Cecil Willett Cunnington

Cecil Willett Cunnington (22 November 1878 – 21 January 1961) was an English medical doctor and collector, writer and historian on costume and fashion. When he died The Times called him the Leading Authority on English Costume. He and his wife Phillis Emily Cunnington (1887–1974) worked together not only in their medical practice but also on their collection and writing. In 1947 the Cunningtons' extensive costume collection was acquired by the Manchester City Art Gallery and the Gallery of Costume at Platt Hall was opened.

Early life Cunnington was born in 1878 in Devizes, Wiltshire, the son of Annette Wright née Leach (1848–1919) and Henry Alfred Cunnington (1850–1879), a wine merchant, and was educated at Clifton College and Cambridge. He later moved to St Bartholomew's Hospital to train as a Physician.

War and marriage During World War I Cunnington served as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He also suggested that he would donate his collection to the nation if such a museum was established, if a museum was not established he would offer his collection for sale as he wanted it to remain together rather than being, as he said, "scattered here and there in existing museums". The collection was said to contain over 900 dresses, 650 hats or bonnets, 550 items of underclothing, 100 pairs of shoes, 90 shawls, 100 parasols and 350 examples of ribbons.

In 1945 Lawrence Haward, the director of the Manchester City Art Gallery, launched a campaign to raise funds for the purchase of the Cunnigtons' extensive collection. In 1947 the collection was acquired and the Gallery of Costume at Platt Hall was opened. Cunnington served as an honorary advisor to the collection.

Selected publications Cunnington, Cecil Willett, (1935) Fashion and Women's Attitudes in the Nineteenth Century, London: W. Heinemann ltd. Cunnington, Cecil Willett. (1937) English women's clothing in the nineteenth century, Courier Dover Publications. Cunnington, C. Willett. (1941) Why women wear clothes, Faber and Faber. Cunnington, C. Willett. (1948) The perfect lady, M. Parrish. Cunnington, C. W., & Cunnington, P. (1951) The history of underclothes. Courier Dover Publications. Cunnington, C. Willett, and Phillis Cunnington. (1952) Handbook of English mediaeval costume. London: Faber and Faber. Cunnington, Cecil Willett. (1954) Handbook of English costume in the sixteenth century. London: Faber & Faber. Cunnington, Cecil Willet, and Phillis Cunnington. (1963) Handbook of English costume in the seventeenth century. London: Faber. Cunnington, C. Willett, and Phillis Cunnington. (1966) Handbook of English costume in the nineteenth century, Faber & Faber.