Great Hair Fridays - Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione

Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione, also know as La Castiglione, was an Italian aristocrat who for a short time was a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France. The Countess was also a significant figure in the early history of photography and today, a perfect candidate for Great Hair Fridays.

From a fascinating article at the MET -

Fascinated by her own beauty, the countess would attempt to capture all its facets and re-create for the camera the defining moments of her life. Far from being merely a passive subject, it was she who decided the expressive content of the images and assumed the art director's role, even to the point of choosing the camera angle. She also gave precise directions on the enlargement and repainting of her images in order to transform the simple photographic documents into imaginary visions—taking up the paintbrush herself at times. Her painted photographs are among the most beautiful examples of the genre.

 There is a lot going on in this photo! Her hair, her gown with all that trim, the fan ... wow!

 

Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione posing as “Elvira,” circa 1861-1867

 This one almost looks modern. With her wild looking hair she would fit right in with some of today's runway models.

Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione

The Countess posed for a series of pictures in her elaborate costumes. You can view some of those pictures here.

Great Hair Fridays - Beautiful Daguerreotype

It's been a while sense I posted for Great Hair Fridays. I get side tracked sometimes or just plain forget. Are these posts something you all enjoy? If they are I promise to be better about sharing them! :)

I saw this beautiful daguerreotype on Facebook today and knew I had to share it. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about the lovely lady in the photo or where it came from. My guess is maybe Ebay? I believe it dates to the late 1840s or early 1850s based on her hairstyle. Her lace mitts are an accessory that was also very popular around that same time period.

Daguerreotypes were first invented around 1837 by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. This type of photography was very popular until the 1850s when other processes such as ambrotypes and later tintypes replaced it. Daguerreotypes were produced on a polished silver surface so they are very reflective, like a mirror. The process make them very fragile so you often see them in small protective cases.

For additional information take a look at The Daguerreian Society's website. The society has a large searchable database of daguerreotypes. And for fun, although they are not all daguerreotypes, check out the site My Daguerreotype Boyfriend on Tumblr. You'll be glad you did. ;)

Happy Birthday Ella Fitzgerald!

Happy Birthday to the "Queen of Jazz," Ella Fitzgerald! An amazing, beautiful, and incredibly talented woman. She worked with many jazz greats, including Chick Webb, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, and Benny Goodman.

Photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1940

 During her 59-year recording career, Ella sold 40 million copies of her 70-plus albums, won 13 Grammy Awards. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Answer to My Photo Quiz

So I was hoping to have a few more guesses about the photos in my last post. But that's ok. Those of you who guessed photo 3 are correct. If you guessed photo 4 you are also correct! Yes, it was sort of a trick question. :) Both photos were taken during my 2010 trip to Gettysburg, PA at Rob Gibson's Wet Plate Photography Studio. You can view the online press kit for the studio here.

The first is a tin type and CDV copy of me. The pose is a little awkward I admit. The dress is one I made years ago. It's made from a small red, green. and white plaid cotton. I found it in the homespun section of my local fabric store. The black waist, added to give a little more contrast to the photo, was an accessory that belonged to the studio. It's hard to see but I'm also wear an original 19th century cameo that Cori bought for me when he was in Italy.

The skirt was box pleated and sewn to a narrow waistband. It the other picture you can see the black velvet belt I made to go with the dress. The bodice was drafted from an original I own.


















Here is the tin type and CDV copy of Cori and I. The coat I'm wearing and all of Cori's clothing belongs to the studio. The coat Cori is wearing was made special for Rob for his role as John Wilkes Booth in the TV documentary April 1865. The cane, which is almost identical to own owned by Booth, is an original 19th century cane and was also used in the film. Cori looks great but I'm not crazy about how I look. Mostly I think because of the jacket.

The process Rob uses to create his tin types is the same process used in the 19th century. He even using an original camera. In making the CDV copies of the tin types the image is flipped. I had the opportunity to visit Rob's studio again this past March. I will be sharing photos of that visit shortly.

Quiz Time - Proof I Lived 150 Years Ago

Before I share my construction progress and finished photos of my 1860s plaid dress, (you can read a little about here and here) I would like to share some other photos. Do you ever think you were born in the wrong time period? Have you ever wondered what you would have looked like had you lived during another period of time?

Since the invention of photography, there have been many advances in the technology. Producing one single image used to be very time consuming and required the use of some rather nasty chemicals. Today it only takes a matter of seconds to point, click, and upload your images for the world to see. Photography is a wonderful art form that allows us to see into the world in which people were living 25, 50, or 100 years or more. It also allows us to recreate it. :)

And now for a little quiz ... Can you guess which is the real me?

These photographs were taken around 150 years ago. Or were they? ;) All of them were produced using the technology available in the 1850s and 1860s. Can anyone guess which of these photographs is actually of me and which are my 100+ year-old look-alikes? (Yes one of them really is me.)

Hint: Those of you who are familiar with a certain Civil War era photography book will probably be able to figure this out. ;)

Photo 1                                                                            Photo 2

Photo 3                               Photo 4

Photo 5                                                                               Photo 6

      

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!