1810 Les Invisibles. By James Gillray. Two men walk towards each other, each with a lady hanging to each arm, all have their faces concealed by some part of their dress, hat, or collar, or both. One man has a round hat, with a fantastically curved brim projecting downwards. The other has a huge crescent-shaped cocked hat with the peaks dipping over face and back. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
1810 “A Bonnet Shop” By Thomas Rowlandson.A shopkeeper with a hat in each hand converses with an elderly woman wearing a similar hat. A child holding a rattle looks up at them at left, a plump woman wearing a bonnet sits at center, and a group of young women make bonnets in the background. Many groups of hats hang overhead in the shop. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
1801 November 9th Playing Cards. Men and women play cards at round table. Supreme Bon Ton Plate 2. Published by S W Fores. Men and women play cards at round table. Man and woman talk to players. Woman sleeps in upright chair, two others, one with parasol and other fan, walk off arm-in-arm.Men: High-waisted coats, high collars, huge neck-cloths, with pumps or Hessian boots. Women: High-waisted dresses, short sleeves, long trains, very low necklines, short ringlets, two in caps. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
In Jane Austen’s times, cartoons posted in the windows of shops were one of the main ways people found news. Common people couldn’t afford newspapers so cartoonists ridiculed the people and the places with cartoons of the daily events happening in London and other cities. The ridiculous fashion trends of the late 1700s and early 1800s were easy targets for satirical cartoons as was the addiction to gambling by women and men alike.
1818 September 18th Le Palais Royal de Paris. ‘A Peep at the French Monstrosities’. Two English tourists dressed as dandies walk arm-in-arm under the arcade of the Palais Royal, interested in the promenading courtesans. Their dress is rather similar to that of the Englishmen, but the latter wear bell-shaped top-hats, while the Frenchmen have flower-pot shaped hats. By George Cruikshank. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
1818 November ‘Fashionables Of 1818’ By George Cruikshank.Couple walk arm-in-arm with the man wearing Dandy costume of bell-shaped top-hat, trousers strapped under high-heeled boots without spurs and jauntily carried cane. Much shorter lady wears enormously high bonnet, striped over-dress over frilled white muslin, skirt above ankles, and carries a large ermine muff. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
These are the sort of outfits a couple would wear in Jane Austen’s times although these are exaggerated in caricatures to poke fun at the extremes of Regency fashion when women’s hats were so large and high that a lady was dwarfed by her devotion to fashion and a gentleman’s collar and neckcloth were so high he couldn’t turn his head to speak to the lady.
1806-1809 ca. Unissued One Pound Banknote. Issued in Alton, Hampshire, UK. The type of currency used by Jane Austen and her brother when dealing with the family’s finances. Issuer Alton Bank. Unissued banknote. (obverse) Emblem with initials, floral design and crown on top at left. Text at centre. Design printed in black. via British Museum.
A pound was a lot of money for the majority of people during the Regency, so the general population didn’t trust flimsy paper banknotes. A metal coin held its value in gold or silver, whereas paper banknotes were easily lost or damaged and very easy to forge. The original banknotes were merely a piece of paper that promised payment for a set amount and were issued by individual banks. The Bank of England used these notes from its inception in 1694 and regional banks continued issuing them until the changes to the Act in 1844. By the mid 1700s, notes started to become standardized, with ten and five pound notes appearing, but as they were all hand-lettered and signed they were viewed with skepticism. Most transactions were therefore done with metal coins, with many shopkeepers routinely biting down on a coin to ensure it was legitimate.
1818 September 18th Le Palais Royal de Paris, Or ‘A Peep at the French Monstrosities’.
By George Cruikshank. Two English tourists, both dressed as dandies, walk arm-in-arm under the arcade of the Palais Royal, interested in the promenading courtesans. Two Frenchmen make more direct overtures to two women. Their dress is rather similar to that of the Englishmen, but the latter wear bell-shaped top-hats, while the Frenchmen have flower-pot shaped hats. An officer wearing a large cocked hat addresses a girl, and a man, said by Reid to be Irish, jovially accosts another. Some of the women are in evening-dress, others in street costume. Behind are iron railings between the supports of the roof; on one of these is the inscription ‘Caveau des Sauvages’. Published by: George Humphrey. via British Museum.
1818 May ‘Beau’s of 1818’ By George Cruikshank. Two Dandies shake hands while third watches. All wearing bell-shaped top-hats, extra high collars, short waists, long spurs and yellow gloves. One with moustache wears wide and short white trousers, one wears top-boots and riding-breeches and has monocle in his eye and third has very full trousers gathered above ankle. These are the sort of outfits that the Bridgerton men and Jane Austen’s male contemporaries would have worn. Hand colored etching. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
1819 January ‘Going to White’s’. By Richard Dighton. Lord Alvanley walks on the pavement going to White’s Club for gentlemen in London wearing a top-hat, double-breasted coat, strapped trousers, and the high collar of a dandy. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
White’s was an exclusive Gentlemen’s Club on St. James Street, London, U.K where well-dressed men, or Dandies, gathered at a special table in front of the large bow window looking out at the street. This became known as a seat of privilege and was used by London’s most famous Dandy, Beau Brummell. Other well-known dandies were William Arden, Joshua Allen, Thomas Raikes and Ball Hughes. Cartoonists loved to ridicule these high-in-the-instep gentlemen who wore the most fashionable clothes and set the fashion trends for the Regency years, and the years when Jane Austen was writing her famous novels.
1812 Woman wearing an extraordinary hat, flounced dress and a cashmere shawl. 1801-1818 Le Bon Genre Fashion Series Plate 50. Published by: Pierre La Mésangère. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
