The Pocket A Hidden History Of Women's Lifes 1660-1900

This first book-length study of the tie-on pocket combines materiality and gender to provide new insight into the social history of women's everyday lives-from duchesses and country gentry to prostitutes and washerwomen-and explore their consumption practices, work, sociability, mobility, privacy, and identity.

It draw on an unprecedented study of surviving pockets in museums and private collections to identify their materials, techniques, and decoration; their use is investigated through sources as diverse as criminal trials, letters, diaries, inventories, novels, and advertisements.

Richly illustrated with paintings, satirical prints, and photographs of artifacts in detail, this book reveals the unexpected story of these deeply evocative and personal objects.