In a prevailingly digital culture, it can be refreshing to look back on the tangible, physical aspects of life that speak so much about a given age. Journey back to the days of the Great War and see several World War I-era military uniforms up close during “Wearing WWI: A Conversation with Lucas Clawson” from 11 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Oct. 21, at Old College on the University of Delaware’s Newark campus.

Lucas R. Clawson, reference archivist and Hagley historian for Hagley Museum and Library, will lead a discussion into how these uniforms were made and worn in their time. As owner of the uniforms, he will also explain what it’s like to wear them today, highlighting surprising or discernable differences, such as whether they are lighter or heavier fabrics, more or less constricting — and why.

This event is in conjunction with the “Fashion on All Fronts: Stories from the Wardrobe, 1914-1918” exhibition on display in the University of Delaware's Old College Gallery through Dec. 8. The exhibition showcases World War I, the innovations it brought to life and the lifestyle of the period, both on the frontlines and on the home front, through collections of WWI-era garments and uniforms from the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection in UD’s Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies and generous private lenders.

The uniforms featured in this event are in addition to what is on view in the exhibition. During the event, participants will be able to view and handle several different varieties of uniforms, including:

• An Army National Guard enlisted man’s cotton uniform as would have been worn during Border Service in 1916-17 and mobilization for service in France in 1917-18;
• An Army enlisted man’s uniform as used in France in 1918
• A U.S. Navy enlisted man’s uniform from 1917-18; and
• A U.S. Navy Warrant Officer uniform from 1917-18.

The event is open to University of Delaware students, staff, faculty and the public. Those who would like to attend may register here. Participants will meet in the main lobby of Old College for the program to begin.

In his position at Hagley Museum and Library, Clawson is responsible for researching, writing and giving public talks about the DuPont Co. and American business. He also researches the American military during WWI (1914-1918), and participates in public interpretive programming on the war for local museums, state parks and the National Park Service.

Special Collections and Museums

Special Collections and Museums is part of the University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press. An interdisciplinary collection of rare and unique materials can be accessed for study and research, and is also featured in exhibitions in the Special Collections Gallery in Morris Library, Old College Gallery, Mechanical Hall Gallery and the Mineralogical Museum in Penny Hall. All Special Collections and Museums events and exhibitions are free and open to the public.

The collection has particular strengths in the subjects of history and Delawareana; science and technology; art and literature; primary source material such as political papers and ships’ logs; American art of the 20th century, especially prints, photographs and work by African American artists; European prints; Inuit art; Pre-Columbian art; and minerals. In addition, the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, gifted to UD in 2016, strengthens the collection’s focus on British literature of the 19th and early 20th centuries.