A rare blue silk damask maternity gown, late 1840s-

A rare blue silk damask maternity gown, late 1840s-early 1850s, the bodice with two openings over the breasts concealed within the fan-pleating with hook and eye fasteners to the inner cotton lining, full, round skirt, the fabric woven with lily of the valley and foliate lattice, (2)

Bodice has been let out over the side seamswaistband has been let out, half a dozen golden brown spotted stains to the skirt, faint golden stain to right side of skirt front but not immediately noticeable as shown in the illustration. The pleats of the front of the bodice were altered and sewn down once, presumably once the need for breast-feeding finished, but the cotton inner lining still has the hook-fastened openings over each breast