archival photo of a 19th-century maternity gown
This is a rare family portrait that shows a 19th-century maternity gown. It's c. 1892, "Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Crane with Clare and Elsie." Clare is the little boy, in skirts as was customary until the boy's "breeching." The topic of steampunk maternity dresses has come up on this community, so I thought you might be interested to see how the Victorians managed. The dress is quite lovely, with simple pleats above the breast and a corded belt tied around the waist to accomodate the expanding belly. It's very unusual for pregnancy to be visible in historic photos; this lady is evidently not showing too much, but even so, 19th-century portraits of pregnant women are quite scarce. Perhaps the husband was about to depart on a long and perilous voyage, or was reporting for military service, and they wanted to have a portrait before he left, or maybe they were just a progressive-minded family, but in any case, it's a lovely image of a topic that was not much discussed even at the close of the century.