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Image Source: Sara Rivers Cofield via The New York Times
About a decade ago, Sara Rivers Cofield, archaeologist and antique fashion collector, found a “textbook” silk bustle dress from the 1800s at an antique mall in Maine, according to The New York Times. The dress was in good condition, and Cofield bought it for $100. At the time, Cofield had no idea that the dress contained a secret pocket with a note inside.
Eventually, Cofield discovered the pocket and note, which read, “Bismark Omit leafage buck bank/Paul Ramify loamy event false new event.” Cofield said she did not know what the note meant. She shared details about her discovery in a blog post published in 2014.
It was only recently that Cofield found out the meaning behind the hidden message—thanks to the efforts of Wayne Chan, a data analyst at the University of Manitoba.
Chan started his work on cracking the code in 2018 but gave up after a few months. In 2022, Chan revisited the code and reviewed over 150 telegraphic code books.
In one book, Chan found details about signals used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The book included examples similar to the note found in the dress. This discovery helped Chan decode the note.
Chan found that the note contained codes used to telegraph condensed weather observations. These codes were used at weather stations in the United States and Canada in 1888.
Each coded message featured a station location, along with code words for temperature and pressure, dew point, precipitation and wind direction, cloud observations, wind velocity, and sunset observations, Chan indicated. Based on the information included on the note found in the dress’s secret pocket, the observation was taken from a weather station on May 27, 1888.
Even though Chan was able to decode the note, there are still many unanswered questions about the dress. It remains unclear who originally owned the dress, why the garment contained a secret pocket, and why a note with weather codes was placed inside a very hidden pocket.
Those who want to view recently sold antique dresses from the 1800s can see thousands of items in the WorthPoint Price Guide.
Dan Kobialka is a self-employed content writer and editor with about a decade of experience. He produces content across a wide range of industries, including antiques, insurance, and real estate. To learn more about Dan, please visit his website.
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