This notice is from the Boston Evening Post of January 13, 1772:—
“Taken from Concert Hall on Thursday Evening a handsom Crimson Satin Capuchin trimmed with a rich white Blond Lace with a narrow Blond Lace on the upper edge Lined with White Sarsnet.”
In 1752 capuchins and cardinals were much worn, especially purple ones. The Connoisseur says all colors were neglected for purple. “In purple we glowed from hat to shoe. In such request were ribbons and silks of that famous color that neither milliner mercer nor dyer could meet the demand.”
The names “cardinal” and “capuchin” had been derived from monkish wear, and the cape, called a pelerine, had an allied derivation; it is said to be derived from pèlerin—meaning a pilgrim. It was a small cape with longer ends hanging in front; and was invented as a light, easily adjustable covering for the ladies’ necks, which had been left so widely and coldly bare by the low-cut French bodices. It is said that the garment was invented in France in 1671. I do not find the word in use in America till 1730. Then mantua-makers advertised that they would make them. Various materials were used, from soft silk and thin cloth to rich velvet; but silk pelerines were more common.
In 1743, in the Boston News Letter, Henrietta Maria East advertised that “Ladies may have their Pellerines made” at her mantua-making shop. In 1749 “pellerines” were advertised for sale in the Boston Gazette and a black velvet “pellerine” was lost.
In the quotation heading this chapter, manteel, pelerine, and neckatee precede the capuchin; but in fact the capuchin is as old as the pelerine. Beyond the fact that all mantua-makers made neckatees, and that they were a small cape, this garment cannot be described. It required much less stuff than either capuchin or cardinal. The “manteel” was, of course, as old as the cloak. Elijah “took his mantle and wrapped it together, and smote the waters.” In the Middle Ages the mantle was a great piece of cloth in any cloaklike shape, of which the upper corners were fastened at the neck. Often one of the front edges was thrown over one shoulder. In the varied forms of spelling and wearing, as manto, manteau, mantoon, mantelet, and mantilla the foundation is the same. We have noted the richness and elegance of Madam Symonds’s mantua. We could not forget the word and its signification while we have so important a use of it in mantua-maker.
Lady Caroline Montagu.
Dauphiness was the name of a certain style of mantle, which was most popular about 1750. Harriot Paine had “Dauphiness Mantles” for sale in Boston in 1755. A rude drawing in an old letter indicates that the “Dauphiness” had a deep point at the back, and was cut up high at the arm-hole. It was of thin silk, and was trimmed all around the lower edge with a deep, full frill of the silk, which at the arm-hole fell over the arm like a short sleeve.