The following is a guest post by Zoe Harrison, a Librarian-in-Residence in the Serial and Government Publications Division.
If you were to browse Chronicling America* around the turn of the 20th century, you might notice the name May Manton appearing in countless issues. For women of the late 19th and early 20th century, May Manton offered astute fashion commentary and easily accessible patterns to create their own fashionable garments. Readers in New Jersey might learn of the Misses’ Cape or the Ripple Basque-waisted dress, styles seen as becoming for late 19th-century women. South Carolina women perhaps preferred the slighter ripple of the Jacket Basque and women of Wisconsin might have enjoyed sewing patterns for outdoor gowns made of cotton and grass cloth that were appropriate for their warm and humid summer climates.
May Manton was the nom de plume of Jessie Swirles Bladworth, a Scottish woman who later immigrated to the United States. Bladworth and her husband, George, were well-connected within the fashion world, as both worked closely with James McCall and his fashion publications. Historian Mary Ellen Zuckerman states that after James McCall passed away in 1884, his wife, Laura Sophia Ford, assumed ownership of the McCall company and named Jessie Bladworth to the editorial seat of their fashion sheet. Bladworth helped to expand the McCall sheet beyond just fashion by including articles about handiwork and homemaking advice. Bladworth eventually left the McCall organization and soon after, the May Manton fashion editorials and sewing patterns more frequently appeared in the pages of most U.S. newspapers.
In 1904, Bladworth trademarked “May Manton,” further cementing her brand in the fashion world of the early 20th century. May Manton offered practical, efficient, and fashionable patterns available through mail-order, and many patterns were often intricately described in the newspapers to better direct sewists. In the 1910s, Bladworth published many columns with titles like “Fashion Talks with May Manton” or “Daily Fashion Talks” where she described evolving needs and changes in fashion. These columns appeared in many newspapers throughout the U.S. like the Gazette Times of Heppner, Oregon, the Pine Bluff Daily Graphic of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, the Arizona Republican of Phoenix, Arizona, and the Guthrie Daily Leader of Guthrie, Oklahoma.
In the May 21st, 1914 issue of the Gazette Times, Manton discussed the various options for women’s sleepwear. She described the varying designs available, such as simple, light gowns and thick warm pajamas. While describing the benefits of each of her designs, she wrote with great care about the potential for different fabrics when constructing sleepwear. In the January 11th, 1916 issue of the Pine Bluff Daily Graphic, Manton presented readers with a “practical and serviceable” coat that offered flare with no undesired bulk.
The multi-state publication of May Manton fashion editorials demonstrates a widespread appeal for her designs that offered sewists simple, affordable patterns for women and children. Her nearly 25-year career in producing sewing patterns and fashion columns for American sewists is a remarkable and fascinating find within our historic digitized newspaper collection.
*The Chronicling America collection is a product of the National Digital Newspaper Program and jointly sponsored by the Library and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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