Clothing, Dress

Althea Unthank Harmon's Wedding Gown

Highlights African American family life and marital practices in Delaware.

Althea Unthank Harmon (1928-present) wore this machine-stitched, one-piece, white-eyelet cotton, A-line skirt wedding dress on her June 20, 1948, wedding to Joseph Harmon Jr. (1927-2019) in New Castle County, Delaware.

Both Althea and Joseph played active roles in Delaware's African American community. Joseph served as board president of his local chapter of the NAACP, and Althea's experiences growing up in New Castle County feature in the 2001 book "Growing Up Black in New Castle County."

1948

1940s

New Castle County, Delaware

Althea Unthank Harmon
Rebecca Bungy Coga
Joseph Harmon Jr.
Weddings
Clothing

Rebecca Bungy Coga

Physical: (w) 16 in. x (l) 46 in.
Details: overall greatest length; width at shoulders; 24 in. waist

Digital: 210 x 211 px

Cotton

The gown's donor noted that the dress was made for Althea Unthank Harmon by Rebecca Bungy Coga of New Castle after a dress ​featured in a 1948 issue of "Seventeen Magazine."

Delaware Historical Society

https://dehistory.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/A57C0C62-989D-4C63-99B9-738327239363

The copyright and related rights status of this Item has not been evaluated. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information.

Jeanne D. Nutter, Growing Up Black in New Castle County (Arcadia Publishing, 2001).

Artifacts of Family Life