1908 Silk and Rubber Corset, French. Front fastening, front suspenders, and back lacing. Made For C. F. Hovey & Co., Boston. Label: The Paris. Marking: label “7.50, Made in France, Véritable Baleine, Brévété S.G.D.G., Best Whalebone THE PARIS, Made in France, expressly or C.F. Hovey and Co., Boston.” stamped on bone lining of corset]; “Corset de Paris” paper label via Metropolitan Museum, NYC, USA Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Earl Rowe, 1951 Accession Number: C.I.51.15.25a, b
1816-1817 ca. Man’s Linen Shirt, American. High collar, ruffles down front opening, fullness from gathered shoulders and sleeves for unrestricted movement. Beautifully created and monogrammed by Elizabeth Wild Hitchings for her husband, Benjamin Hitchings, a sea captain. Wives or servants regularly hand stitched shirts from 1800s-1840s, before sewing machines, but handiwork rarely recorded.
From The Creator: This shirt was created, from the linen fiber to the finished garment, by the donor’s great-grandmother, Elizabeth Wild Hitchings, for her husband Benjamin Hitchings, a sea captain, in 1816. It was common practice for a wife or servant to hand stitch family members’ shirts prior to the mid-19th century, but rarely was such handiwork recorded, making this case rare and intriguing. In addition, its elegant stitching makes it a perfect example of the familial care taken in sewing prior to the common possession and use of the sewing machine. via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. metmuseum.org
1820 Ball Gown of Embroidered Net, British. Silk satin and silk net embroidered with metal and trimmed with silk blonde bobbin lace, hand sewn. Short-sleeved ball gown comprising of an underdress of silk satin and an overdress of machine-made silk net embroidered with metal and trimmed with blonde bobbin lace. The dress has a low oval neckline, puffed short sleeves, a wedge shaped front bodice panel, and a medium high waist. The skirt has a central front panel, wedge shaped panels and the centre back panels are tightly gathered at the waist.
From the Museum Curator: ‘Women saved their most elaborate dresses for special occasions such as balls. Lavish gowns embellished with gold thread or sparkling beads glittered in the artificial light of the dancing room. Thin, gauzy materials created a soft dreamy look. These light materials also prevented the wearer from getting too hot while dancing in stuffy, overcrowded spaces’. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
“The more I know of the world the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!” Jane Austen ~ Sense and Sensibility (1811)
“Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction, and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim.” Jane Austen Northanger Abbey (1817) #JaneAusten #Quote #Regency
https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819
1620-1635 ca. Pin For Fastening Clothing, Made In Gloucestershire, England, U.K. Pins were a necessity for the fastening of clothing and the arrangement of dress accessories in the 16th and 17th centuries. Their importance for women as a personal requirement and expense is reflected in the term pin-money, the sum originally allocated to meet this essential cost. Ordinary people would have a small number of pins, the wealthy thousands.Pins were carefully looked after and sharpened periodically. They were extracted after use so as not to tarnish the fabric and placed in a pincushion. The portrait of Countess of Southampton shows her pincushion on the dressing table. Countess of Southampton’s Dressing Table with Pin Cushion 1590. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, U.K. The pins were mounted on card by the donor which he annotated with the dates of the documents they were detached from.
Places
Before the mid-16th century the finest pins were imported from France, but their manufacture in England was encouraged under Henry VIII, and an Act for the True Making of Pynnes was passed in 1543, controlling their quality and price. Gloucestershire and London became the main centres of the pin-making industry.
Materials & Making
As the industry developed in the 16th century the major advance in the manufacture of pins came with the use of a steel draw-plate with a graduated series of holes. Wire, which was usually brass, could be drawn through this to any gauge, permitting standardisation of the size of the pins. The heads were made from fine coils of wire that were soldered in place.
Enormous quantities of pins were used for the fastening of clothing. Elizabeth I was supplied with 24,000 ‘pynnes of diverse sorts’ just for her coronation. Pins secured the petticoat in a ruffle above the farthingale (hoops that supported a skirt), and held the curves of the ruff in place around the neck. Several dozen might be used for one ensemble. Such a quantity required large pincushions, like the canvas work one here. These pins were found in written documents that were dated between 1620 and 1635.
1620-1635 ca. Pin For Fastening Clothing, England. #BritishHistory #Sewing Click To TweetAn overview of an older gentleman’s clothing, social life, and responsibilities in the early 1800s. Take a look at where he went, what he wore, and how he managed the family’s finances. Older Gentleman’s Day Regency Life Series Book 3 books2read.com/suziloveOGD
1800s Typical Food Served and Table Settings Used. Historic food from Mrs. Beeton’s Household Management, 1882 Warne’ s Model Housekeeper, London, U.K., 1892 Cassel’s Dictionary of Cookery.
Ordinary people began to celebrate Easter by sending postcards as gifts. At first, mainly religious pictures appeared on postcards. Then postcards images became more about real life and people. In the early 1900s, postcards became more fanciful and pretty for young children. Religious images were gradually replaced by images that children could understand and relate to about Easter
. Postcards then concentrated on images of chickens and eggs, symbolic of birth and rebirth such as chickens emerging from cracked shells as Christ emerged from the tomb. Children were then added to the images so cards became for something for the whole family. Children with chickens and eggs became very popular on postcards. Bunny rabbits became associated with Easter and children could relate to these as it fitted with their idea of the Easter bunny.
Ellen Clapsaddle (1865 – 1934). An American illustrator from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and recognized as the most prolific postcard and greeting card artist of her time. Her greatest success was single-faced cards that could be kept as souvenirs or mailed as postcards. These cards were highly prized particularly during the peak of the golden age of souvenir postcards from 1898 to 1915. She is credited with over 1000 designs in post cards and souvenir cards. Cards in the mid 1900s were created to send personal Easter messages to loved ones such as mothers and fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles and siblings. Artists from around the world began creating beautiful cards to share at Easter. Jenny Eugenia Nyström (1854 – 1946) was a Swedish painter and illustrator who illustrated Easter postcards for, and about, children and happy images.
Vintage Easter Egg Cards. Suzi Love – suzilove.com
Jenny Nystrom (1884-1946) Vintage Easter Cards. Jenny Eugenia Nyström (1854 – 1946) was a Swedish painter and illustrator who illustrated Easter postcards for, and about, children and happy images.
