I attended the Paris Exposition of 1878, also the Centennial at
Philadelphia, 1876; spent much time at the Columbian World's
Fair in Chicago, and possess a diploma and gold medal for my
artistic needlework exhibited at the Columbian Exposition.
Miss Margaret Summers, of Louisville, Ky., was also a juror in the above-combined groups 58 and 59, and writes:
In group 59 the costumes made by men were about twice as many as those made by women, though the handsomest of the exhibits was the work of a woman, Caroline, of Chicago.
All the work done by women showed a great improvement over that exhibited at the Chicago Exposition, not only in the cut and design, but in the artistic finish and the care given to every detail.
The hand work was a special feature of all the garments for women in the lingerie, gowns, and manteaux.
The most intricate designs were executed in a manner betokening the true artist, and none but those educated in the art of combining colors and in designing could have obtained the results seen at St. Louis.
The tendency in all garments for women, however, was toward the ornate rather than the simple, and with but few exceptions every gown, every wrap, and all the lingerie was most elaborate. But the hand of the true artist was shown in these garments in that they were beautiful and in good taste in spite of their elaborateness.
It would have been advantageous if the women's work had been arranged separate from the men's, because they would have attracted more attention as a woman's exhibit per se and would therefore have called greater attention to the progress women have made in these lines. In other words, the separate exhibit would have served better for a comparative study of woman's advancement in the past ten years.
There was a greater variety of woman's work than was shown at the Chicago Exposition, and that in itself showed an advancement. The greater scope gave evidence of a broadening influence, and the women showed themselves proficient in all they undertook.
As compared with the work of men, I should say that the women's exhibit had every right to be placed side by side with the men's, just as was done.