Stockings from a costume worn in the play The Corn is Green: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Black cotton stockings, part of a costume worn by actress Gwyneth Hughes in the original Broadway production of the play The Corn is Green. According to the donor, Hughes' daughter, the stockings were part of a "Welsh national costume" owned by Hughes, who was cast as Sarah Pugh in the play and the 1945 film adaptation. Hughes was born in Pontardawe, Wales in 1889 and first wore this costume to sing at a town hall dedication in her hometown in 1906.

The Corn is Green is a semi-autobiographical play written by Emlyn Williams which follows the story of L.C. Moffat, a strong-willed English school teacher who fights to educate the children in a working-class Welsh coal mining town in the 19th century. The play premiered on Broadway at the National Theater in November 1940, starred Ethel Barrymore as Moffat, and ran for 477 performances. The 1945 film adaptation starred Bette Davis and was a box office and critical success, garnering two Academy Award nominations.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1906
• Object Name: Stockings
• Object Type: stockings
• Physical Description: cotton (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 28 in x 10 in x 8 1/2 in; 71.12 cm x 25.4 cm x 21.59 cm
• place made: United Kingdom: Galles, Pontardawe
• place worn: United States: New York, New York City
• general subject association: Costume
• general subject association: Theater
• ID Number: 1980.0485.01
• accession number: 1980.0485
• catalog number: 1980.0485.01
• catalog number: 1980.0485.01
• Credit Line: Margaret C. Brady
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.