Gloves

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This glove commemorates General Lafayette's historic Grand Tour of the United States in 1824 to celebrate the nation's 50th anniversary. It was probably worn to the welcoming reception held in New York City on August 24, 1824 This object is part of a collection of historic garments and textiles purchased from Mrs. Edward Lamson Henry, wife of Edward Lamson Henry (1841-1919), an American painter from Charleston, South Carolina. Henry assembled the collection and used the items as props in his paintings. According to a September 1, 1919 letter from Mrs. Henry to William Henry Fox, director of the Brooklyn Museum, "The Costumes are valuable and all original... Mr. Henry was many years collecting them, & used them in his paintings constantly."

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art