Sock

[Matthew Semple]

Attached is an image of a sock I have in my collection that was recovered from the 2006 interior restoration of the Preston Family home in Rockingham County, Virginia.

The home is one of the oldest homes in Rockingham County and had last been remodeled by the Preston family 1840-1850. During that remodeling the family had new plaster walls put up. In 2006 those walls were being removed and replaced due to significant issues with crumbling plaster and cracks. A friend helping with the restoration found this sock which had fallen or had been placed behind the plaster in the 1840's. It had resided there behind the sealed walls until the 2006 restoration of the interior of the home.

For your viewing pleasure.

[fahtz]

Re: Sock

Looks to me like someone threw their Mickey Black sock behind the wall in the 1840's... Seriously it looks IDENTICAL to the Mickey Black socks I have, although thsat one might be in better shape than any of my cotton socks!

[Hank Trent]

Re: Sock

So that's where lost socks went before dryers were invented!

Looks to me like someone threw their Mickey Black sock behind the wall in the 1840's... Seriously it looks IDENTICAL to the Mickey Black socks I have, although thsat one might be in better shape than any of my cotton socks!

It doesn't look like the old Mickey Black socks I used to wear, though I wish it did. Or I should say, I wish his socks looked like it. Has he changed to a more accurate heel now? When I brought a pair and then talked to him several years ago, he was using an undocumented short row heel. Even he couldn't give me evidence it was period, and I've found no evidence since.

As far as I can tell, the sock in the photo has a typical heel of the period.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[fahtz]

Re: Sock

Hank,
Now that you mention it (and after digging like a dog in the yard for the socks in the old stuff bin) The heels are different.

[Citizen_Soldier]

Re: Sock

Greetings,
I infer that the sock may have been used as a rag at one time and was left during construction in a wall space. I've found similar construction related debris in historic structure wall/crawl spaces such as broken tools, bent nails, glass shards, and scraps of wood with measurements written on them.

It may also have been drug into the wall by a rodent for bedding. I've done some preservation carpentry work on historic buildings where we've encountered small amounts of various foreign material brought into wall spaces such as corn cobs, textile remnants, pieces of batting, bits of paper, and etc.

Darrek Orwig

[Matthew Semple]

Re: Sock

I had originally thought that it might have been used as a rag that was carelessly dropped or purposely left behind. It was the only manmade thing found behind the walls.

The sock did have much more straw that was sticking through it. Upon closer inspection the holes on the heel and bottom of the sock could possibly be chew marks. Unfortunately the age and condition of the sock do not immediately reveal a definite answer. The rodent theory could explain the straw and the holes.

[KarinTimour]

Re: Sock

Mr. Semple:

Thank you for posting this! As Hank has pointed out, it does have the remains of a gussetted heel.

Noting that the sock was cut off roughly at the ankle, I'd like to posit another theory of what we're looking at. In our time period (and definately before), when a sock got holes, it was darned and darned until it couldn't be darned any further. Often the leg of the sock was perfectly fine and had years of wear on it. The sock foot would be cut off at the point of the ankle, and the sock leg would be put back on the knitting needles. A new foot was then knit on the old leg. They called this a "footing." In fact the Shakers got up quite a cottage industry in doing "footings" -- at Pleasant Hill in Kentucky they have many notations in their ledgers of how many "footings" were done in a particular week. Just as my father took his best Florsheims in to the shoe repair every so often to get half-soled, in our time period people would take their sock legs over to the Shakers and get them re-footed.

Being a child of the "disposable" 20th century myself, I assumed that the cut-off feet would just be thrown out. But I bet they got added to the rag-bag or were used in cleaning. And I strongly suspect that this is what we're looking at here -- though certainly the existing damage could have been added to by being a rodent's nest for some years as well.

My two cents,
Karin Timour
Period Knitting -- Socks, Sleeping Hats, Balaclavas
Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.com

[lukegilly13]

Re: Sock

Is there any sign of staining on the sock that would not have been obtained by everyday sock wear? My guess would be that if it were used for cleaning that you would see some chemical staining (such as discoloration from being used to polish/shine wood floors, etc). I'm not up to date on cleaning solutions etc of the period however...but I would think there would be evidence of it on the rag as I wouldn't think someone would be wiping their face with it using it as a sweat rag/towel. Since it was behind a plaster wall, I would think that you would find bits of plaster in the fabric and the rag might even have become stiff and/or brittle due to the hardening of plaster remnance...if say the worker was wiping his hands on the rag while working. Just my early morning thought process...

After looking at the sock more carefully, I think you can see remnance of the plaster(grayish streaky discoloration)...maybe the carpenter was wiping the wall as it dried...maybe some grease or oil staining (smaller blackish stain) and some possible discoloration from chemical (looking at the brownish discolorations). I think it was both...left behind on purpose after being used as a rag...and then a small rodent made a meal and a bed from it.

[Matthew Semple]

Re: Sock

Many great things have been mentioned and questions have been asked in posts for this thread. Thank you to all who have contributed. This weekend when I have some spare time (the US Navy has been keeping me busy here with training), I will take a few hours to examine the sock in detail to hopefully answer the questions that have been asked.