By Kelly Murphy, Walsh Museum Studies Intern
As a Museum Studies intern from Walsh University I have the pleasure of working within the collections at the Massillon Museum. Currently I am assisting with their extensive garment collection by rehousing the more delicate items into archival boxes and organizing all of the garments by era. I have seen items representing every era since the 1850s with many interesting designs and styles. It is wonderful to be able to see the progression of fashion over time and to have the opportunity to work closely with all of them.
Last week I came across a very interesting two-piece wedding gown from 1898. The bodice is a blue and white striped “pussy willow” taffeta, with leg-o-mutton sleeves trimmed with beige colored lace, and a beige colored silk high collar. The floor length skirt is also blue and white striped taffeta. The gown was made by Ottilie E Miller for her marriage to William R. Wise on July 19, 1898. The wedding took place at the Miller’s home at 33 N. Hill Street, now 2nd St. NE.
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What made this piece stand out was not the design or cut of the fabric, but a small stamp that was placed on the inside. The top of the stamp reads “Fair & Square, Brooklyn Shield Company, M’F’R Trademark, Columbian Exposition Medal 1893.”
The Columbian Exposition was a Fair held in Chicago in 1893. Several volumes describing all of the winners’ products was published in 1901. The book explains the various awards they presented to goods and services industries. Several examples of their numerous categories were bread-making and machinery, Nova-Scotia fruits and fruit making, and transportation. The Brooklyn Shield Co. received an award under the “corsets and dress-cutting etc.” category for their rubber shields. The judge remarked that for their rubber shields “the specific points of excellence are that their shields are light weight, soft, impervious, odorless, and finely finished.”
Rubber shields were used in the making of corsets as a protectant against perspiration on the inside underarm of a corset or top. Dress shields have been in use since at least the 1840s. They were an important addition to women’s garments to not only help prevent perspiration and odors coming through the material, but also to keep the material from becoming ruined and discolored. Dress shields are still in use today and are marketed to both men and women. Modern shields, or guards, are typically disposable and come in a variety of styles and sizes. A quick look through the US Patent Office records shows many improvements on shield design since the early 1900s.
The A.J. Humberger and Sons Company was a dry goods store located in the Warwick Block on North Erie Street, which opened in the late 1880s. Of the original owners were William Humberger, who ran the store until his death in 1904, and Charles Wise. The name of the store was changed in 1913 to A.J. Humberger’s Sons Dry Goods Company. In 1916, Jacob J. Wise was the director and vice-president of the store. He had been elected mayor of Massillon in 1896, at the age of twenty-nine, and served two full terms. Wise was also the manager for the Massillon Tigers from 1904-1905. In November, 1925, the Gensemer Brothers, another successful dry goods corporation purchased the stock and acquired the lease of the A. J. Humberger & Sons store.
The Warwick Block, c.1880s
Collection of the Massillon Museum