Mary Johnson Sessions' Ball Gown

Basic details

Mary Johnson Sessions' Ball Gown is an artifact, with genre dresses.

It was created sometime in 1870.

Worthington Historical Society is the contributor.

You can find the original at Worthington Historical Society.

Background

Mary Johnson Sessions wore this lavender silk organza ball gown to her summer ball, organized to view her night-blooming cereus. The silk is scattered with embroidered flower bouquets. The bustle, a new fashion in the 1870's, is visible in the center. The dress would be worn over a bustle frame, a smaller and narrower version of the volumnious crinolines of the 1850's and 1860's.
Mary was the daughter of Achsa (Maynard) Johnson and Orange Johnson, an influential businessman in early Worthington. She married Francis Sessions, a successful dry goods merchant from Columbus, Ohio.

Subjects

It features the person Mary Sessions.

It covers the city Worthington.

Record details

This file was reformatted digital in the format video/jpeg.

The Worthington Memory identification code is whs0022.

This metadata record was human prepared by Worthington Libraries on November 13, 2001. It was last updated October 14, 2025.

Copyright

No Copyright - United States

Mary Johnson Sessions' Ball Gown from the collections of the Worthington Historical Society (WHS) may be used for educational purposes as long as it is not altered in any way and proper credit is given: "Courtesy of the Worthington Historical Society, Worthington, OH." Prior written permission of the WHS is required for any other use of Mary Johnson Sessions' Ball Gown. Contact WHS at info@worthingtonhistory.org to request permission.