URI textiles professor collects cloth-covered books of whaling era
Bridgette Blight
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: News
However, she does have some concern that many of the fabrics she wishes to find are gone forever, used as drop cloths for painting projects and dismissed as rags instead of recognized as part of history.
"It's hard, I think, for people to value torn, shredded fabric," she said.
The fabrics, on books and fashioned into clothing, provide an insight as to how New Englanders lived their lives during a time of transition, she added. Rhode Island had "an agrarian middle class that's beginning to become industrial," she said. One of her favorite pieces in the collection from the time of her research is a pair of men's pants that were mended with 28 different patches. The pants tell her a story.
"You can just hear the women saying, 'Honey, do you have to rip your pants?'" Jerome said.
Jerome said that one goal of the TMD department with its collection of clothing is to "be an educational tool for everybody." She said many different groups, such as Girl Scouts and high school students, visit URI to see the collection.
The department has a small gallery on the first floor of Quinn Hall, which changes regularly. Jerome is working on finding clothing for the newest gallery, which will focus on what people wore to keep warm during the cold winter months. She is also considering a return to school, but she would also like to continue her research, which she finds fascinating.
"It's awfully fun," she said. "It's like being a bit of a detective."
Jerome said she enjoyed presenting to the Textile Society of America and is now working on proposals for the Costume Society of America. Her presentation for them will focus on what indigenous people did with fabric they received from whalers in the mid-to-late 19th century.
"Your concept of clothing is so different," she said of indigenous people. "What would you do with two yards of fabric? Would you wrap it around your head, your shoulders, your waist?"
Jerome wants to go back to Hawaii to further develop her research. She said presenting for these different organizations lets her see her own research in a new light.
"I can take all my research and focus it in different ways," she said.
"It's hard, I think, for people to value torn, shredded fabric," she said.
The fabrics, on books and fashioned into clothing, provide an insight as to how New Englanders lived their lives during a time of transition, she added. Rhode Island had "an agrarian middle class that's beginning to become industrial," she said. One of her favorite pieces in the collection from the time of her research is a pair of men's pants that were mended with 28 different patches. The pants tell her a story.
"You can just hear the women saying, 'Honey, do you have to rip your pants?'" Jerome said.
Jerome said that one goal of the TMD department with its collection of clothing is to "be an educational tool for everybody." She said many different groups, such as Girl Scouts and high school students, visit URI to see the collection.
The department has a small gallery on the first floor of Quinn Hall, which changes regularly. Jerome is working on finding clothing for the newest gallery, which will focus on what people wore to keep warm during the cold winter months. She is also considering a return to school, but she would also like to continue her research, which she finds fascinating.
"It's awfully fun," she said. "It's like being a bit of a detective."
Jerome said she enjoyed presenting to the Textile Society of America and is now working on proposals for the Costume Society of America. Her presentation for them will focus on what indigenous people did with fabric they received from whalers in the mid-to-late 19th century.
"Your concept of clothing is so different," she said of indigenous people. "What would you do with two yards of fabric? Would you wrap it around your head, your shoulders, your waist?"
Jerome wants to go back to Hawaii to further develop her research. She said presenting for these different organizations lets her see her own research in a new light.
"I can take all my research and focus it in different ways," she said.
