Laundry Machines

They didn't have them...

 " "Aureum vellus, oder guldin Schatz und Kunst-Kammer.  Rorschach am Bodensee: [s.n.,] 1598. (Plate 21) Hand-colored woodcut."




Washing Contracts:

The people of New Netherland - from New Amstel, Delaware to Schenectady, NY - were probably some of the most well washed people in the colonial world. This is not surprising, as when people are lifted up to middle class status they tend to take on practices that are pleasurable and that differentiate. One item that seems to be on many people’s minds…is the laundry.

Who does the laundry is sometimes defined in contracts whether for orphans, independent contractors, or indentured servants. It is listed right next to shelter and the food.

“Indenture of Gillis Jansen as farm servant to Cornelis Claessen Swits, …for a term of 6 consecutive [years beginning] the tenth of October last past, to serve…to farming…he, Gillis Jansen, promising to serve…for which services he shall annually receive as wages the sum of eighty-three and one third Carollus guilders, amounting in six years to the sum of five hundred Carolus guilders, provided that the aforesaid Cornelis Claessen Swits promises to supply him, Gillis, during his bounded time with food, drink, washing and lodging, according to the usage and custom of farmers of this country.” Dec 1st, 1642


 “…for which he, Tonis Cray, shall [be] pay for every two English rods of fence [chopped & made] one week’s board, lodging and washing,…” 1st of Dec. 1642

A contract does not usually stipulate how often or the time of year the laundry has to be done. However, the Gillis Jansens’s requires annual payments. It could be assumed that he would get is clothes washed at least once a year. But it also does not state how often Jansen’s drink and food rations should be administered. So, one cannot assume the washing was only once a year. However, Tonis Cray’s contract is for four week and has the washing being done once a week. What is more interesting is that a laborer - possibly carpenter - is demanding a certain standard of living that people in other parts of America are living significantly below.

It appears that the laundry was done even in winter. Two continental paintings by Hendrick Avercamp include people out on the ice doing laundry in the fridged waters. In one example, a woman in a working class jacket is kneeling on the ice, two hands are holding onto a red garment. The garment is directed through a circular whole in the ice into the lake. In another painting, a circular whole is to the left of the washer who has a laundry basket with “whites” in it. He too is in working class clothes and is standing, facing a clothes line. One red garment in rectangular shape is already thrown over the line to air dry, as he holds a second red garment half hung.

Who is doing the laundry is alluded to in the New Netherland papers. Avercamp’s Netherland paintings clearly show a woman and a man each doing small batches of laundry in the winter season, both linen and colored. Though, it appears that both men and women took on the job of larger scale laundry washing in New Netherland. The two examples, below show that the man, Roelantsen, may of done the laundry himself, though he could of easily of hired out the service. The other example is clear on who will be doing the laundry. 


“Adam Roelantsen, plaintiff, vs. Gillis de Vooht, defendant, for laundry money. Plaintiff demands payment for washing defendant’s linen. Defendant says that he is not offering to pay less in payment for the washing, only that the year is not yet expired. Plaintiff is ordered to fulfill the term of the contract and then to demand payment.” 6th of Sept. 1640


“…to be his [ Claes Willemse van Coppernoll’s] foreman on the farm at Cattskill, and his [Jan Conell’s] wife to do such other services as may be needed there; and that for the sum of 42 good, merchantable beaver pelts, one half to be paid next winter in wheat, at market price, and the other half at the end of his term of service in beavers; his wife shall be furnished with soap to wash for herself and the others on the farm;…” 1678, June 18th - June 18th 1678

Jan Conell’s contract is most interesting, because it takes place in the Cattskills and demonstrates like the Gillis Jansen and Tonis Cray contracts that farmers, laborers, indentured servants and similar were regularly having at least their linens washed. This brings the standard of living up significantly compared to other American colonies.

How the Dutch came to be so clean possibly has as much to do with being in the right place and the right time as it does with being of the right income. The Dutch during the 17th century lifted over 60% of its population out of subsistance farming status to middle class. Even the Dutch milk maid saw an increase in status. Though, one of the lowest paid persons in the Netherlands and Flanders, the Dutch and Flemish paid their maids more than another nation. With Dutch, Flemish and their immigrant workers having higher incomes per job than their counterparts in other nations their consumption and quality of life excelled. They therefore were ready and able to adopt new habits and life styles that reflected their new found advantages.


Washing Tubs: 

Washing tubs are found in a number of inventories. Gysbert van Imbroch 1665 of Wildewijk (modern Kingston) has "two washtubs one large and one small".  Sigismundus Lucas,  1681 a "washing 'tubb'" and "one tub" more. Thomas Palmer 1681 of NYC also had three wash tubs.  The Widow Mary Masters 1702 of NYC had 3 wash tubs and a smoothing iron. Abraham Turk 1787 had "1 large wash tub, 2 small do." As you can see, three washing tubs seems to be a standard in New Netherlands and New York.


Smoothing Irons, Brushes, Presses, Mangles and a Clothing line: 

Smoothing irons and clothing brushes were rather common too.  Jan Reynersen 1665 at Fort Orange had "one smoothing iron". Imrboch 1665 who has three washing tubs also had a clothing press (a free standing piece of furniture and "one clothes brush".  Imbroch also had a mangle which was a long wooden paddle usually decorated and used for smoothing out bed sheets, plus a "clothing line". Sybrant van Schaick a brewer 1686 also had "1 cloth brush".  Van Macken 1664 had both a mangle and "stick pin" which may have been the paddle used for washing or some sort of "roller pin" co-located with the mangle. 


Starch:

Starch was also common, Gerrit Bril 1659 - in New Amsterdam headed back to New Amstel - had "a square box with starch and washing blue".  There are so many mentions of Starch and blue wash or blue starch it seems it was something accessible to most people.


Washing boards and Planks:


Something interesting pops up in 1787 in an German inventory in Up-State NY, "1 board 00:00:04, 1 washing bench 00:00:02". the inventory is in German. Translation books have the washing bench as a horizontal plank or board that the washing tub is set on. This raises the tub to standing height. The board located with the plank is likely a washing board with a ribbed surface.  

I hope this provided a quick gimps into who and how people got their washing done. Washing was not done daily or every other day like in modern times. A skim through 19th and 20th century history and washing into modern times finds that people on average wore their underclothes all week long as one corporation found out the hard way in the 1940s. Until the invention and mass acquisition of laundry machines laundry was done at most weekly and more likely the further you go back in time, monthly or less. In New Netherland due to there being a a local business and small home laundries operating, linen and likely stockings could be washed as often as weekly for even the labor class based on some of the contracts that have been preserved.

Scotts Cloth, Plaid, Tarten Hose & Broadswords

1683: 4 ps. w/th "plaiding" qt. 125 yds

Of the people from the British Islands and Ireland, the Scots made up the majority of people who emigrated to New York from the 1680s - 1720s. A number of Scottish came to New York prior to the Queen Ann's Test Act of 1703  including Robert Livingston who arrived in the Town of Albany in 1674.  John Spratt and John MaxWell were two others. However, after England took Sovereign control in 1674, aside from the Governor in NYC and the New Englanders on Long Island, it was primarliy through Scottish eyes the colonist understood England. They were that numerous.

I am often asked if Scots in America wore Scottish clothes. As someone who descends from the 18th Century Mcdougalds of North Carolina I am eager to find the answer too. However, one can only dress according to what was available. What was available was often defined by demand.

For 18th Century New York, in particular, the consumers were able to influence what merchants ordered, as they would completely snub something that was not culturally acceptable... like small sprigs of flowered cloth. The prerogative of New Yorkers were big bodacious flowers to the point that merchants returned the small sprigged cloth to London explaining it wouldn't sell. One merchant went as far as to draw - again - a large mass of a flower explaining it was to scale and not to send anything smaller. The London merchants must have though New Yorkers were hopeless, but New Yorkers - for as reserved as they were in business - wore their big bodacious flowers as though a tribal marker. We will circle back to this issue later, but it provides a glimpse into just how stubborn New York consumers were through the first half of the 18th Century. It may also be why onlookers noted that it was difficult to define the difference between the wealthy and the working class, because everyone looked middle class in their large printed silks, woolens and calicos. It also meant that people of various heritages could strut their stuff in the clothing of their mother country. And people of other heritages had no qualms about adding something different normally associated with a different heritage... like tartan !


Doing The Numbers:

While an exact number of people of Scottish heritage who immigrated to New York is not known, there was one Presbyterian church by 1650, four by 1700, 35 by 1750 and 50 by 1775 spread out across the Province. To put this in perspective, there were only 0, 2, 20, and 26 Anglican churches respectively. When looking for a persona with distinct clothing, textiles and a ton of fun... check out the Scots !


 Number of Churches in the Province of New York by Denomination:

Year                                  1650    1700    1750    1775
Scot Presbyterian                1        4           35         50
Scot Calvinist                      4        0            5         12
Eng. Anglican                      0        2           20         26
Eng. Quaker                        0        8           14         22

It is estimated that about 7, 000 Scotts emigrated to an English colony in America prior to the year 1700. Between 1717 - 1775, an estimated 200,000 Scot-Irish from Ulster Co. in Northern Ireland emigrated to America.

1753: Patrick Fisher, indićted of cutting out of a loom and stealing a tartan plaid, was, at his own desire, sentenced to be transported to America, and banished Scotland for life. - Scotts Magazine

A Wave of Scottish People: 

After the English landed in 1664, then received sovereign control in 1667, Governor Dongan had a reasonable concern about the lack of immigrants from England.

Dated 1687: "I believe for these last 7 years past, there has not come over into this province twenty English Scotch or Irish families. But on the contrary on Long Island the people increase so fast that they complain for want of land and many remove from thence into the neighboring province." - Population History of New York City, By Ira Rosenwaike

While England had a difficult time getting English people to choose New York rather than New England or Pennsylvania or Virginia, the Scottish were more than happy to take the jobs that were available. They are listed as being weavers, cart drivers, and in other trades and labors.

NewEngland, Philadelphia and Virginia were more appealing to the English in part because an immigrant's new neighbors would have spoken English, as compared to the commonly spoken Dutch, Deutsch or French in New York. To do business in New York being bilingual would have been necessary.

Additionally, New England, PA, and Virginia also had large volumes of farming land available for mono-cropping (tobacco plantations, cotton plantation, corn or wheat farming)... New York has land that produced market gardens, orchards, tobacco and dairy cows which was less appealing. While many people of England were looking to purchase land or set up a shop, the Scot-Irish were looking for employment, and looked to a Province with fewer slaves.

With low immigration, came another problem, germs. The community experienced low immigration but high transient population that came into and out of town. The community developed immunity over time from repeat exposure to germs. However, for the immigrants who did make the trip, 1702 was devastating year, roughly 570 young and old died from yellow fever.  In 1731, smallpox will take another 549 people. These are diseases that if a person survives, they will develop immunity.

Despite all this, the Scotts are hardy people. By the year 1700 there were four Presbyterian churches with Scottish and x-New England members plus enough Scots to support an additional 4 more Calvinist Churches. For those looking to do a 1670s - 1720s era persona, the Scottish are a great option !

Tartan, Scots' Cloth or Plaid mentioned in documents:

During my search I only found 18th Century documents including the poem from 1724. However, Jenn Scott supplied us with these references from the 17th Century. Her book, "Better is the Proud Plaid" takes the deep dive all the way back to the 17th Century using primary sources and is currently out in Amazon UK. It will be available to Americans in December... it is a must have for reenactors looking for well researched sources !

1618–33 Collie Highland Dress 10.

Their [sc. Highlanders'] habit is shoes with but one sole apiece, stockings (which they call short hose) made of a warm stuff of divers colours which they call tartane … A jerkin of the same stuff that their hose is of … with a plaid [etc.];

1699 Reg. Privy C. in Chambers Domestic Annals Scotl. III 126.]

Woollen stuffs of all sorts, … draughts, friezes, drogats, tartains, craips, capitations ' however certainly the gaelic references the time refer to the item of clothing - plaid and the cloth - tartan as checked or speckled



Some 18th Century mentions I found:



1724: I'll make ye a Propine, My Mither, honest Wife, has made it fine; A Tartan Plaid, spun of good hauslock Woo, Scarlet and Green the Sets, the Borders Blue, With Spraings like Gou'd and Siller, cross'd wi' Black, I never had it'yet upon my Back. - Miscellaneous Works of that celebrated Scotch poet, Allan Ramsay, By Allan Ramsay * Hauslock Wool, fine wool from the neck of the sheep. 

1749: [The clothing] It consisted of a roll of light woollen, called a plaid, six yards in length, and two in breadth, wrapped loosely 'around the body, the' upper lappet of which rested on the left shoulder, leaving the right arm at full liberty; a jacket of thick cloth, fitted highly to the body; and a loose short garment of light woolen that went around the waist and covered the thigh. - 1749 The Monthly Review, Volume 45, by Griffin or 1773 Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland. From the dissolution of the last ...By Sir John DALRYMPLE

1785: The Highland plaid is composed of a woollen stuff, sometimes very fine, called tartan. This stuff confifts of various colours, forming stripes which cross each other at right angles; and the natives value themselves upon the judicious arrangement ... -
The New Universal Traveller: Containing a Full and Distinct Account of All, By Jonathan Carver

1818: First time acted in Covent Garden in 1757, The Play "DOUGLAS" Character costumes: NORVAL - Green plaid jacket, kilt, and tartan, flesh-'colored' stockings and arms, breastplate, cap, and sandals.  LORD RANDOLPH - Scarlet silk plaid jacket, ibid. GLENALVON - Green plaid, ibid. , Old NORVAL. Drab 'colored' doublet and breeches, plaid scarf, ibid. DONALD. Red plaid jacket, kilt and tartan, beast plate, ibid. -Dramatic Library, Volume 4 , 1818.    

In these quotes we can see that "tartan" comes in a variety of colors. And in the 1724 poem a tartan plaid in this instance had - "Scarlet and Green the Sets, the Borders Blue, With Spraings like Gou'd and Siller, cross'd wi' Black...". These quotes give us snippets and clues.

Scots Cloth in Probate Inventories and For Sale:

Plaids likely started coming over with the first Scottish after 1674, though few in number at first they along with the locals created a demand for merchants and shopkeepers to begin selling tartan fabric. The Scottish likely wore their tradition clothing while living in NY just as most everyone else did. It was the kind of place, where you could go to a market and pick out a person's ethnicity simply based on their clothes even in the 1670s, '80s & '90s. However, others including German and Dutch were  using tartan fabric for more mainstream clothing also. 

1697: John sprat (Scottish) and Maria de Peyster (Dutch) were merchants and had 5 ps of Scotts Cloth valued at 2.10.00 in their NYC store. They also have 14 yards "remaining" valued at 2.14.00.   

1695: Johannes "John" Clopper of NYC and of German heritage had "Scotts cloth" in his probate inventory.  

1684: Wina van Hoven of NYC and of Dutch heritage had 1 black "Tartenel" Samare  with "tocker" [tucker or modesty linen for across the top of stays]  in her personal inventory.  A samare is a pleated back robe, more like a coat when made of heavy material and more gown like when made of light material, with center front closure and no stomacher. By the 1680s, it could be as short as hip length or as long as mid-calf, never as long as the ankle. They are popular from 1580s to 1720s. 

1682: The inventory of Joseph Taylor a merchant of NYC had "Item 22 yards of linen Cloath 55 d: 15 1/2 of fine Scotch "Cloath" 52 d" valued at 5.07.00. 

A Scottish Merchant from Blastowne: 

The merchant, John MaxWell was a member of the Scots Charitable Society in Boston however, he was making a move to NY. He died on a return trip to New York from "Blastowne" Scotland in 1682, aboard his shipped called Rebecca: 

2 ps. of coarse cloth qt. 20 yes. 12 d yd... 1.00.00
4 ps. w/th "plaiding" qt. 125 yds at 9 d. yd. L1.0.0 ... 4.13.09
2 ps. coarse Serge 2 ps. qt. 36 yds. f. 3:12:39 yd 15 d... 6.00.09

The above "4 pieces with plaiding" is likely a cloth with checks upon it. A John Maxwell is listed as part owner of a ship named "Ann" along with John Borland a Scotsmen in Boston. The inventory that arrived in NYC from the ship, is not just a record of import from Scotland, it also happened to include his personal clothing including 1 feather bed 1 "baluster" & pillows, 10 old shirts, 1 black velvet cap furred, plus...

"2 Cloth Suits with 24 doz. [Buttons ? and ] 11 plate Buttons and  9 p[r] of tartan hose 15 d ... 0.11.03"  

The inventory also included kersey, stuff, cloth, coarse cloth, and serge... so we know that even if the "plaiding" was not checked, it was not one of the other types of cloth mentioned.


Some Extra Citations of Interest:  

In 1745, there was an issue where a bundle of cloth would have a "Scotts Cloth" on top and English made cloth under it... which did not go over well.  The Scottish wanted only their cloth to be sold under the label of "Scots Cloth"". "The Present State of Scotland Consider'd: and Its ... Sinking Condition Charged Upon the Conduct of the Landed Gentlemen, &c. Shewing ... that the Only Mean of Relieving Their Estates ... is by Their Joining Together to Promote Home Manufacture, Etc", Scotland, W. and T. Ruddimans, 1745

With this in mind, it might be advisable to take into consideration the pride of the Scots when portraying colonist. In 1746, the following order was given to exclude Scottish clothing for people in "...his Majesty's forces..." and can be found in "Anno Regni Georgii II. Regis Magnae Britanniæ, Franciæ, & Hiberniæ, Vicesimo Primo ... (An Act to Amend and Enforce So Much of an Act Made in the Nineteenth Year of His Majesty's Reign, as Relates to the More Effectual Disarming the Highlands in Scotland ... )" by Adrian Watkins, 1748.

1780 - Highland Wedding David Allan (1744-1796)

A Note on Swords: 

The Scots used a "two handed swords" in the 16th Century along with arrows for defense in the early years but switched over to pistols and "broadswords" in by the 17th Century. - "A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland: Containing a Full Account ...", 1703 By Martin Martin.

Broadswords were brought to 17th Century New York. Our merchant John MaxWell had a few other items. The goods included: "1 Gunn 2 Carbines; 3 broad swords". Plus, in with the bridle and livery clothing was "a silver hilt sword" likely his personal cavalry sword which would only have one side of the blade sharpened as compared to duel blades on the broadsword. Swords like most goods were coming in from far and wide... remember the Japanese sword?

"Swords" are commonly mentioned in New Netherland and New York however, however rapiers are most often cited. From most common to least: Rapier, Sword, Cutlas, and Hanger in the 17th Century definitions. A few of the "swords" are associated with livery or bridles and saddles but it is not common.

For events targeting the second half of the 17th and first half of the 18th... dressing with tartan hose and plaid is a great way for reenactors to connect with their audiences ! Just mind the accents...


To all my McDougald kin down in North Carolina:

1724: 

I'll make ye a Propine, 

My Mither, honest Wife, has made it fine; 

A Tartan Plaid, spun of good hauslock Woo, 

Scarlet and Green the Sets, the Borders Blue, 

With Spraings like Gou'd and Siller, cross'd wi' Black, 

I never had it'yet upon my Back. 

- Allan Ramsay

Well Paid Foster Moms - 1665

"...for 35 guilders a month..."- 1665

Women were often paid pretty well for their services. The two women below were paid 35 guilders a month - each - to wet nurse one of a pair of twin babies for one year.

1665 October 27th - "'Lenne' Roebers will, for one year, wet-nurse Kaste NOORMAN ’s child for 35 guilders a month; if the child dies, she will still be paid for the month in which it dies…Fiete Jansz will take care of the other child on the same condition"... and for the same pay as above is explained.

Another  example was of Geurt Kendrick's wife who received f.32 per month.  One more child was fostered for f.30 a month. 'Marytie' 'Claesen' receive f.25 (guilders) per month for keeping a school aged child, plus a one time payment of  f.4.14 in wages for sewing for the child, with the fabric being paid for by the church. These were not the only types of jobs open to women but it is a great example of how women who did not run taverns, shops or own ships were making money.

'Roebers" and 'Jansz'  earned in one year 420 guilders each, Kendrick earned 384 guilders, another earned 360 guilders and Claesen earned 300 guilders. Once the babies were weened the wage paid dropped little by little according to the work load associated with a more capable child.

The child kept by Marytie Claesen was attending school, with the school master being paid 17.8 guilders, but for an unknown duration. There are a number of payments going out to people we can use for comparisons. Mister Cornelis van 'Dijck' received 200 guilders a year from the church for heeling the sick. But this also assumes he took on personal clients.  Jan Peitersen was paid 5 guilders for 1 4/5 day's worth of mowing (grains). A Native American earned 10 guilders for diving into the water and finding a lost yawl from a ship, A man named Tobias was paid 2.10 guilders for a deer. 'Dirck' the mason for 10 days work at a chimney 10 guilders.

For Jan Peitersen, if he was earning roughly 1 guilder per day, that is about 20-24 guilders a month during harvesting. Harvesting occurs regularly due to rotating crops. 'Dirck' the Mason was earning about the same 10 guilders for 10 days work, which I assume was discounted for the church. In essence, women fostering children until they were about 14 years old which is when they were apprenticed in New Netherland and New York, means the ladies were earning a fair sum of cash in 1665 and 1666. However, the year is a problem... it was the first and second year that the English had gained control and pricing was probably not reflective of better times. But it gives us a good idea of what people were paid even under duress and limited economics.

Master Reyn received 18 guilders for repairing a ship's yawl and 15 guilders for building a (small) boat. Abraham Page the Englishmen received 12 guilders for 8 days of haying, and another 6 guilders for 4 more days of haying. A more consistent income to compare the fostering moms to is Ariaen the Servant who received "5 months wages at fl. 150 a year" 62 guilders. Except servants also had their room and board covered. Nevertheless even if we doubled the servants income to 300, it is at the low end of what a foster mom makes.

'Hubert' Jansen earned  8 guilders a year per person for doing their laundry. He would have to do a ton of laundry to make what a foster mom makes. However, he received a new contract which was 31 guilders a month to care for an old captain including board and laundry, or 372 a year. Another good example of ordinary people's income is a shoemaker's assistant which would be a contract for 2-3 years. In one instance an adult assistant in Albany was under contract for 10 shoes per day in summer.. possibly less in winter with shorter day time light ... received 120 guilders per year. Again, room, board, and laundry were included, but that is less than a servant and much less than a foster mom.

120 Shoemakers Assistant
150 Servant
200 Part time Doctoring for the church
300 Fostering school age child
372 Elder Care
384 Non-Nursing child under about 7
420 Wet nursing

So what did 300 to 420 guilders buy a person in the mid-1600s?

From the same 1665/1666 accounting book we can see the following recorded in guilders.

1 schepel of grain cost 7.10 [45 pound of wheat]
1 schepel of corn cost  6.0 [42 pounds of corn]
? "pumpkins" cost 6.0
2 schepels of rye cost 5.0
2 pounds of butter cost 3.0 [32 ounces]
2 pounds of fresh meat 1.8 [32 ounces] 

 1678 Albany (Supplemental data)

6 schepels of peas equals 1 beaver [= 8 guilders/6 schepels or 27 'stuivers'/schepel/45 pounds ] 

Note that: 1 schepel = 3/4 bushel. One bushel = 60 lbs. of wheat, 56 lbs. of shelf corn, 60 lbs dried peas. And a modern person eats between three to five pounds of food per day.

Let's say we bought 1 schepel of wheat, 1 of corn, 1 of peas, 2 lbs butter, and 2 pounds of fresh meat or 136 pounds of food. That would be 4 pounds of food per day for 31 days and it would cost about 21 guilders and 45 'stivers' or 23 guilders 5 'stivers'. With keeping in mind that carrots, lettuce, parsley, sage, turnips, apples, pears and cherries were items commonly grown in the yard. If roughly 2 pounds of food per person per day was coming from the yard, then the additional 4 pounds of food we purchased could bring a family of four to three pounds of food per person per day. It is on the low end, but hunting was common and meat was rather cheap at 2.10 guilders per deer. Especially considering the hide - even undressed - could be sold to offset the cost. Plus there were fishing poles and clam rakes. 

1665/1666

2 pounds of soap cost 2.10
1 pound of candles cost 2.5
a broom 0.12
Laundry Service for a year 8.0

Assuming we need soap and candles each moth and to budget for the mending or braking of household items we can add another 4 guilders 27 'stuivers', for 27 guilders and 32 'stivers' or  28 guilders 12 'stuivers'. Interestedly, regular laundry for one year cost 8 guilders, or 160 'stuivers' per year or 13 'stuivers' per month. Laundry services were common so let's add that in... 28 guilders 25  'stuivers' or 29 guilders 5 'stuivers'. 

Could you live on Foster Care Income? 

Foster care provided a considerable addition to the household income. Especially since the church would cover all clothing and education costs for the child. For the shoemaker's assistant, their room, board and laundry was included in their contracts with the 150 guilders a year being for clothing, tavern, savings and fun. Foster care could care for one person well enough assuming they rented a room for 8 guilders a year, or significantly raise the standard of living for a family of four, if there was another adult income. For a laborer who mowed wheat or the mason who was doing a lot of discounted work for churches, his wife's income could make a world of a difference. Assuming there was a typical Low Countries style garden, her income could keep the family fed and with candle light allowing his income to cover rent, clothing, and other goods or tools. A foster mom is essentially covering all the day to day cost of the family with room for some extras such as 2 pairs of shoes at 10 guilders, two new copper kettles at 16.16 plus a few extra left over.  Alternatively, she could order two new full sets of clothes (jacket, long sleeved under shirt, fabric breeches, leather breeches, shirt, drawers) for her own children at 36 guilders. 

Food, soap & candles = 29 guilders 5 'stivers'/month (348 guilders 60 'stivers' / year). 

300 Fostering school age child
372 Elder Care
384 Non-Nursing child under 7
420 Wet nursing

With this in mind, reenactors looking to portray "ordinary" people may take into consideration duel income families and other "hidden" cash flows not always obvious in history records like the selling of venison on the side. This would greatly affect the goods they could afford. For ordinary people of the Province, how to spend the extra cash would vary. One may choose to sleep on coarse linen but buy a Holland linen shirt, while they may have iron pans, they may pick up a few copper kettles or have serge suits as their best suit but always new shoes.


* If you see a mistake in my calculations let me know. I used a 20 'struiver' per guilder conversion rate. 

Below are some additional prices:

Other Goods: Note that "f." = guilder

In 1658 Jan Justen paid for 20 ells “coarse” linen f. 20, 4 pairs of shoes f.20, 5 pairs of stockings f.15, 20 ells of duffel f.80, 2 blankets f.32, 4 ells of cloth f.36, 2-1/2 ells of duffel f.20, “N.N.” 2 kettles 7 lbs f.16:16 

In 1661 sent to NewAmstel:
Nelis” “Laersen” 1 pair of stockings [guilders] 3.0 & 2 pairs of shoes [guilders] 10.0
Thomas “Hoppens” 1/2 alm anise (anis) [guilders] 140.0 & 3 ells red duffel [guilders] 3.0; “Baes” “Joosten” 1 large earthen jar f. 4 

Sold at Auction at Fort Orange 1666
a leather and a cloth breeches [guilders] 36.10.00
2 pr woolen stockings [guilders] 14.15.00

Cost of clothing children:

2 pairs of shoes for children 9.0
1/2 ell serge for [1] child's [2] caps 2.0
7 ells of linen for [1] child's shirts 15.0
3 ells of red baize 24.0
2 pairs of stockings 14.0
2 3/4 ell of blue linen for diapers 13.15

For a full set of clothing we have the following quote:

Frans Coninck’s children 2 packages of underclothes on which was used 5 ells of white baize…Frans 2 packages of leather clothes, on which were used 7 deer skins, 2 ells of Osnabruck, Frans a ape rock and a borstrock on which was used 3 ells of kersey at 12 guilders the ell…f.36.

Getting Dressed in 1665

This is great video of how to get dressed in Delft, Netherland. There are three primary sources in New Netherland and New York with the outfit she is wearing in particular this specific bodice that had a boat neck and worn to be shown. See article here with primary sources.

Enjoy the video !

Japanese Kimonos in Colonial New York

"1 blew silk Japon men gowne 02:10:00" - 1685 NYC

If you are a reenactor looking for something different or are a bit baffled by the fact that many types of men's and women's robes are listed under the generic term "dressing gown" or "night gown"  or more appropriately "chamber robe" we can use primary sources to determine what the variety of robes really were. 

One thing to consider, is that the 17th Century bridges the middle ages to modern era, so when thinking on how a person perceived themselves and the world the 1600s really were a blend of the 1500s and the 1700s. The microscope and telescope were newly invented, bayonets were mostly being used by French armies and not widely en vogue instead there were pikes and snaphaunces, and meat became something people had weekly. The Dutch discovered every possible broom and brush for cleaning the home and developed the idea of washing one's clothes each week. The western world discovered coffee, tea, lettuce salad and this thing called a fork from Italy and tiny tea pots of red clay from China. Then they wrote about it in several "Discovering the world" books and published maps of near and far off places, both of which were exceedingly popular because half the population could read. The Discovering the world books always include a description of clothing, not just the jacket or robe, but even what they wore under their clothes... every piece. The Dutch were curious, exacting... and likely got nipped in the nose a few times.  

With people being able to read about these lands and find them on a map, their desire to own goods from these places were the next step. Interestedly, an item like a Japon robe does not reveal much of the body. The emphasis was not if he looked masculine, or if she had a tiny waist, it was about the person. And apparently, clothing that emphasized the person was popular. Some call it a Golden Age; it really was a Sophistication of the curious mind, an escape for one that loved reading about people both next door and in far off lands. 

Robes: 

There are actually four different terms that get grouped under "chamber robe" when using 18th Century references; the Banyan (Bannian), Japon rok (Japonsch rok), the Turk and the Muscavoy. However, in the 17th Century they are identified by the nation they originate from. There is also the Sultan which crops up for men in the 17th Century, then falls to the side, and reappears in feminine form in the 18th Century...but I have yet to have found these in American docs. 

Of the five robes mentioned, the Japon rok, Turk and Muscavoy are worn during both the 17th and 18th Centuries in New York and New Netherland. For those 17thC reenactors preferring a fitted garment like the Banyan, consider a Muscavoy coat which is a similar fit and length but with parallel horizontal frogging down the front. You probably have seen them in paintings. Or a Turk which has fitted sleeves and wrap front. The Sultan has wide sleeves like the Japon. We can circle back to these other robes. 


In dictionaries: 

1766 - A Large Dictionary English and Dutch: in two parts - "“Ro’k, a coat, gown. (next) een Japonsche-rok, a chamber-gown." 

 1766 —-Volkomen woordenboek der englelsche en nederduitsche taalen, by William Sewel, Egbert Buys, Caspar Philips - "A morning gown, Een nagt rok, japon."

1707 - A Large Dictionary English and Dutch,: In Two Parts by the Englishman Willem Sewel, “JAPON, Japonse rok, a Chamber gown."


In Early Documents: 

1690 - Europische Mercurius behelzende al het voornaamste 't geen in ..., Volume 1
By E.V. V. "...that was the end of justice. The Elector went beforehand, with the principal Ladies, at one end of the Hall, where after his Seal, regal thoroughness, with a long Japanese dress, was done..."

1669 - "Gedenkwaerdige Gesantschappen Der Oost-Indische Maatschappy in 't Vereenigde ..." By Arnoldus Montanus 

Were there other items from Japan?

Yes. Japanese stilyards, a type of scale, are common in most any inventory where someone sold groceries, sugar, textiles,... anything. Sometimes, a person (men and women) didn't sell anything and there are large and small stilyards in the same inventory. The small ones can be carried in a bag they are so small and good for purchasing small personal size amounts of tea or sugar. There is a Japanese cutlas. There are also Japanese quilts, compared to ones from India. Plus, lacquered chests small and large. Plus, the type of pant worn with the Japon were also imported. Much of this is due to Wina van Hoorn who imported goods from the far east, but also from India. 

Side note: 

The term Ban-nian/Ba-nian is the original word and used in both the 17th and 18th Century. Bannian and Banian continue to be used in the 18th Century but the spelling "Banyan" is introduce in 1728. I am guessing that the spelling used for "Banyan" may be an English colloquialism. The original using the /a/ as in / ball/, instead of the American short /a/ sound. 

In 1641 the first Japanese kosode are shipped to Amsterdam: 

In 1641, The supreme leader of Japan was the Shogun who gifted 53 of these silk robes - 23 were black - to seal the trade deal with the Directors of the Dutch East Indies Company. These robes are not really kimonos. The kimono starts off as the kosode in the 17th Century, and developed from here. [koe-soe-day]  Wiki Commons Kosode Image. For the record, Japanese use the European pronunciation of vowels. 

1675, Netherlands, Anna Elisabeth van reede. 

The Kosode in the Netherlands:

The Dutch were not irreverent to the importance of the gift that they would use it as a dressing gown but instead they were worn to work which is why during the 17th Century they are often painting while the sitter is at a desk in front of a book. They were also called a "night gown" not to be confused with a dressing gown. 

In the below two images the similarities of shaping can be seen. Both happen to be printed in 1669. 

1669 - Portrait of Amsterdam predikant Conradus Hoppe, by Jan Veenhuysen

1669 Likely a Japon but could also be a "Sultan", of Daniel Bernard from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is on loan at the Amsterdam Museum. 

Due to the early date of the image above, it is likely an original "Japon Rok" (Rok = Dress) which would be worn over a skimpy double or waistcoat instead of a jacket or coat. When I did a year long study aboard in Japan, my professor told the class that the word "Japon" and "Japan" is a Dutch invention. It is possible that the Dutch heard Ji-pon or Ja-pon when the Japanese introduced themselves as "Ni-hon-jin" and referred to their nation as "Ni-pon". And truethfully to western ears, /ja/ in Japanese [Nihongo] really does sound similar to /ji/ in the same away that /p/ and /b/ or /m/ and /n/ can be mistaken in English. 


Were there Japon Robes in America? 

There are defiantly a number of them as they are called such by name, Japon rok or Japon robe plus the paintings ! There is another robe, that we can tell is a Japon because it was "padded" as described in Dutch: 1693, Albany, a night "rok" with padding. We can include this because the inventory was written in Dutch with the exact same terms being used in the Netherlands for the same time period. A Night dress in the Netherlands is a robe worn over clothes in place of a coat or jacket. This particular robe is listed with the petticoats. 

A 1685 NYC probate inventory has, "1 Japon Coate lining with 'redd' say 01:15:00". This robe was possibly a Dutch or domestically (American) made Japon coat as say was not a textile of Japan. However, the "1 blew silk Japon men gowne 02:10:00" and the "1 ditto 'redd' 02:10:00 that were for sale in an East Indies store in 1685 Manhattan are highly likely imported Japanese kosode. This same store also lists a number of flowered "India jackets" so we can see that this is not confusion on the part of the author's, who happened to be the owner of the shop. In 1686, the Mayor of Albany owned 2 Japon robes. 

At one to two pounds it was not a robe within "every" person's means, but it is comparable to other clothing. As can be seen, one silk Japon is worth about one man's suit or a woman's scarlet petticoat and Samare from a squarely middle class couple's wardrobe. Alternatively, the domestically made one is the same cost as a Jacket. A colonist could have two sets of waistcoat and bottoms and wear a jacket with one and a Japon with the other. 

1685: 1 black “gross” “greaine” “suite” [men's] 02:17:00, 1 "Indea" "petticoats" with body of "redd" bay 00:17:00, 1 ditto [woman's Indea petticoat] Scarlett 01:15:00, 1 flowered calico petty coats with "redd" lining 00:16:00, 1 colored "stuff" Samare [woman's pleated back coat] 01:10:00.

Japon robes during the 1640s - 1660s were owned by mega merchants or directors of the Dutch East Indies company. By the 1670s, enough had been imported that not only magistrates, but also clerks, scientist and even artists and musicians were wearing them. Women merchants and shopkeepers also sported Japon robes. It was a very continental thing to do, and signaled to everyone that you had a love for exotic cultures and goods. 


The PAINTINGS ! 

There are a few of them, most of which show women wearing them. The upper portrait: This is one of the most beautiful, the sitter is unknown though from New York and the painting is attributed to Gerrit Duyckinck c1660-1710. The lower family painting: Below is a painting of the Emmanuel de Witte, Family Portrait, Munich 1677 with a daughter in similar Japon. It is likely that our unknown sitter is painted about 1690 due to the gown, fan, hair and also the front lacing stay. (There are a couple early inventories that mention having a painting of their daughter, that with further research it may be possible to narrow who this person is down to 1 or two choices.) Because there are no stays for children recorded in 17th Century inventories except out on Long Island, I would say she is over 14 years old and likely closer to her late teens. Her clothing shows her sophistication as she choose a garment from Japan rather than other styles, her stays were attractive so instead of a stomacher she showed the lacing. This is common among Central Europeans. Her fan, again, is a fashion statement, on trend, and nothing more. The flower however, may have some significance beyond giving her something to hold, but it is important not to read too deep. Her hair being down is also common in New York for woman, and should not be read into. Visitors comment on the simple hair styles of New Yorkers, and their "spritely" attitudes. 

The below image is of Deborah Glen, attributed to the Gansevoort Limner, and is in the Colonial Williamsville collection. Note that the pattern on the sleeve is perpendicular to the pattern on the dress when the arm is at rest. There is a hard date to the painting of 1739 in or near Albany, NY. It is difficult to know if the center front of the robe is sewn shut or is just overlapped. However, an English visitor remarks on another Albany family as wearing the same outfit, a wrapping style robe flowered over a petticoat. They also mention the people of up-state NY having their hair not up... but down and simply in a tie like the painting. The visitor mentions this was daily attire for women whether a teacher or student, as much as it was to play shuttlecock or chest. Apparently, normal pastimes for NY women. 

What is interesting is that Glen choose a traditional robe to be painted in with contrasting lining that had been in fashion in up-state New York since the late 17th Century and originated in the Netherlands. Her pierced ears are another traditional refinement that has been fashionable since the 17th Century in New York. I think there is a tendency to mistake her garment as being "rich" or of a "wealthy" class.. but by 1700 this style of robe was typical of educated people as much as it was of artists, musicians and shopkeepers. I think it speaks to both cultural tradition and worldly sophistication. What is fashion forward is her use of a Central European stay, which you glimpse where the lacing crisscrosses in the center front. This was on trend in culturally Germanic regions, and New York, and the shortening of the sleeves which started in the 1720s. It was common for Dutchmen to present their betrothed with a ring of engagement, usually with a small stone in it. It seems Glen has one as this painting occurs right before her wedding. There are a couple early reference to roses and wreaths, with the first from a book looking at the errors of people. 

This gown, along with the Turkish robe will dominate fashions in New York from about 1700-1740s and possibly through the F&I war (1763). 

1668 - "...And also tolerable, if we (wishing that our words are kept closed under the Rose), there are also bad people in company and at the beer bank; In the old habit of wearing rose wreaths in guest rooms, and in this manner, we do not speak of the custom (who is the High-German), who paint a rose in the button [?] on the table. But it would be more significant if it were as original as Lemnius and other written books, that the Rose was the Flower of Venus, which Cupid Harpocrates, the God of silent temperament, had tolerated;..." - "Pseudo-doxia epidemica, dat is: Beschryvinge van verscheyde algemene dwalingen des volks,..."

The painted flower may reference the idea of a Rose by any other name by William Shakespeare. A 1740 reference to how to paint wreaths of roses or flowers states "... and although every flower has its own name, shape and color, it is not considered, however, in general, that is to say, as under the name can flowers." - Book, "Groot schilderboek, waar in de schilderkonst in al haar deelen grondig werd onderweezen, ..."

If we look at the use of the rose, and the fact that Glen was about to be married, the roses simply represent love.

Mr. Livingston: 

One of the most interesting paintings of an early American is of Robert Livingston (1654-1728), Lord of Livingston Manor who was of Scottish heritage. This is because he was politically on the side of the Governor and is painted with a whig styled in the English fashion and a cravat. However, his whig is brown which was typical color worn by the Dutch and Continental colonist rather than white as preferred by England. This is something that can be seen in paintings but was another observation by visitors. The other blaring issue is he choose the most common color Japon robe used by Dutch Magistrates back in Amsterdam to be painted in. But why? The first Samurai Japon robes were "reddish", brown or black and usually lined in the same color. Though, a more fashionable Japon was with contrasting color lining and had become trending by the time of this painting. It is as if he is giving tribute to both the English governor and the other Dutch and Continental merchants he had to live and work with. 

Merchant: Robert Livingston (1654-1728), Lord of Livingston Manor, New York. The Painting was likely made while he held office 1715 – 1728. - Note how Livingston's hair is brown like the other Dutch paintings but parted at top and the style more structured. And that he points and holds his robe like the Dutch paintings specifically one painted by Caspar Netscher (1639 - 1684) . In most paintings the wearer has to use one hand to hold the Japon closed, however, when painted in genre the Japon is held together with a sash.

Scientist: Portrait of Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek, Natural Philosopher and Zoologist in Delft, Netherlands, Jan Verkolje (I), 1680 - 1686

Doctor: David , Agneta en hun dochter Catherina Neufville - Michiel van Musscher (1645 - 1705), below is an example of a padded Japon... it should have a quilted feel. 

In the End: 

The Japon robe when appropriated by the French is so popular it will be the first on record as being downgraded to a chamber gown from its standing as a robe for Samurai. It is possible that the French had no idea of its importance having adopted the fashion through the Dutch, though they are aware of the original name, Japon. 

There are about eight paintings of New York woman plus Livingston's with a Japon, plus another six in personal inventories (that do not line up with the paintings unfortunately) and another two in a store for sale. It is a robe that could easily be worn for reenacting from the 1650/60s to at least the end of the French and Indian war 1763. New York will never really leave their interest in Japan on the table, paintings by artist will show women in both kosode and later kimonos for some time to come. 

Musician: 

Französischer Meister:

Johannes Hudde (1628 - 1704), Michiel van Musscher, 1686, This one is flowered and padded:

1710 - La diseuse de bonne aventure | Jean Antoine Watteau (1710), And an extend Italian Japon from 1710-1720 made of Lampus comes with blue cap of same material and Caspar Netscher (d. 1684) - Portret van een man in Japanse mantel. 

2 Paintings attributed to Caspar Netscher (d.1684) - Sold at Auctions

This one below in black is one of the most rare types of kimono, due to its color, also by Caspar Netscher (d. 1684). 

The sense of self in the Netherlands and personal identity was not just identifiable at the elite end of the spectrum, but people throughout the middle class which includes the working class were expressing themselves in new and novel way. They were completely adopted foreign garments and using them in a similar way their were originally intended. So, the next time you see a loose robe with no buttons and someone calls it a "dressing gown"... explain it is worn over a waistcoat and bottoms instead of a coat so one may be comfortable while at work, reading, composing music, painting or simply... as a clerk staying up all night trying to get the accounting finished before the shipment arrives the next day.

The two images below don't belong together but have similar coloring and patterning. 

Upper photo: Caspar Netscher, Dutch, 1639-1684, Portrait of a Gentleman, 1680

Lower photo: Silk, gouddraad, Foto: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, 1689-1702