Althea Unthank Harmon's Wedding Gown

Item

Type
Clothing, Dress
Title
Althea Unthank Harmon's Wedding Gown
Rationale
Highlights African American family life and marital practices in Delaware.
Description
Althea Unthank Harmon (1928-present) wore this machine-stitched, one-piece, white-eyelet cotton, A-line skirt wedding dress on her June 20, 1948, wedding to Joseph Harmon Jr. (1927-2019) in New Castle County, Delaware.

Both Althea and Joseph played active roles in Delaware's African American community. Joseph served as board president of his local chapter of the NAACP, and Althea's experiences growing up in New Castle County feature in the 2001 book "Growing Up Black in New Castle County."
Date
1948
1940s
Place
New Castle County, Delaware
Subject
Althea Unthank Harmon
Rebecca Bungy Coga
Joseph Harmon Jr.
Weddings
Clothing
Creator
Rebecca Bungy Coga
Extent
Physical: (w) 16 in. x (l) 46 in.
Details: overall greatest length; width at shoulders; 24 in. waist
Digital: 210 x 211 px
Medium
Cotton
Provenance
The gown's donor noted that the dress was made for Althea Unthank Harmon by Rebecca Bungy Coga of New Castle after a dress ​featured in a 1948 issue of "Seventeen Magazine."
Publisher
Delaware Historical Society
Rights
The copyright and related rights status of this Item has not been evaluated. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information.
References
Jeanne D. Nutter, Growing Up Black in New Castle County (Arcadia Publishing, 2001).