Betsy and Jerome Bonaparte and Fashion

Elizabeth (Betsy) Bonaparte, I love her as one of the early icons of fashion and as a brave American woman.  This summer Dean and I went down to Baltimore and at the Maryland Historical Society there was an exhibition dedicated to Betsy called "A Woman of Two Worlds," the Nomadic Life of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte.  There was a lot of silver, French porcelain, portraits and of course one of the muslin dresses worn by Betsy which she and her family kept as treasures.  The historical society also took care of a lot of her possessions when she traveled in Europe, and they inherited a lot of the Betsy legacy. 

So here is a picture of the muslin dress my friend Allie has created for the Keeler Museum in Ridgefield, where when they were travelling in New England in 1804 and stopped at the tavern for a meal.  They have dedicated a small room in their honor and I thought a muslin dress would be perfect as an accessory.  In the research I did I found a reference in "The Life and Letters of Madame Bonaparte" by Eugene L. Didier, that after they were married they went to Washington for a while which is when Gilbert Stuart made the famous oil sketches of them.  Next they traveled up through New England and were entertained in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Albany and elsewhere.  Then in April Napoleon made it clear that Jerome was to come back to France without his wife and if he did bring her she would not be allowed to land, if he comes alone he will forgive him the folly of his youth,  They were still in New York City that summer and then the newspapers report on July 9th that the couple departed for an extensive tour of the Eastern States and pursue the customary route to Niagara Falls which finished by August 20th, 1804.  Then they went back to Baltimore in the middle of autumn.  In 1805 they did sail for France in one of Mr. Patterson's own ships.

I know this was a long blog but it was a good year for me and Betsy, and we have dedicated one of the bedrooms to them (Lindsey's room as she is in England).

Reproduction of a dress Allie and I believe Betsy would love to wear.