Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope everyone has a lovely day and that your Valentine sends you something special. :)

The Love Letters, 1770s by Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Winter Storm Today!

Hi All,
We're getting slammed today with some very seasonal winter weather! That's just fine with me as it means I will be able to go snowshoeing over the weekend. I thought today I would share some images I've found around the web. Lots of great hats, muffs, and fur trimmings! Enjoy!

Portrait of Louise Henriette de Bourbon, Duchesse de Chartres and Duchesse d'Orléans (1726-1759) in a fur trimmed cloak and muff. French School, 18th century. Oil on canvas

Go to Christie's and zoom in on this dress! You will be happy you did!

Alexander Roslin (Malmö 1718-1793 Paris)
Portrait of the Reichsgräfin von Fries, née Gräfin Anna d'Escherny (1737-1807), seated, half length, in a plumed headdress and white satin fur-trimmed gown
pastel on paper - Source

Lady in a Fur Wrap - Source

A Winter Walking Dress, fashion plate, hand-colored engraving on paper, published in La Belle Assemblie, London, January 1813 - Source

This print is so pretty!

Source

Winter fashions - December 1875 Peterson's Magazine - Source

1880's winter ensembles - Source

Gretchen Margaret Woodman Rogers (American artist, 1881–1967) Woman in Fur Hat (Self-portrait), c 1915 -Source

Albert Rosenthal (American painter, 1863-1939) Portrait of Mrs. H. Bryan Owsley, Philadelphia 1910 - Source

George Barbier, Pour St. Moritz, pochoir 1913 (from Journal des Dames et des Modes - a Parisian fashion journal published by Tom Antongini - Source

Dress and accessory catalogue {Perry, Dame & Co., Fall & Winter 1919-1920} - Source

Source

Source

Beautiful Brunswicks

Today I share with you a painting of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (May 19, 1744 – November 17, 1818) who was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom and wife of King George III. She is wearing an amazingly beautiful Brunswick. 

I don't know when, if ever, I will get around to making one of these amazing jackets. Burnley and Trowbridge offered a workshop for them a while back but I wasn't able to go. Check out the photos on their Facebook page.

Queen Charlotte, c. 1777 by Benjamin West

More Spotted and Checked Handkerchiefs

Last year I posted about 18th century spotted and printed handkerchief. You can read that post here. Here are a few more images of spotted and checked handkerchiefs I have come across in period prints. The red and white handkerchief I normally wear to 18th century events looks very much like the one mentioned in this newspaper ad.

For additional information on spotted handkerchief please see Paul Dickfoss' article, Spotted Handkerchiefs!

The ROGUISH BOY - Source

Snuff and Twopenny - Source

I love this print! THE JEALOUS MAIDS  - Source

Also a very fine hat on the lady. THE SAILOR'S PLEASURE -  Source

More Miniatures - Officers of the 20th Regiment of Foot

As a member of a group who portrays the 20th Regiment of Foot during the American Revolution, these two finds were of particular interest to me. It's not often that you have a face, or even names for that matter, to go along with a particular portrayal.

The 20th came to North America during the winter of 1777-78 and were stationed in Quebec. They took part in Burgoyne's campaign and were interned following the battles of Saratoga. Most of the men were held in New York for the remainder of the war. I don't know for certain if Captain Stanley was here in the colonies but he would have been in his mid 20s during the war. Handsome fellow, don't you think?
The image was from an online auction site and unfortunately I was not able to find a large image.

George Williams c. 1800

Captain John Stanley (1750-1783)

And for my American re-enactor friends, this miniature Captain Daniel Parker (1757-1796) in the form of a brooch. It is in the collections of the Morristown National Historical Park, MORR 3986

Portrait Brooch of Captain Daniel Parker, Morristown National Historical Park, MORR 3986

For more information about 18th and early 19th century miniatures please see:
At the MET - American Portrait Miniatures of the Eighteenth Century
http://portraitminiature.blogspot.com/

Portrait Miniatures - British Soldiers, Part 2

A continuation of my first post on portrait miniatures.

From the Victorian and Albert Museum
A portrait miniature of Colonel Cuppage, painted in 1805 by George Engleheart (1750-1829). And the very dashing Captain W. S. Dawe of the Indian Infantry, painted in 1787 by John Smart (1742-1811).

Colonel Cuppage, c. 1805  V&A EVANS.111

Capt. Dawe, 1787 V&A EVANS.222

Next is one of my favorites - Arthur Wellesley, later the 1st Duke of Wellington. This portrait miniature was painted by Richard Cosway (1742-1821) in 1808. The description from the V&A website reads;

V&A P.6-1941

"This miniature was painted in 1808 and marks the beginning of Arthur Wellesley's famous exploits against Napoleon, who in 1804 had crowned himself Emperor of the French, having brought nearly all Western Europe to his heel. The Peninsular War (1808-14), conducted in Spain and Portugal against the emperor's forces, was a continual drain of Napoleon's strength. It ended with Napoleon's exile on the island of Elba and Wellesley being named the Duke of Wellington. The following year Napoleon escaped from Elba. His final battle with the newly created Duke was at Waterloo (1815), which Napoleon lost."

I'm told that this portrait is one of the few times you see Wellesley wearing his uniform. He seems to have been far more comfortable wearing civilian clothing. 

Below is a nice early miniature of Colonel Thomas Weld, dated 1718. And one of a colonel of the 3rd Foot Guards.

V&A P.63-1987

Colonel of the 3rd Foot Guards V&A EVANS.124

Below - "Portrait miniature of an unknown officer, called 'Thomas Nuttall', dated 1796, watercolour on ivory by Samuel Andrews, (ca. 1767-1807)." 

V&A P.9-1944

Another unknown officer, below right. He is thought to be John Smith Budgen, painted by Jeremiah Meyer, R.A. (1735-1789) in about ca. 1780.

V&A P.8-1960

And my final portrait miniature of the day is of an officer of the 37th or North Hampshire Regiment of Foot, dated 1807. It was painted by Alexander Gallaway.

V&A EVANS.120

For portraits of some dashing Irish officers see -
An Unknown officer ca. 1790-1800. Painted by George Place
Portrait miniature of an unknown officer, 1800-5. Painted by John Cooke (ca. 1778-1805)
Portrait miniature of an unknown man, dated 1768. Painted by Gustavus Hamilton (1739-1775)

Portrait Miniatures - British Soldiers, Part 1

Officer of The 55th Infantry

A couple of years ago I found a stunning portrait miniature at a local auction house. The sitter was a young man in a British uniform, brown hair, blue eyes... very dreamy. (Sorry Cori :) ) If I had the money I would have bid on him in a heart beat! I think the miniature sold for around $1,200. WAAAAAY out of my price range. And of course I was never able to get a picture of it. It's possible the auction house may still have an image available, but I doubt it. Lesson learned - Always bring a camera to auction previews! You never know what you will find.

So after viewing Lauren's post on American Duchess last week about making your own miniatures, I decided to do some searching online to see what I could find. What I discovered was a mini treasure trove of portrait miniatures depicting British soldiers. Huzzah! 

My first two finds are from the collection of Thomas Moore Sr. First up is a miniature on ivory of a Royal Dragoon dating to about 1810. The back of the miniature has small lock of hair, most likely belonging to the handsome young dragoon. You see this quite often as miniatures tended to be given as keepsakes to family members and loved ones. This miniature also has an enamel plate on the back with the sitter’s initials. 

Royal Dragoon, c. 1810

The second miniature of Moore's is of Admiral Lord Bentwick dating to about 1800.  This is also done on ivory and like the first, has a lock of hair on the back. Both hair decorations are beautifully done. 

Admiral Lord Bentwick, c. 1800

The Historical Portraits Picture Library yielded several nice finds. Here is a portrait of Captain Horace Beauchamp Seymour (1791-1851), painted by Louis Marie Autissier (772-1830). Autissier was one of the leading miniaturists in Europe and painted several other British officers including the Duke of Wellington. 

Captain Horace Beauchamp Seymour (1791-1851)

The portrait miniature below is of an officer of the Third Foot Guards, now the Scots Guards. The painting is signed 'Cleeve'

Officer of the Third Foot Guards.

Below is a rare portrait miniature by James Heath Millington (1799-1872). The man wearing the uniform of the 2nd (or Queens) Dragoon Guards is thought to be a member of the Lindsell family.

Member of the Lindsell family

From the Yankee Collector, this portrait miniature of an unknown British soldier. The back of the miniature has a lock of hair decorated with gold wire, seed pearls and initials set in a blue enamel oval. Based on the high collar of the uniform and the soldier's short hair and sideburns, I'd date this miniature somewhere between 1790 and 1810. 

Unknown British soldier

Back of miniature

Another Floral Print Gown

I came across another floral print gown today. The painting is "The Rake's Progress" by William Hogarth (1733). Take a look at the older woman's gown on the left. Another similar floral pattern to the one I posted the other day.
Can't really tell what color the print is. Could be purple or it could be dark blue. What do others think?

 "A Rakes Progress" by William Hogarth

 "A Rakes Progress" by William Hogarth

"Spotting" Handkerchiefs in Art

This is a continuation of yesterday's post on handkerchiefs. I've done some searching online and have found several images of spotted handkerchief in period art work. I should note that this search was for examples of handkerchiefs worn by women, and not men.

One of the earliest images I came across, and one of my favorites, is A City Shower, 1764. The original is in the Museum of London but you can find copies of it in online art stores. This is a very pretty example of a handkerchief with a "Red Ground and spotted with White". It looks as though this handkerchief is a large square worn folded in half. Lots going on in this image - pretty handkerchief, bib apron, quilted petticoat, and pattens! I really want a pair.

A City Shower, 1764, Museum of London

If you look closely at The Old Ballad Singer, 1775, the women on the right seems to be wearing a handkerchief with a dark colored ground and some kind of white pattern. It's hard to tell. I couldn't find a better close up of this image.

The OLD BALLAD SINGER

In the portrait of Martha Saunders, also dated 1775, we find a handkerchief with a dark ground and simple white spots.

Martha Saunders, 1775

We find the opposite in The Tenant's Daughter, 1796. A handkerchief with a white ground and dark spots. We can only guess at their color.

Haines and Son, London. 1798

Here is a close up of Spring, 1779, by John Collet. It's a lovely example of a blue handkerchief spotted with white. I like how the handkerchief matches the gentleman's coat. :)

Spring, by John Collet

I don't have an exact date for this next image, but I believe it's from the 1770s or early 1780s. Unfortunately I don't know the artist either. I found the image on Sotheby's several years ago but did think to save any additional information. (If anyone has information on this painting, please let me know.) Anyway, it's another nice example of a red (brownish red) handkerchief with white spots. LOVE that green bonnet and matching green mitts! She looks a little overdressed for harvesting hops. Reminds me of George Stubbs' painting of the Hay Makers.

For additional information on spotted handkerchief please see Paul Dickfoss' article, Spotted Handkerchiefs!

Using period prints and paintings for inspiration

If you want to recreate a historic garment nothing beats having an original to study. There are a number of books, museums, historical societies, and online galleries that allow us to view these beautiful creations. (I've posted a few in my resources and inspiration page) If you're lucky you may even know someone who has a private collection they are willing to share. Or maybe you own a few antique or vintage pieces of your own. Great! However, in some cases these options may not be available or meet your specific needs. So what do you do? Take a look at period prints and paintings of course!

Prints and painting are great source of information as well as inspiration for your historic costuming needs. But do keep in mind that just because an artist painted something does not mean it was accurate or commonly worn in a particular period of time. One such example is Mrs. Thomas Gage (Margaret Kemble) by John Singleton Copley. Mrs. Gage wears a Turkish-style costume, an exotic sort of dress that would not have been worn for every day common dress in the American colonies.

Two online sources that I have found to be very helpful in researching 18th century clothing are the Fitzwilliam Museum and this Catalogue of 18th-Century British Mezzotint Satires As with most prints and painting, satirical prints must be taken with a grain of salt.

Below are two examples of historic costumes I’ve made using an 18^th century print and painting as inspiration. At some point I’ll post a separate blog for each of these projects.

Blue and white linen cross-barred gown.

My gown was based on the print "Native Meltons" by British printmaker Richard Houston. In this particular project I purchased the fabric long before I discovered Houston's print. When I found the fabric I knew it needed to become a gown but was afraid of cutting the fabric until I had a better idea of how an 18^th century gown should be constructed. So it went into “the stash.” I'm glad I waited because I had just enough for the gown and matching stomacher.

Fitzwilliam Museum

Photo taken at Colonial Williamsburg last spring. I'm wearing a silk bonnet but often wear this gown with a black straw hat similar to the one in the print above.

Ivory silk polonaise with blue and white bows

“The Music Party” by Louis Rolland Trinquesse, 1774 is one of my favorite 18th century paintings. There are lots of great little details that are not really visible unless you can see the painting up close. If you have a chance, take a look at the book French Genre Painting in the Eighteenth Century by Philip Conisbee. The painting is featured on the cover. When I received a copy as a birthday present I realized I needed to rethink my trim. On close inspection of the painting you can see a very delicate fringe, and a short, transparent ruffle around the outside of the gown's skirt, the bottom of the sleeves, and around the neckline. The front of the gown is not visible but I decided to go with a stomacher front. The painting is dated 1774 and closed front gowns don't really start to show up until the later 1770s. Because I was pressed for time the stomacher I made looks crappy (to me anyway). I'll eventually make a compere, or false front stomacher as they seem to be pretty common on gowns of this time period. Plus it's a lot easier to pull on a gown and button the stomacher than it is to pin the stomacher to your stays and then the gown over top. Good thing this gown is still a work in progress! The ivory silk and the blue and white stripe silk used for this gown came from Renaissance Fabrics.

“The Music Party” by Louis Rolland Trinquesse, 1774

Photo taken at Colonial Williamsburg last spring. The gown still needs the trim added to the stomacher, petticoat and skirt fronts. Also needs the blue and white bows.

Another resource that I think is under utilized in the costuming world are historical newspaper databases. While it's helpful to have both an image AND a description when recreating something, I think it takes away some of the challenge too. After all, doing the research, even if it means extensive research in some cases, is part of the fun in reproducing a period garment. Isn't it? I think so anyway. :) 

The New-York Gazette August 29,1748