Umbrellas, Parasols, and Gloves, Oh My!
Speaking of "Old Times" from an old time, 1849.
[Image: Jonas Hanway controversially walking into the rain with his umbrella in mid-18th century, England. Bettmann/Getty Images.]
The Sunbury American published on September 1, 1849, this short piece describing an older time in America:
OLD TIMES.—Umbrellas were introduced by British officers into this country about the time of the revolutionary war. Parasols were then unknown. As a defense from rain, men then wore “rain coats,” and women “camblets.” Gloves were introduced about the year 1755. There were very few carpets before the revolution on the floors; when first introduced, they covered the floor outside of the chairs around the rooms.1
The origin of the umbrella is debated by historians, but it is known that this object existed in ancient times from Egypt to China. The question is, did the East introduce it to the West, or vice versa? Umbrellas were used to produce shade (parasols) from the sun, to offer protection from the rain, and as a religious symbol in some cases. Individuals of royal and higher status often had these umbrellas held over them to provide shade on sunny days by their servants. So, considering that umbrellas were known about and used by people since ancient times, how were they not introduced to America before the Revolutionary War (1775-1783)? Was this blurb printed in 1849 correct?
No, not at least according the book, A History of the Umbrella, written by T.S. Crawford. In 1738, thirty-seven years before the Revolutionary War, Crawford writes:
“Quaker Edward Shippen had a…umbrella imported into Philadelphia aboard the Constantine, and, two years later, a belle in Windsor, Connecticut, who carried an umbrella imported from the West Indies, was mockingly emulated by her neighbors, who balanced sieves on broom handles!”2
Decades later in 1768, advertisements for custom made umbrellas by Isaac Greenwood, Turner, were published in Bostonian newspapers.3 So, the umbrella definitely came to America several decades before the War for Independence.
Considering the history and age of gloves, it is also a good bet that gloves came to American before 1755, too. It would be interesting to know where the information published in the Sunbury American came from in 1849. Plus, what prompted them to publish this information in the first place?
Sunbury American, “Old Times,” Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. Of Congress, September 1, 1849, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026403/1849-09-01/ed-1/seq-2/.
T. S. Crawford, A History of the Umbrella, Internet Archive (New York: Taplinger Pub. Co, 1970), 119, https://archive.org/details/historyofumbrell00craw/page/118/mode/2up.
Ibid.