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Professor Irma G. Bowen began collecting items in 1920 as a hands-on teaching tool for students in the Home Economics department at the University of New Hampshire. The collection was named in Bowen’s honor after her death in 1947, and by the time it transitioned to the University Museum in 1969, the Bowen Collection had gained new significance. With most of the objects donated by local colleagues and families, the preserved items were recognized as an unexpected archive of New Hampshire heritage on a personal scale, a glimpse of lives otherwise invisible to the historical record.

This digital catalog continues the Bowen Collection's mission to teach while expanding its reach by making it more widely accessible to those interested in the design, technique, artistry, and historical relevance of clothing.

  • Stockings, white cotton with white embroidered clocks, 1865-1880
    Stockings, white cotton with white embroidered clocks, 1865-1880
  • Man’s wedding vest, white silk faille, 1867, front view
    Man’s wedding vest, white silk faille, 1867
  • Cage crinoline with bustle, 1868-1873, side view
    Cage crinoline with bustle, 1868-1873
  • Cage crinoline with shoulder straps 1868-1873, front view
    Cage crinoline with shoulder straps 1868-1873
  • Dress, black plain weave silk with ruffles, c. 1870, front view
    Dress, black plain weave silk with ruffles, c. 1870
  • Dress, sage silk taffeta with belt, c. 1870, front view
    Dress, sage silk taffeta with belt, c. 1870
  • Bonnet, two-tone green velvet with velvet fabric ties, c. 1870s, front view
    Bonnet, two-tone green velvet with velvet fabric ties, c. 1870s
  • Toque, brown straw trimmed with brown velvet ruffles, c. 1870s, front view
    Toque, brown straw trimmed with brown velvet ruffles, c. 1870s
  • Dress, light gray silk faille with steel blue trim, 1870s, front view
    Dress, light gray silk faille with steel blue trim, 1870s
  • Stockings, black cotton with a plaid of narrow yellow and red stripes, 1870s
    Stockings, black cotton with a plaid of narrow yellow and red stripes, 1870s
  • Bonnet, blue straw capote with velvet trim and feather puffs, 1870s-1880s, front view
    Bonnet, blue straw capote with velvet trim and feather puffs, 1870s-1880s
  • Housedress, cotton printed with a brown geometric pattern, separate underskirt, c. 1875, front view
    Housedress, cotton printed with a brown geometric pattern, separate underskirt, c. 1875
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