The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women's Lives, 1660-1900

A New York Times Best Art Book of 2019

"A riveting book . . . few stones are left unturned."--Roberta Smith's "Top Art Books of 2019," The New York Times

This fascinating and enlightening study of the tie-on pocket combines materiality and gender to provide new insight into the social history of women's everyday lives--from duchesses and country gentry to prostitutes and washerwomen--and to explore their consumption practices, sociability, mobility, privacy, and identity. A wealth of evidence reveals unexpected facets of the past, bringing women's stories into intimate focus.

"What particularly interests Burman and Fennetaux is the way in which women of all classes have historically used these tie-on pockets as a supplementary body part to help them negotiate their way through a world that was not built to suit them."--Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian

"A brilliant book."--Ulinka Rublack, Times Literary Supplement

Author: Barbara Burman, Ariane Fennetaux
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 07/28/2020
Pages: 264
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.90w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9780300253740
ISBN10: 0300253745
BISAC Categories:
- Design | Fashion & Accessories
- Design | History & Criticism
- Social Science | Women's Studies

About the Author
Barbara Burman is an independent scholar, and Ariane Fennetaux is associate professor of eighteenth-century history at the Université de Paris.