The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women's Lives, Book

The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women's Lives, 1660–1900 by Barbara Burman

“What particularly interests Burman and Fennetaux is the way in which women of all classes have historically used these tie-on pockets as a supplementary body part to help them negotiate their way through a world that was not built to suit them.”—Kathryn Hughes, Guardian

"Riveting."—Roberta Smith, New York Times "Best Art Books of 2019"

These are just some of the fascinating things carried by women and girls in their tie-on pockets, an essential accessory throughout the 18th and 19th centuries:

• Pencils
• A sketchbook
• Cake
• Yards of stolen ribbon
• Thimbles
• Snuff boxes
• A picture of a lover
• Two live ducks

This first book-length study of the tie-on pocket combines materiality and gender to provide new insight into the social history of women’s everyday lives—from duchesses and country gentry to prostitutes and washerwomen.