1790-1810 ca. Woman’s Black Wool Shoes. Pointed toe and low wedge heel covered in same fabric, black tape binding, leather straight or symmetrical sole, linen insole and lining. Wool satin with wool twill tape binding, plain weave linen lining, and leather sole. Place of Use: Lexington, Massachusetts, United States. Place of Manufacture: possibly Massachusetts, United States Provenance: Worn by a member of the Robbins family; inherited by Ellen A. Stone; gift to MFA, 1899. Credit Line Gift of Miss Ellen A. Stone via Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, U. S.A.
In Jane Austen’s years, she and her contemporaries spent a lot of time outdoors. Fragile slippers were worn for balls and evening events but for walking sturdier shoes were needed, In the early 1800s, these were typically made of leather and were flat or had a very small heel.
1780 ca. English Guitar, Lisbon Made by Jaco Vieira da Silva. Pine back, sides and soundboards, with pine and wood purfling or bordering, brass openwork rose, framed with mother-of-pearl. The English guitar was a fashionable instrument from about 1750, considered easy to play and tuned in C major, although the player would use a capo, much like a modern folk-guitarist, in order to change the key. The tuning pegs were often small metallic pins that could be turned with a watch-key, to keep the strings in tune longer. This instrument was made in Portugal, a country with strong trading links with England, and its peg box is decorated with a paper ‘cameo’ in imitation of a jasper ware medallion, a motif made popular by Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) from about 1770. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, U.K. History Notes Book 6 Music General https://www.suzilove.com/wp-admin/books2read.com/suziloveMusicGeneral \
What was fashionable for women in the late 1700s? Extravagant colors and fabrics and outrageous styles were all seen in these flamboyant fashions. #Georgian #nonfiction #amwriting books2read.com/suziloveFashWomen1700s
1700s Late Pair of Pattens, English. Iron supports underneath leather and wood. Pattens: Under shoes that strapped onto shoes and worn outdoors and to lift shoes and dresses out the mud. People in Jane Austen’s lifetime would have used these to protect the hems of dresses and legs of men’s pants, plus protect delicate shoes. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.
18th Century Mid. Nécessaire, London, England. Wood, shagreen, silk, tortoiseshell with gold mounts, steel. Includes: pen knife, beard trimmer, scissors, bottles, paper cutter, 6 razors, hone, strop. via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Definition Shagreen: A type of rawhide, or rough untanned skin, originally made from the back of a horse or a wild donkey. In the 18th century, the skin of a shark or stingray also began to be called shagreen.
What Sort Of Pianoforte or Piano Was Played By Jane Austen and Contemporaries? Pianos, pianofortes and more. History Notes Book 7 Music Pianos books2read.com/suziloveMusicPiano
Definition Pianoforte or Piano: ‘Stringed keyboard instrument with a hammer action, as opposed to the jack and quill action of the harpsichord. Capable of gradations of soft and loud, the piano became the central instrument of music pedagogy and amateur study. By the end of the nineteenth century, no middle-class household of any stature in Europe or North America was without one.’ Definition via the Metropolitan Museum, NYC.
Around 1700, the Pianoforte, or Piano, was invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori, who created a hammer action keyboard instrument on which a musician could make changes in loudness by changing the force with which the keys were struck. He called his instrument “gravicembalo col piano e forte”, or, (harpsichord with soft and loud). Cristofori’s long name was later shortened to fortepiano or pianoforte, and finally just piano.
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. Pianos, pianofortes, harpsichords, and organs were found everywhere and were often the focus of a family gathering. By the end of the 18th Century, the pianoforte, or piano, was the leading instrument of Western music.
1790 British Consul’s Tan Leather Pants, Boston. Tan buckskin, fall front, brass and self covered buttons, breeches have leather ties at waist and at leg hems. via Augusta Auction ~ augusta-auction.com
1780-1789 Pale Pink Linen Stays Or Corset, Great Britain. Stays, 1780-1789 (made). Pale pink linen, lined with linen and reinforced with whalebone, trimmed with pale blue silk ribbon. Hand sewn with linen thread, applied ribbon, chamois and whalebone. Stays were an essential item of underwear for women during the 18th century. By the 1780s, the fashionable torso consisted of an inverted cone shape. Achieving smoothness of profile and firmness of contour were the primary function of 18th-century stays, rather than emphasising the bust or constricting the waist. Although custom-made and very intricately designed, stays were usually very plain. In this example a narrow blue ribbon covering the seams is the only decoration.
The narrow rows of very fine, even hand-stitching form the compartments into which thin strips of whalebone were inserted. Although the stays appear very rigid, whalebone was quite flexible. It had the added advantage of softening with the heat of the wearer’s body, allowing the stays to mould to her shape. When worn, the shaped and boned tabs at the lower edge would splay over the wearer’s hips, giving further fullness to the petticoat tied at the waist over the stays. Given by Mrs Strachan. Museum Number T.172-1914. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, U.K.
18th Century Late Women’s Fashions. A conical body shape was still fashionable while the shape of the skirts changed. The wide panniers which held the skirts out at the sides mostly disappeared by 1780 for all but the most formal court functions and false rumps, or bum-pads or hip-pads were worn for a time. A low-necked gown, usually called in French a robe, was worn over a petticoat and most gowns had skirts that opened in front to show the petticoat worn beneath. As part of the general simplification of dress, the open bodice with a separate stomacher was replaced by a bodice with edges that met center front. Strapless stays which still were cut high at the armpit, to encourage a woman to stand with her shoulders slightly back, a fashionable posture. The fashionable shape was a rather conical torso, with large hips. The waist was not particularly small. Stays were usually laced snugly, but comfortably. Shoes had high, curved heels (the origin of modern “louis heels”) and were made of fabric or leather. Shoe buckles remained fashionable until they were abandoned along with high-heeled footwear and other aristocratic fashions in the years after the French Revolution,
18th Century Late Men’s Fashions. A man’s outfit consisted of a knee-length coat, knee breeches, a vest or long waistcoat, a linen shirt with frills and linen under drawers. Lower legs showed and were an important part of life. Men wore stockings and leather shoes with stacked heels of low or medium height. The whole ensemble would have been topped by a shoulder-length wig and a tricorne, or three-cornered, hat an upturned brim. By end of the 18th century, wigs were out of fashion except for the most formal occasions. Undergarments and knee breeches did not change very much. Coats gradually became less full and die front was cut in a curve towards the back. Waistcoats became shorter. The upper leg began to show more and more and by the end of the century breeches fitted better because they were often made of knitted silk. Shoes became low-heeled with pointed toes and were fastened with a detachable strap or ribbon on the front.
