Wristwatches weren’t invented until World War I, so men’s watches sat precariously loose in men’s pockets before then. In the eighteenth century, watch fobs, chains that hooked into a buttonhole on a man’s waistcoat, kept watches from falling out of their pockets.
Puffy sleeves appear and disappear in women’s fashion throughout history, but the ridiculously puffed sleeves on this doll were unique to the 1890’s. Sleeves of these enormous proportions required a structure underneath, usually of muslin with boning.
The banner refers to President Harrison’s proclamation that Americans should commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day on October 12, 1892.