The journals of the Ryan’s Merchant Premises contain a day-to-day record of what Bonavistans were purchasing from such a merchant store.
Among the fishing supplies, imported foods and general household wares sold by the Ryans at the store are copious amounts of fabrics and notions, as well as ready-made clothing. The large movement of fabrics into the community reinforces the reliance on women’s domestic labour for outport clothing, but even so the ready-made market of maritime menswear was being felt even in rural Newfoundland as trousers, shirts, coats, and specialist gear like oil clothes were also sold in small numbers, in addition to the more typical market for ready-made stockings, footwear, and accessories.
Financial data from the years 1863, 1873, and 1883 shows the increasing amount of clothing and fabric available for purchase, the changing popularity of fabrics and cuts, and the fluctuating price of those items. Further, details about the use of fabrics and garments found in the MUNFLA forms for the Dictionary of Newfoundland English add additional context to these purchases and the particular clothing culture in outport Newfoundland.
Watch the Lecture at: The Culture of Garment Consumption, Production, and Use in Bonavista, Newfoundland, 1860-1880