We will even have shawls, hats, fans, gloves and other accoutrements to round out the ensembles, and I hope it will look really great when I've finished.
I plan to begin working on the expanded exhibit immediately after Labor Day, and it will probably take a while to get it all just right. My goal is to have it ready for The Fancy Fair in late October. If not, I'll certainly have it up for The Christmas Tea, on the first weekend of December.
As I go along, I promise to post photos of my progress. So please, keep checking back.
Thank you!