Fashions for March 1810

Loretta reports:

Once again, we get one black & white and one color print, this time in La Belle Assemblée.  Umm, you might also note the derrière of the lady at the piano.  The dresses are not as clingy as many people think; that damped muslin thing seems to be a myth; and we're getting the distinct impression that a well-rounded rear end and very full thighs were viewed as hot.

~~~

FASHIONS

FOR

MARCH, 1810.

EXPLANATION OF THE PRINTS OF FASHION,

ENGLISH COSTUME.

No. 1—HYDE-PARK WALKING DRESS.

A pelisse of black Merino cloth or velvet, buttoned from the throat to the feet, made to fit tight to the shape with a band and crape, ornamented with a double row of gold braiding, or an oriental embossed silk trimming, worn; over a chemisette of French lawn. A Spanish hat and flat drooping ostrich feather tipped with orange. Half hoots of black or orange coloured Morocco, Angola muff lined with yellow; the hair lightly curled on the left side with a thick braid crossing the face. Earrings of gold, or amber. Gloves of York tan.

No. 2.—EVENING FULL DRESS.

A white satin round dress, with half yard train, laced up the back and seams with gold twist, ornamented round the neck with a full twill of frosted satin or white crape, and down the front and at the wrist with gold braiding, and small drop buttons. It is made to sit high on the neck; cut to a point in the centre of the bosom and back: a gold band encircles the waist. A white satin Emsdorf helmet trimmed with gold, ornamented with two white craped ostrich feathers. White satin shoes embroidered with gold; white kid gloves; gold necklace and ear-rings ; cornelian brooch. The hair dressed in ringlets on each side the face, with a long Theresa curl falling over the left shoulder.

No. 3.—SECOND FIGURE.

An India muslin train over a white satin petticoat. A boddice of green velvet, ornamented at the seams with gold braiding, and trimmed round the neck with a twill of green crape or velvet. A Spanish cap, with green craped ostrich feathers.
—La Belle Assemblée, Volume 1, 1810

NHG Library: "In the Words of Women"

Susan reporting:

March is officially Women's History Month. This has always seemed a mixed blessing: yes, it's wonderful to shine the limelight on women of the past, but why does half the world's population only merit one month's worth of attention out of twelve? Perhaps that's more apt then I want to admit, for often it does seem that men garner eleven times the ink in history books.

I've recently discovered a new book that will help tip the balance more fairly. In the Words of Women: The Revolutionary War & the Birth of a Nation 1765-1799 by Louise V. North, Janet M. Wedge, and Landa M. Freeman is a collection of the writings – including letters, diaries, poems, and journals – of dozens of women living in the turbulent era of the American Revolution. Whether addressing matters of daily life such as tending sick children and coaxing unhappy husbands, difficult questions of loyalty versus patriotism, or the shocking violence and loss of the war around them, the voices of these women, both patriots and loyalists, sound with astonishing clarity. This is one of those books that's a treat to read straight through, or to dip into a random, and I can't recommend it enough. For more from the book and about the authors, visit their website/blog here.

This passage from a letter from In the Words of Women shows how vulnerable women were to enemy forces. Eliza Yonge Wilkinson (1757-1813) of South Carolina was a young widow of twenty-three and a firm believer in the patriot cause. When British and American forces converged on Charleston, she took refuge in her sister's nearby plantation house, but on June 3, 1780, the house was ransacked by British troops:

    I heard the horses of the inhuman Britons coming in such a furious manner, that they seemed to tear up the earth, and the riders at the same time bellowing out the most horrid curses imaginable; oaths and imprecations which chilled my whole frame....I'd no time for thought – they were up to the house – entered with drawn swords and pistols in their hands; indeed, they rushed in, in the most furious manner, crying out, "Where're these women rebels?" (pretty language to ladies from the once famed Britons!)....The moment they espied us, off went our caps (I always heard say none but women pulled caps!) And for what, think you? why, only to get a paltry stone and wax pin, which kept [the caps] on our heads; at the same time uttering the most abusive language imaginable, and making as if they'd hew us to pieces with their swords. But it's not in my power to describe the scene: it was terrible to the last degree; and what augmented it, they had several armed negroes with them, who threatened and abused us greatly They then began to plunder the house of every thing they thought valuable or worth taking; our trunks were split to pieces, and each mean wretch crammed his bosom with the contents, which were our apparel. &c. &c. &c.
    I ventured to speak to the inhuman monster who had my clothes. I represented to him the times were such we could not replace what they'd taken from us, and begged him to spare me only a suit or two; but I got nothing but a hearty curse for my pains; nay, so far was his callous heart from relenting, that, casting his eyes towards my shoes, "I want them buckles," said he, and immediately knelt at my feet to take them out, which, while he was busy about, a brother villain, whose enormous mouth extended from ear to ear, bawled out "Shares there, I say; share." So they divided my buckles between them. The other wretches were employed in the same manner....They took care to tell us, when they were going away, that they had favored us a great deal – that we might thank our stars it was no worse.

The detail of the painting, above, by John Singleton Copley, does not directly illustrate Eliza's letter (rather it shows a scene from the 1781 Battle of Jersey between British and French forces) – but it does convey the terror that faced women and children caught in the path of 18th c warfare.

Above: Detail from The Death of Major Peirson, 6 January 1781 by John Singleton Copley, 1783, Tate Collection.
In accordance with some FTC rule or another (which probably doesn't apply to Loretta and me because we're writers, not reviewers, but better safe than sorry), I received a copy of In the Words of Women as a gift from the authors.

Breakfast Links: Week of February 27, 2012

Served up fresh: our weekly offering of Breakfast Links! Our favorite links to other blogs, web sites, pictures, and articles collected for you from around the Twitterverse.

• Eclipse, born 1st April 1764, died 26th February 1789 - perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time. http://bit.ly/xyshEI

• Growing your own buildings: a 1,500 yr old yew tree with three benches tucked inside - Herefordshire: http://bit.ly/Atzrbd

• The ultimate family feud -- Astor vs. Astor. http://bit.ly/zw9GKq

• Forget Oscars gowns. Pink striped silk ballgown with beautiful sleeves, hem detail c 1820 http://bit.ly/zeJXvV

• The Ghent Altarpiece in ultra-high-resolution. Incredible detail. Zoom in & keep zooming! http://ow.ly/9jqNG

• Excellent slide show: Lover’s Eyes : How Eye Miniatures Became the Mood Rings of the Late 1700s http://vnty.fr/y2XIZG

• The Great Dublin Exhibition of Art & Industry,1851: http://bit.ly/AjSY6B

• Teenage girls of 1940s America: http://bit.ly/xgNEBU

• The art of dry-cleaning in Paris in 1848: http://bit.ly/xK9SWN

• Pastel bowties, too. Are these London's most interesting underpants? http://bit.ly/zmNVnj

• This painting of an 18^th c couple in their library holds up a mirror to our own ideals of the civilised life: http://bit.ly/A4amYn

• 10 rules of the anti-flirt club of the early 1920s http://j.mp/yQVtbD

• Turn-Of-The-Century Gym Clothes http://bit.ly/z1nC9x

• Charlotte Brontë's lost short story to be published http://gu.com/p/35z47/tw

• Re-imagining Elizabethan London http://bit.ly/A9K6Ho

• "Bloomers" take advantage of Leap Year, 1862: http://bit.ly/y7SgVz

• Dickens at work as a boy in the Blacking Factory http://bit.ly/xr7EWO

• Knowing the weather at sea by the look of the moon, 17th century style http://bit.ly/wN3I9O

• Sir John Soane's Other Regency-Era House http://wp.me/p13rlt-1qY Pitzhanger Manor, Ealing. 

• Debauchery at the Bartholomew Fair http://bit.ly/z8Uc7Q

• An impressively detailed new microsite on the history of Titanic http://bit.ly/xZvCzj

• Undecorated: Heroines of the Civil War http://fb.me/1ExVhPeAy

• An heir & a spare but no love there - Queen Anne of Austria & Spain 1601–1666 - http://bit.ly/A8TAmY

• Amazing 1945 silk dinner-dress by Mainbocher that's straight out of the 1830s: http://bit.ly/wlVP3m

Friday Video: History of English in brief

Loretta reports:

Some of us have short attention spans and some do not.  Either species will, I think, enjoy this piece—and probably learn some things.  I did!

Readers who receive our blog via email might see only a black rectangle or empty square where the video ought to be.  To watch the video, please click on this link to the  Two Nerdy History Girls blog.

Painting & Stitching 'Caliope & Clio' as a Schoolgirl Accomplishment, c 1810

Susan reporting:

By the end of the 18th c, American young ladies who lived along the new republic's eastern seaboard were eager to demonstrate both their patriotism and their artistic skills in pieces like the one above. Every city boasted schools or academies run by respectable widows for the education of well-bred girls. The quality of the education varied greatly, with schools often placing more emphasis on genteel accomplishments like needlework, music, dancing, and general deportment than on academic subjects. This was perfectly agreeable to the pupils and their parents, and representative of a rising middle class with greater aspirations to gentility than academic achievement. (Click on the image to enlarge for details.)

Caliope & Clio, above, is a charming example of the work produced by these schoolgirls.  The design was commercially prepared by a professional artist, and transferred to the linen background. Sarah Skinner Ward (1796-1844), an adolescent student at Miss Maltby's School in Philadelphia, painted over the design with tempera paints and embellished it further with silk thread embroidery. The scene shows Clio, the muse of history, and Caliope, muse of epic poetry, creating tributes to national hero George Washington, and the composition neatly combining fashionable neo-classical elements with American patriotism. No doubt Miss Ward's parents were proud to frame and hang their daughter's work in their parlor.

Caliope & Clio is also an excellent example of how adaptable artists had to be to survive in 18th c America. The original painting was the work of artist Samuel Folwell (1763-1813). Folwell's professional services were diverse indeed: he advertised himself as as an engraver, miniature and fancy painter, hair worker, and teacher of drawing and painting "upon Sattin, Ivory or Paper." An engraving of Caliope & Clio also appeared in the 1810 Philadelphia Repertory, a popular journal "devoted to literature and useful intelligence" – which doubtless also impressed Miss Ward's parents.  (See here for another example of Folwell's design worked by a schoolgirl.)

This picture was featured in With Cunning Needle: Four Centuries of Embroidery, a recent exhibition held at Winterthur Museum. Although the exhibition is now closed, the gallery guide is still available on-line as a gorgeous, free PDF file here.

Above: Caliope & Clio, designed & painted by Samuel Folwell, and worked by Sarah Skinner Ward, Philadelphia, PA 1810-13. From the collection of Winterthur Museum, Garden, & Library.