Superior 39P1105 - Ladies Maternity Apron Dress

Between 1916 and 1920. 

Superior was the Sears, Roebuck house brand for sewing patterns, but it's interesting to see this pattern appear in newspapers over several years.

The first reference I've found is in 1916. The artwork is slightly different, but it's definitely the same design and very possibly the same artist.

Buffalo Courier Express for Friday, August 11, 1916, p.7

The style of the illustration makes me think this is from Beauty Pattern Company.

The next year, in 1917, the pattern number had been changed from 947 to 7947,  and new illustration was being used - this one exactly like the one on the Sears pattern.

The Nebraska Farmer for Saturday, February 3, 1917, p.12

The pattern was still being advertised in the newspapers in 1920 with its third round of artwork. Here it is in the section "Patterns by Clotilde"

Chicago Tribune, Sunday, May 23, 1920, p. 76.

Clotilde also offers some detailed instructions for making a lining for the yoke to make it stronger. This is more detail than is given on the Sears pattern envelope, a shrewd strategy for giving readers a reason to purchase the Tribune over newspapers that simply listed the pattern and description.

At about the same time, the Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences cautions against making maternity wear that "serves to emphasize this condition because of the special, and perhaps unusual features it embodies."  The author goes on to recommend developing maternity wear "almost entirely from one kind of material, the contrast being provided merely by a collar..."  Lengthwise lines from shoulder to hem are recommended to help draw attention away from the widening mid section. 

The designer of this pattern seems to have had much of this advice in mind.  This is a thoughtful, practical design that isn't too much different from other apron dresses of the period.  Indeed, the 1916 article in the Buffalo Courier states that "...this maternity apron dress in general effect, differs in no way from a dress in the prevailing style for practical wear."  The box pleats front and back add needed girth.  The elbow length sleeves are ideal for a working garment, and the square neck and contrast trim are an economical, stylish touch. The 1920 pattern illustration does a good job of showing a contrasting button band that emphasizes length over girth.

Although the envelope is rough, the unprinted pattern pieces are in very good condition.

Happy Mothers' Day.

May Manton 6599 - Boy's Base Ball Suit

1910. This patterns seems to have been advertised in the newspapers only in 1910, but appeared in newspapers across the country, from St. Albans, Vermont to Butte, Montana.

The ad from Butte provides some nice details in the ad copy.

Note the padded pants, a feature that seems to have originated in the 1880s and disappeared around the first World War, as far as I can tell from looking at high school team photos of the period. (1)  The advertisement notes that "padded trousers mean smartness and correct costume quite as well as protection, and they are sure to be in demand."

The pull-over shirt is a pretty standard outing shirt design, with three sleeve options: long, short, and convertible. (We've seen these convertible sleeves before, with Pictorial Review 5969) According to the advertisement, the lower sleeves are removed when the game is in progress. 

The advertisement recommends serge, flannel, and khaki as appropriate materials.

Although the uniform could be made for team play, a baseball suit could simply be made for a baseball-mad boy, in his favorite team's colors.

Despite the ad copy's assertion that "There is really very little labor involved in the making of such a costume..." consider the amount of work involved in making this uniform: colored facings are sewn to the shirt; button holes must be worked (by hand) for the convertible sleeves, the shirt, and the fly front of the pants; the pants must have padding sewn into them; the cap is lined, and team insignia patches or appliques would be sewn on.

Could you buy boys' baseball uniforms? Indeed you could. In Wichita Kansas, F. G. Orr Book and Stationery Co. could set you up for as little as 98 cents.

The D. B. Loveman Company in Chattanooga, Tennessee put their boys' baseball suits on sale in August, with both the $1.00 and $1.25 suits going for only 69¢

Chattanooga (Tennessee) Daily Times, Friday, August 5, 1910, p. 10.

A few years later in 1912, Sears Roebuck offered stock uniforms for boys for $1.50 on p. 923 of their catalog.

Using the same 1912 catalog, the cost of the materials for making a uniform looks like this:

Item                                        Cost

May Manton Pattern 6599                     10¢

White wool flannel 27" wide @ 18¢/yd        95¢

Buttons from the 2¢ sale page                2¢

Spool of Clark's sewing thread*              4¢

TOTAL                                    $1.11  

* Sears sold thread by boxes of a dozen spools. Assume a single spool could be bought locally for about 4¢.

This excludes the padding for the pants, which could probably be made from odds and ends of quilt batting, and of course, the value of the time to sew the uniform.

And because I know you'll ask, here is what the cap pieces look like.

 

The three perforated crosses in the brim indicate where it's placed on the fold of the material.  It's interesting to see that the cap sections are shorter toward the fronts, which will give the cap a jaunty set. I've been told this is a "Boston" style cap, but it looks like it could also be a "New York" style. May Manton were based in New York City.

This pattern was available in sizes for 8 to 14 years. I wonder if an adult pattern was available that would fit older boys in high school as well as men playing in their local leagues.

"B C", I assume, very cleverly stands for "Ball Club,"  but wouldn't it have been fun if the illustrator had had the imagination to use "M M?"

(1) See the history of baseball uniform pants on the web site for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Originally posted on May 5, 2012. Updated on March 16, 2025.