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A250 – Fashion at the Library - Clothing as Currency with Dr. Laura EdwardsDate/Time: Friday, February 6, 2026, 2:30-3:30pm EST Zoom Registration Link: https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/8417660862848/WN_ttQKJBh7RDK6_AlEsx92Ng Join historians Laura F. Edwards, Princeton University and Ashley Rose Young, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, for a discussion of Edwards's book "Only the Clothes on her Back: Textiles, Law, and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century United States" and the Library collections associated with the importance of fashion in the founding of America. In the decades following the Revolution, textiles were not just necessities or desirable consumer goods; they also circulated as currency. That was particularly true for people who had difficulty acquiring property or credit. The federal system’s decentralized structure enabled that situation: lax financial regulation allowed textiles to circulate just like mediums of exchange that bore the imprimatur of states and the federal government. If anything, the people who used textiles as currency improved on the systems of exchange overseen by their government. Textiles stored value reliably. There was considerable consensus as to their value. They were extremely liquid. And they were attached to people through longstanding practices acknowledged in law. Through use, people turned textiles into banknotes—which is where textiles eventually ended up anyway, since banknotes were made of rags. Spinners, weavers, seamstresses, dressmakers, tailors, and even washerwomen were all, essentially, printing money. This event is part of a new initiative titled “Fashion at the Library: The Threads that Connect Us,” celebrating the American story through fashion and style and will explore the threads that connect all Americans to the Library of Congress collection through the stories we wear. NOTE TO PARTICIPANTS: Please request ADA accommodations at least five business days in advance by contacting (202) 707-6362 or ada@loc.gov. Click here for more information.
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