1800-1870 ca. Stocking Purses, British. Beaded stocking purses crocheted in silk and steel beads, with steel rings with tassels and fringes. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.
Definition Miser or Long or Stocking or Ring Purses: Long, narrow, tubular shape, often wider at ends and narrow in middle, which had a short slit opening. Popular in England and France from the mid-18th century through the early 20th century.
From the Curator Victoria and Albert Museum, London: Stocking purses are also known as misers’ or wallet purses. The majority were netted, but some were knitted or crocheted, like this one. Once worked, the elongated tube was put on an expandable purse stretcher to shape it. It was then sewn up, leaving a central opening, and squeezed through a pair of rings known as sliders, which were used to secure and separate the different coins stored at either end. It could be carried in the hand, bag or pocket, or tucked over a belt. Many stocking purses were made as presents, and were thought a suitable object to give to a gentleman. Crochet is a type of needlework with an open, lacy appearance, which is formed with a hook and single length of thread making a series of loops, chains and knots. The technique developed out of ‘tambouring’, a type of embroidery, after the tambour hook began to be used to create series of loops, free from a ground fabric. This could then be used as a separate trimming, like lace, or made to form items like this purse. Crochet was thus added to the varieties of fancy needlework available to ladies, and instructions for making it can be found in manuals from the 1820s onwards.
1800-1870 ca. Beaded Stocking Purses, British #RegencyFashion #RomanticEra #HistoricFashion books2read.com/suziloveReticules
Richard, Earl of Winchester, groaned. Heaven save him, for lust had addled his wits. Contrarily, if he’d read similar thoughts on the face of any drooling young pup, he’d have leapt across the pews and planted him a facer. Embarrassed himself, and Lady Laura Jamison, with his possessiveness. The gossips would squeal with delight to see him break his own rules and behave like an obsessed suitor.
Far better that onlookers saw the relationship between him and Laura as sparring siblings because, in private, his indifference was becoming harder and harder to maintain. More so, when Laura studied him surreptitiously, or so she thought, and compared him to other men. When she recorded his suitability as her mate as part of her quest to ensure the survival of the human species. Blast the woman and her speculating eyes, because no matter how sexually innocent her assessments of his anatomy might be, his body leapt to readiness faster than any seasoned street walker lifted her skirts.
And damn his randy thoughts for creating so many pictures of them cavorting in his bed. In that arena, if nowhere else, he was certain their passionate natures would prove a perfect match. He clenched his fist at the thought of giving up something else. The intelligent and strong children their couplings would produce. Because if he had Laura’s body under him once, he’d be old and wizened before he tired of her.
The finger prodded her chest again. Gently yet insistently. But his voice softened. “And I, the man, and the duke, choose you. You, Lady Rebecca. Do you think I can’t decide for myself, for my family, for you and me, what’s best?”
“But that’s what I’ve always done. It’s always been up to me to work out the best plan for everyone and then make it happen.” “In the past, that’s what happened.”
“But even now, it’s up to me to keep everyone safe. You said yourself that neither my family, nor the society, could go on without my making these types of decisions. I’m always the one with the clear head. In time, you’ll see that I’m right to walk away from you when this is finished.”
“No, no. This isn’t finished by a long shot, sweetheart. There has to be some consolation in my life for taking on control of Julia and my brothers, for assuming the family titles and topping up our coffers.”
“I know how hard you’re working to succeed. But it’ll never work if you have someone like me in your life.” “I don’t want someone like you, Becca. I want you.” This time his kiss was tinged with desperation. “Answer me one thing.” Her eyes widened. “Do you love me, minx? Do I still hold your heart?”
“Stop! It’s unfair to ask me that. Leave, please, just leave.” Turning away, Becca wished him gone before he glimpsed the fat tears collecting in her eyes. It was crucial that she remain strong. Even if it broke her heart to do so.As he reached the door, Becca heard Cayle mutter, “I will have you, Rebecca Jamison. I will not stop until I find a way.” She didn’t know whether it made her happy, or if it simply terrified her.
1845 Woman’s Dress, Probably Made In England. Silk Taffeta and glazed linen plain weave. via Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, USA. collections.lacma.org
East and West India Docks London’s Historic Places
The East India Docks was a group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. In 1607, the East India Company decided to build its own ships and leased a yard in Deptford. In 1614 the East India Company ordered William Burrell to begin work on a bigger yard for repair, construction and loading of out-going ships. The site selected was at Blackwall, which was further down river and had deeper water, allowing laden ships to moor closer to the dock. During the early 17th century, the site was enlarged repeatedly. Later in the 17th century, the East India Company reverted to its practice of hiring vessels, although many owners who chartered their vessel to the East India Company had them built at Deptford and Blackwall.
Before 1800, the Thames river was overcrowded with ships. They carried cargoes of tea, china and cloth in their lower parts along with casks of water, salted meat, beer, wine and rum for their crews. Brandy, wine, and tobacco were also shipped and stored in the warehouses. In 1800, the London Dock Company was formed and the planned docks in Wapping went ahead in 1801. The first was the West India Dock. In 1806, the East India Company opened their own docks to the north-east of the West India Docks after deciding that the Brunswick Dock at Blackwall, where ships were fitted out, was unsuitable for storing cargo.
The Brunswick Dock, which had originally been connected directly to the Thames to the south, became the Export Dock. To the north the company built a larger 18-acre (7.3 ha) Import Dock. Both were connected to the Thames via an eastern entrance basin. The number of ships discharged in the docks rose from 354 in 1804, to 598 in 1808, and to 641 in 1810. In 1808, the warehouses were full, as blockades prevented the re-export of goods. The dock company calculated that the almost total prevention of theft made possible by the building of the docks was saving West India merchants almost £400,000, and the Exchequer about £150,000 each year. During the 1840s and early 1850s, shipping and tonnage handled at the East and West India docks increased so much that dividends of 5 and 6 per cent were paid.
The East India Docks didn’t have many warehouses because cargoes were taken straight to their warehouses in the City. So instead of building warehouses, the company built private toll roads like Commercial Road and East India Dock Road to carry traffic to and from the docks.
The company made large profits on tea, spices, indigo, silk and Persian carpets. The tea trade alone was worth £30m a year. Spice merchants and pepper grinders set up around the dock to process goods. Although the East India docks were smaller than the West India Docks, they handled up to 250 ships at one time and East Indiamen of 1000 tons but larger ships and steam power reduced the importance of the dock.
The West India Docks were a series of three docks, quaysides, and warehouses built to import goods from, and export goods and occasionally passengers to the British West Indies. In 1802, the first dock opened on the Isle Of Dogs. When they closed for commerce in 1980, the Canary Wharf development was built around the wet docks by narrowing some of their broadest tracts.
The docks were constructed in two phases. The two northern docks were constructed between 1800 and 1802 for the West India Dock Company and were the first commercial wet docks in London. For 21 years, all vessels in the West India trade using the Port Of London had to use the West India docks by a clause in the act of Parliament that had enabled their construction.
In 1838 the East and West India companies merged. The southern dock, the South West India Dock, later known as South Dock, was constructed in the 1860s and in 1909 the Port Of London Authority took over the West India Docks,
The docks played a key role in the Second World War as a location for constructing the floating Mulberry harbours used by the Allies to support the D-Day landings in France. Following the Second World War, in which all the docks were badly damaged, the East India Docks were confined to occasional Channel Islands traffic and to the maintenance of dredger equipment.
The docks were the first London docks to close, in 1967. Today the docks have been mostly filled in. Only the entrance basin remains, as a wildlife refuge and an attractive local amenity. The area is predominantly residential with several major developments around it.
Riding For Ladies During the Regency and Early Victorian years. How did they ride sidesaddle? What did their saddles look like? What did they wear?
From 1850 Hints To Horsekeepers By Henry William Herbert via Google Books (PD150)
Why Every Lady should learn to ride: EVERY lady should learn to ride; not at a mature age, when her frame has become exhausted by a sedentary life and consequent ill health; nor even when, her school-days being over, she is thought to have leisure for wholesome exercise; but in childhood, when her will is strong and her body obedient to it. Particularly in our large cities, too little care is given to the physical culture of young girls. Their minds are engaged, not often with energetic mental work, but with idle thought for dress and show, while no other exercise is taken than a measured daily walk, and occasional dancing and waltzing.
‘Where household labor is disdained, and no opportunity can be afforded for floriculture or any other agreeable out-door occupation, there is no substitute so good as horseback riding. But for the country girl it becomes indispensable. Not her health, perhaps, but her happiness demands it. No woman ever rides so well as one who from childhood has loved her pet colt. She has chased him, perhaps, for hours around a ‘ten-acre lot:’ and when, his frisky mood over, she has been able to take him coaxingly by the inane and lead him to a mounting place, great was the triumph of her wild ride. And no training or care can give the freedom and skill of this youthful practise.
RIDING CLOTHING
Few ladies know how to dress for horse exercise. A head dress should shade form the sun but fit well enough that it needs no adjustment, as the hands are needed for the reins. The Whip, an essential element of the lady’s riding outfit, should be stiff and substantial, without being heavy.
The hair should be arranged in the firmest manner possible. If suited to the style of the lady, it may be plaited at the back and looped across, in a manner which will support the hat and present a very comely appearance. Or it may be found pleasanter to turn all of the back hair to the top of the head, where a high hat is used. All loose arrangements of the hair, except short curb, when they are natural, should be avoided. But few hair-pins should be used, and those long and firmly woven into the hair. The recent fashions of wearing the plumes or feathers of the ostrich, the cock, the pheasant, the peacock, and the kingfisher, in the riding hats of young ladies, are highly to be commended.
Ladies habits are usually made too long and become cumbersome. A foot longer than an ordinary skirt will be sufficient if the material is suitable. Light Cloth will be found the most appropriate for the skirt, if the color be becoming and sufficiently dark. The fashion of a waistcoat of light material for summer, revived from the fashion of the last century, is a decided improvement, and so is the over-jacket, of cloth or seal-skin, for rough weather. It is the duty of every woman to dress in as becoming and attractive a manner as possible; there is no reason why pretty young girls should not indulge in picturesque riding costume so long as it is appropriate.
Many ladies entirely spoil the set of the skirts by retaining the usual impedimenta of petticoats. The best dressed horsewomen wear nothing more than a flannel chemise with long, colored sleeves, under their trousers. If ladies prefer, a quilted skirt, not too full, may be worn. It should be lined with silk or glazed muslin, and will be found no impediment. Long boots are a great comfort and protection in riding long distances.
All ladies who desire that riding should be to them a healthful exercise, must take great care that their dress be perfectly easy in every part, particularly over the chest and around the ribs. Let the boots be easy, and their gloves, which should be leather gauntlets, large and soft, and all elastic bands very loose.
Ladies’ trousers should be of the same material and color as the habit, and if full, flowing like a Turk’s and fastened with an elastic band round the ankle, they will not be distinguished from the skirt. In this costume, which may be made amply warm by the folds of the trousers, plaited like a highlander’s kilt, fastened with an elastic band at the waist, a lady can sit down in a manner impossible for one encumbered by two or three short petticoats. It is the chest and back which require double folds of protection during, and after, strong exercise.
LADY MOUNTING A HORSE
The lady in mounting should be assisted by two persons, one to hold the horse, standing directly in front of him, and holding by the check pieces of the bridle, above the bit, and the other to assist her to her seat.
Having taken the reins and whip in the right hand, she will stand with her face towards the horse’s head, and with her right hand on the left pommel or the saddle. In the left hand she will hold her skirt, in such a manner as to enable her to raise it clear of the ground. The gentleman will stand, facing her, and opposite to the horse’s shoulder, with his left hand holding by his mane, this steadies the horse when the lady springs. The gentleman will now stoop and take the lady’s left foot, which has been raised fifteen inches from the ground, in his right hand, clasping it firmly under the instep. The skirt having been raised to clear the foot, is now dropped, and the lady places her left hand on the gentleman’s right shoulder, giving a spring to straighten the left knee.
During this spring the gentleman will simply keep his hand still, supporting the lady’s weight, but not raising her until the knee is fairly straightened, when he may lift her to the required height, but without trying to push her over on to the saddle. She will find her seat more easily without such assistance, which would often tend to throw her over the horse, rather than on his back. Being seated with her right hand still on the pommel, the lady will, with her left hand, adjust the folds of her skirt. She will then remove her hand from the pommel, and place her right knee over it; when the gentleman will place her foot in the stirrup, and then aid her in taking proper hold of the reins and whip. When this is accomplished, the attendant at the horse’s head steps out of the way, and the lady assumes the control. Fortunately, the operation is less tedious than its description.
LADY DISMOUNTING A HORSE
A lady dismounts with perfect ease. After the groom has taken his place in front of the horse and secured him, by releasing her hold upon the bridle and stirrup and lifting her right leg over the pommel, which she now holds with the right hand, while the left, on the shoulder, or in the hand of her gallant, affords her sufficient support in slipping to the ground.
THE SEAT IN THE SIDESADDLE.
The lady should, by exercises similar to those recommended for gentlemen, endeavor to acquire a perfect independence of the rein-hold in the security of her seat She should be able to lean far to the right or to the left, or lie back on the horse’s haunches, or forward on his neck, and to regain her position without disturbing her seat in the saddle, and without holding by the reins. With the use of the leaping-horn it will be more easy for her to attain perfection, in this respect, than it will be for the man, who must depend in a great measure on the clip of his legs. The rider should be erect, directly over the horse’s spine, the shoulders at an equal height. and the elbows near the sides.
Ladies, particularly those with very small hands, will often find it burdensome to hold their reins both in one hand, as is universally taught in our riding-schools. The best way for a lady is, if her hand be light, to knot up the snaffle and let it rest within her reach, in case of accident to the other rein. Or, if her touch be not delicate enough for the curb, let her hold it lightly and depend on the snaffle. The Whip and the Left Heel are valuable aids to a lady in the saddle. By a proper use of them she is enabled to retain a much freer hold upon her reins. Particularly in stopping and turning they are invaluable. Also, in starting.
ACCIDENTS.
Ladies, of course, should never ride horses which are in any manner vicious. But the best animals are not faultless, nor the most sure-footed always reliable. The lady should therefore be prepared for critical situations. Remember that with a long skirt about her feet, and with little experience in such exercise, it is always unsafe for lady to leap from her saddle. She may disengage herself quickly, but carefully. In a runaway, her place is close down in the saddle, holding the four reins low on either side, and giving an alternate tension to the curb and snaffle, steadying her horse in the road and saving her strength to force him to run long after he would gladly stop.
Looking for a new Historical Mystery for the holidays? Lady Rebecca Jamison saves her family from financial ruin by investing in railways, but when a greedy syndicate murders her friend, Becca is forced to beg assistance from Cayle St. Martin, the new Duke of Sherwyn. https://books2read.com/suziloveES
Embracing Scandal is the first in my series about the scientifically-gifted Jamison siblings and is set in London in the 1840s when there was a boom in railway expansion. My heroine, Becca, conflicts with an increasingly prudish early Victorian society when she uses her intellect, something women were discouraged from doing.Lady Rebecca Jamison, a mathematical genius, saves her siblings from financial ruin by dabbling in the London stock exchange. When a greedy syndicate kills her friend and threatens her family, Becca begs assistance from Cayle, Duke of Sherwyn, her nemesis and previous friend.As Cayle and Becca rekindle old passions, the duke uses old skills as a spy to protect his lady. He successfully defeats the illegal consortium, but can Cayle persuade a self-sufficient spinster to become his duchess?
One of the best things about being an historical romance author is doing all the research, even though I tend to get distracted by all the weird and wonderful facts I discover. This is one of the first time a steam train could be seen by the public.
Pagans burned a great log and a mammoth candle on the 21st of December, the shortest day in the year, because it was seen as the turning-point in the conflict between the contending forces of winter and spring.
From Harpers Bazaaar “The Yule-block, or Christmas-log, with its warm welcome, extending even to the poor and the stranger as they gathered around the hospitable board is being gradually supplanted by the Christmas-tree.”
Formerly the Yule-log, a huge section of the birch, was cut from a tree selected on Candlemas-day, which so late as the time of Queen Elizabeth was the last day of the Christmas holidays. On the following Christmas-eve it was dragged in and placed upon the hearth with great ceremony, the merry-makers pulling with a will, and singing the while the modernized Christmas carol commencing,
“Come, bring with a noise,
My merrie, merrie boys,
The Christmas-log to the firing.”
It was then kindled with a brand from last year’s Christmas fire, which, if it was not thus kept continually burning, still linked the merrymaking of one Christmas-time to that of another.
In Ramsgate, Kent, and the Isle of Thanet, the custom styled “hodening” is still in vogue. The “hoden,” which appears to be a cross between the “white horse” and the Klapperbock of the Germans, is accompanied by a number of youths in fantastic dress, who go round from door to door ringing bells and singing Christmas carols.
Music history from the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries. Pianos, pianofortes, harps, viols, violins played during Jane Austen’s times. Musical Instruments were so important in most of the more affluent households in history that large industries grew all around the world to manufacture instruments, musical accessories, and to print sheet music. Musical instruction and encouragement could be found everywhere and both young ladies and gentlemen were encouraged to have musical appreciation. And of course, playing music was on the list of social requirements for all young ladies desirous of becoming a wife and homemaker.
London became Europe’s leading centre for the manufacture of scientific instruments and this led to the manufacture of more musical instruments as well as factories developed and rail transport helped the faster distribution of goods to regional areas. One of the first places that music was used to tell stories and to share enjoyment was in Christmas music. Because music was such an integral part of households, music was always a feature in Magazines. There were advertisements everywhere for musical instruments for sale, for sheet music, and for music lessons. And of course, of most interest to the ladies were the hundreds of fashion plates included in magazines where people were depicted with their musical instruments.
Because wild boar was the most feared animal, serving it at a meal represented the victory of good over evil. During the 17th century, wild boar became extinct in Britain so a pig’s head was used instead. The head was often presented on a decorated platter with an apple in its mouth and carried in by bearers in a dramatic manner. The tradition of serving ham for Christmas lunch or dinner probably came from the idea of serving boar’s head or roasted boar joints to guests at Christmas.
To say nothing of the roast beef and plum-pudding, Christmas pies, furmity, and snap-dragons, the Yule-log and the mistletoe have not finally abdicated, while the boar’s head, decorated with rosemary or prickly holly, maintains its place at the English Christmas dinner, and is still served up in great state at the royal Christmas table. At Oxford, U.K., the boar’s head was carried in by the strongest of the guardsmen, singing a Christmas carol, and preceded by a forester, a huntsman, and a couple of pages dressed in silk and carrying the mustard which was regarded as a great luxury and an infallible digester.
The following celebrated carol of the Boar’s Head is found in the book of ‘Christmasse Carolles’ published in 1521 by Wynkyn de Warde:
The boar’s head in bande bring I,
With garlandes gay and rosemary,
I pray you all synge merely,
Qui estis in convivio.
“The bore’s head, I understande,
Is the chefe servyce in this lande.
Loke wherever it be fande,
Servite cum cantico.
“Be gladde, lordes, both more and lasse,
For this bath ordayned our stewarde,
To chere you all this Christmasse,
The bore’s head with mustarde.”
At Oxford, U.K., the boar’s head was carried in by the strongest of the guardsmen, singing a Christmas carol, and preceded by a forester, a huntsman, and a couple of pages dressed in silk and carrying the mustard which was regarded as a great luxury and an infallible digester. A similar custom appears to have prevailed in Genoa in the times of the Dorias when a boar decorated with branches of laurel and accompanied by trumpeters was annually presented to the Doria family by the Abbot of San Antonio at Pré at midday on the 24th of December.
