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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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