1924 · Scranton, Pennsylvania
by [Picken, Mary Brooks]
Scranton, Pennsylvania: Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences, Inc, 1924. A complete mail order course designed for women to learn how to design clothing. The preface reads in part, "It is said about cooking that any woman can become a successful cook if she will take up the subject scientifically and first learn to measure accurately and to follow recipes carefully. In drafting the same is true." The course book includes a letter to the subscriber reminding her that she did not take advantage of the educational service.
The Woman's Institute was founded in 1916 by Mary Brooks Picken for the purpose of "making a practical knowledge of the domestic arts and sciences available to every woman or girl, wherever she may live." During the 20-year operation of the Institute, more than 300,000 women were educated in sewing and home arts via correspondence courses. Picken was the first woman to be named a trustee of the Fashion Institute of Technology and was a founding member of the Costume Institute (now a part of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art).
In addition to the letter, the course kit includes a hardcover book covering the principles, methods, and proportions for pattern making, a paperback book on designing and planning clothes, 17 lesson books, and tissue paper for making patterns. The materials are housed in the original two-part box, which is splitting along the seams. (Inventory #: 77780)
The Woman's Institute was founded in 1916 by Mary Brooks Picken for the purpose of "making a practical knowledge of the domestic arts and sciences available to every woman or girl, wherever she may live." During the 20-year operation of the Institute, more than 300,000 women were educated in sewing and home arts via correspondence courses. Picken was the first woman to be named a trustee of the Fashion Institute of Technology and was a founding member of the Costume Institute (now a part of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art).
In addition to the letter, the course kit includes a hardcover book covering the principles, methods, and proportions for pattern making, a paperback book on designing and planning clothes, 17 lesson books, and tissue paper for making patterns. The materials are housed in the original two-part box, which is splitting along the seams. (Inventory #: 77780)
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