Ephemeral Beauty: Use Corticelli Silk

Click to enlarge.

So many of the trade cards in my ever-growing collection of ephemera are for thread.  Upon a recent visit, my mother was looking at a cross-section of my cards which are displayed on a stand on a table and remarked that most of them were advertising thread, or, as she said, "giant spools of thread."  Before my mother pointed it out, I hadn't really noticed the imbalance of thread-related cards versus others.  Medical quackery as a theme runs a close second.  There are almost as many cards for de-worming your children and strengthening your spleen.  I imagine it's because clothes weren't the toss-away items they are now, many were made in the home, and there was a greater need for and time for sewing.  In fact, it was an art unto itself where, today, unless you're a designer or on Project Runway, sewing is considered more of a chore than anything else.

Here's another thread-related card.  This one doesn't feature terrifyingly large spools of thread around which human children play.  This one boasts the second most popular thread motif, a pretty lady.  After all, the thread's target audience was the lady of the house (and her maid).  Showing an attractively clad woman, obviously the result of using said thread, makes a lot of sense.

This lady in her blue and crimson bonnet is adorned with a flounce of white silk over her floral-patterned gown.  In an ocher-gloved hand, she holds a spray of flowers.  She looks smugly out at us and says, "You can be as fabulous as I am."

Beneath the image, "Use Corticelli Silk."

The reverse reads:

A FULL LINE OF

Unequalled Corticelli Spool Silk,

FOR SALE BY

SIMON LEWY,

Dealer in

Dry Goods, Carpets, Clothing,

SHOES, HATS, ETC.

175 Broad Street,  Eufaula, Ala.

The printer obviously believed in the late Nineteenth Century credo of, "The more fonts the better."

And, yes, somehow it does make me want to use Corticelli Silk.

Click to enlarge.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Blue Foil Necklace, 1650-75

Necklace of Painted Blue Foil, Silver, Glass and Waxed Thread
England, 1650-1675

While not very valuable in terms of materials, this necklace which dates to about 1650-1675 is priceless for the skill and brilliance with which it was made.

Each of the individual square panels of this necklace is set with a blue foil which has been painted in exquisite miniature with a symbol representing love or mortality; including a skull and crossbones, the initials “EJ” beneath a coronet’ a putto holding leaves, a cornucopia, two cherubs with a flaming heart, a skeleton on a tomb inscribed “At Rest,” a dolphin, an angel with two crosses, a crowned lion, a winged skull, a bull, the sun, moon and stars, a lyre and butterfly, flowers, clasped hands with a heart, a skull above a crown with inscriptions “GLORIA” and “VANITAS,” a putto with a lance, an elephant's head and trident, and a sea animal in a shell.

Small panels of glass are set above each painted foil.  Mounted on silver backings, these individual panels are strung together with waxed thread.  

The Art of Play: The Lord Clapham Doll's Coat, 1690-1700

The "Lord and Lady Clapham" Dolls, 1690-1700
This and all related images from The Victoria & Albert Museum

This coat is part of a whole suite of items which were made for one of a pair of famous dolls.  The doll, known as Lord Clapham, is thought to have belonged to the Cockerell family, descendants of the diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703)—the first man in Britain to record the presence of our Mr. Punch.   The daughter of Mr. Pepys's nephew John Jackson (the son of his sister Pauline) married a Cockerell, who had a family home in Clapham, in south London.

The doll known as “Lord Clapham” shows us a range of examples of both formal and informal dress for a gentleman of the 1690s. His formal outfit includes a coat, waistcoat and breeches, while his informal dress is made up of a nightgown and accessories such as the stockings.  Other accessories include a stock (a form of stiff, close-fitting neckcloth) and gloves.  Miraculously, these all still survive!  They now live at the V&A along with Lord and Lady Clapham—the dolls, not the actual aristocrats.  Clearly, the dolls were never really played with by children, and were, no doubt, made to be collectible objects. 

Let’s take a look at the little Lord’s little coat.  The coat is made of red wool with a full skirt, lined with pale blue spotted silk. The cuffs are created of silver tissue trimmed and fastened with silver thread spangled buttons--seven buttons down the front, three under each pocket, three on each sleeve cuff and one over each skirt gather on the hip. Two horizontal pockets on the front are lined with the same pale blue spotted silk.

Because of their perfect condition, the Lord Clapham doll and its partner, Lady Clapham, are now considered perfect costume documents--their clothes being, “in style, cut and material, perfect miniatures of the fashions of the late 17th century.”

Both dolls are crafted of wood and wool, with faces that are gessoed and painted.  They both wear wigs of human hair.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Blue Foil Necklace, 1650-75

Necklace of Painted Blue Foil, Silver, Glass and Waxed Thread
England, 1650-1675

While not very valuable in terms of materials, this necklace which dates to about 1650-1675 is priceless for the skill and brilliance with which it was made.

Each of the individual square panels of this necklace is set with a blue foil which has been painted in exquisite miniature with a symbol representing love or mortality; including a skull and crossbones, the initials “EJ” beneath a coronet’ a putto holding leaves, a cornucopia, two cherubs with a flaming heart, a skeleton on a tomb inscribed “At Rest,” a dolphin, an angel with two crosses, a crowned lion, a winged skull, a bull, the sun, moon and stars, a lyre and butterfly, flowers, clasped hands with a heart, a skull above a crown with inscriptions “GLORIA” and “VANITAS,” a putto with a lance, an elephant's head and trident, and a sea animal in a shell.

Small panels of glass are set above each painted foil.  Mounted on silver backings, these individual panels are strung together with waxed thread.