Mastery of Design: The Temperance Bodice Ornament , 1610-20

Dress Ornament
1610-1620
Germany
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Dress or bodice ornaments were sewn onto garments for decorative effect.  These small decorations were often made of the finest precious metals and stones.  Usually, they were made in matching sets of differing sizes so that they could be worn in rows across sleeves, the bodice, or a jacket.  They were worn by both men and women.

Here, we see an openwork gold ornament which was made in Germany between 1610 and 1620.  It features a cast female figure at the center, holding two goblets, presumably of water, and, therefore, identified as “Temperance” whose attribute was twin goblets.  She, therefore, may have been part of a large set of ornaments depicting the cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance).  These were usually paired with the theological Virtues (Faith, Hope and Charity).

The whole piece is enameled in white, blue, green and black.

History's Runway: Thomson's Empress Cage Crinoline, 1865-8

Cage Crinoline
Thomsons' Empress, 1865-68
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The word “crinoline” was first used to describe petticoats that were lined with horsehair cloth in the 1840s. At this time, women often wore crinolines with up to eight petticoats in order to  support the fashionable, but cumbersome wide skirts which were popular. Sometimes an additional layer of padding had to be added to the lot to give the correct shape.

By 1856, skirts grew even wider.  This meant that the weight of the required petticoats became very uncomfortable. A number of attempts were made to remedy this and a variety of contraptions were invented--including petticoats made from inflatable rubber tubes.

The best solution came about when the “artificial” or “cage” crinoline first appeared in1857. Made of spring steel hoops that increased in diameter towards the bottom, the cage crinoline served to support a wide skirt without weighing down the wearer.   The number of hoops ranged from 9 to 18 depending on the formality of the dress. Sometimes the hoops even had hinges so that getting through doorways and up stairs was less cumbersome.

This crinoline frame consists of a braid covered watch-spring steel which is slotted through six wool braid vertical bands. The shaped waist-band is made of red cotton and there are two cotton waist tapes. The cage crinoline became even more popular when ladies and men alike realized that the sway of the cage would allow a brief, alluring glimpse of an ankle or stockings. 

This was made in Britain between 1865 and 1868 by W.S. & E.H. Thomson.

Precious Time: The James Walter Scott Watch, 1862-3

Pocket Watch
James Stock, 1862-3
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This stunning gold watch is engraved and enameled, and inscribed on the movement “Manufactured by B. Lawley, London, for W.C.Shaw, Glasgow.”  The casemaker's mark reads “JWS” for James Walter Stock, Clerkenwell.  Hallmarks for London are stamped, “1862-3.”

Gifts of Grandeur: A Pair of Bird Head Earrings, c. 1865

Bird Head Earrings
Harry Emanuel, 1865
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In this case, I use “grandeur” loosely.  In fact, the heading should read, “Gifts of Horror”—unless of course you really like taxidermy.  I know people who do.  So, these are for you.

In the Nineteenth Century, especially toward the end, dead birds were all the rage in fashion.  The mounting of small birds (or—even better!--their heads) was quite  fashionable in jewelry in the 1860s and 1870s.

These earrings were made around 1865 by Harry Emanuel (1825-1898).  They feature the head of a feathered bird with a gold bill, red paste eyes (shudder) and gold backs. 

A visitor to Harry Emanuel's shop in 1865 described items in stock as including “humming birds' heads mounted in necklaces and earrings, complete humming bird heads, breasts and bodies, found in South America and perhaps prepared in the United States.”   So well-received was this fashion that it was displayed at the International Exhibition of 1872.

 

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Unusual Artifacts: A Pair of Men's Stockings, 1660-70

Linen Stockings for Men, 1660-1670
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Before the art of knitting became prevalent in England, in the Fifteenth Century, all hosiery products were made from woven fabrics--either linen or wool. However, even though by the beginning of the Seventeenth Century, knitted stockings were the most popular and convenient form of hose, but cut linen versions like the example that we see here were continued to be worn.

These linen stockings have been cut to follow the shape of the leg as closely as possible.  This was by design, to prevent sagging. Embroidered edgings in green silk jazz up the pair, giving a gentleman a chance to be a little jaunty.

These were made in England between 1660 and 1670.  

Object of the Day: A Trade Card for the Union Sewing Machine Co.

This trade card advertises the “Union Sewing Machine Co.”  The image depicts two well-dressed young ladies in pursuit of butterflies.  The seated woman holds a lap desk so that she might write about their fun afternoon.

The cards reads: “Union Sewing Machines are the best,” and declares that one may “Sew Backward or Forward Without Stopping.”  Made in the late Nineteenth Century, this card demonstrates the trend of young ladies using the modern invention of the sewing machine to make her own fashionable clothes.