Cabinet Card: Young Woman from Brooklyn, 1890s

Backmark: None (Front reads “Ehm Artist 708 & 710 Broadway, Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Date: c. 1892-1896

Subject: Portrait Bust of a Young Woman

Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Dress: This is a beautiful example of the popular dress style c. 1895.  The dress is made of a light figured cotton or silk printed with floral sprays.  The sleeves are very full, with the fullness extending past the elbows.  The sleeves may be held out with separate sleeves filled with down or shaped by whalebones, or they may be puffed with pleatings of crinoline.   The extra-wide collar of eyelet embroidery extends to the end of the shoulder point and is typical of the mid 1890s.

The bodice is drawn tightly into a waistband at the true waistline and covered with a wide ribbon belt.  This bodice shape is particular to the early-to-mid 1890s.

Ribbon bows draw attention to the shoulders and the center-front neck.

Hair: This young woman still wears her hair in an adolescent style; slightly curled at the sides and center-parted as was typical of an adult style, but drawn back into a low ponytail tied with a ribbon.  Adult women would have confined their hair in a bun at the back of the head.

Backmark: [in pencil: For Alice- With love from Coz. Nellie. Easter, 1896."] In ink: ” Miss Nellie Lemon daughter of James Lemon a brother of Jos Lemon 2?? Cousin of F A Lemon 2” Alice May Lemon

Date: 1896

Subject: Portrait bust of a woman

Location: Unknown

Nellie wears the enormous leg’o'mutton (gigot) sleeves worn between 1893-19897. Her top may be an example of the newly popular shirtwaist, which was one of the first mass-produced items of daywear available to middle-class women. Shirtwaists were loose-fitting, usually washable, and looked fresh and stylish when paired with contrasting funnel-shaped skirts.

She may also be wearing a two-piece dress consisting of a matching bodice and skirt, linked together at the waist with a few sets of hooks and eyes.

Her huge puffed sleeves would have been supported from the inside with tie-on puffs of buckram, horsehair, down-filled pillows, or cages stiffened with wire or whalebone.

The piece of black lace encircling her neck may have been machine-made and purchased from a department store or catalogue, or she may have spent countless hours making it herself. I can’t tell what the long, dark strip down the center front of her bodice is, but my best guess is that it is a piece of ribbon.

Jewelry: Nellie’s only visible jewelry is a brooch pinned at her throat, which completes the visual focus on her face. It also probably serves to hold the lace in place on the bodice.

Hair: Nellie’s hair is held loosely up in a high twist, and is probably secured by several hairpins and a decorative comb. Notice the clean, soft look of her hair, and how different it is from the slick, shiny styles of earlier decades. Although frequent hair-washing would not become the norm until the 1960s, indoor plumbing made washing ones hair once a week a possibility.

Backmark: None

Date: c. 1870

Subject: Seated young woman

Location: Unknown

Note: I’m really not sure about the date of this tintype. This style of ruched bodice was especially popular from around 1865 through the early 70s, and the dropped armscye suggests a date closer to 1865, but loose hair is an 1870s fad, as far as I know. I’d appreciate any leads on comparanda to date this better.

Dress: This young woman wears a sheer dress over an opaque underdress. The bodice is shirred over tiny cords, and appears to be only on a yoke, ending at about bust level. The sleeves are long and full, coming from a dropped armscye and ending in a ruffle at the cuff. There appears to be decorative piping (tubes of fabric applied to the surface, not filled with cord) at the front yoke, armsyce, and cuffs. The jewel neckline of the dress is finished with a dark lace frill and a bow with flowers of some sort- possibly wax buds.

The underdress is probably entirely separate from the outer dress, and made of silk taffeta. I have seen several extant examples of this kind of dress, but never in any color but white. The ensemble she wears may be black, or another color that photographed dark, such as red. All of the extant dresses I have seen have been plain white organdy, but because this one is colored it may be silk.

Her skirt is not visible, but based on originals I have seen it probably consists of a skirt with a small train, and an overskirt which has been gathered up to form a polonaise, bustling out at the back.  She would wear a cage crinoline with a small bustle pad in back

Jewelry: She wears a black choker pinned at the throat with a metal brooch.

Hair: Her hair is worn faddishly loose and side-parted. To the contemporary viewer, she probably would have looked rakish in the free-spirited way that young women often do. When worn by women, the side-part had for decades prior carried an association with radical ideas and masculine bravura. Loose curls, likewise, signified a free spirit, compared to the tight, slicked-back buns that were worn since the late 1830s.

CDV: Young Woman in Coat with Buttons, c. 1864-66

CDV: Young Woman in Coat with Buttons, backmark

Backmark: 2-cent Proprietary stamp, blue.  ” R.A. Lord   164 Chatham Street (158 Old Number) New York” (more of those images here and here)

Date: c. 1864-1866

Subject: Seated Young Woman

Location: New York, NY

This young woman wears a paletot-style coat, probably of solid-colored wool.  The coat has dropped armscyes, loose sleeves (in the style generally known as coat sleeves, i.e. two piece, shaped sleeves).  The body of the coat is loose all over and, when standing, would provide a smooth line from her shoulders to the hem of her full skirt.  This obscuring of the waistline was the most common silhouette for outerwear throughout the Victorian era.

The coat reaches about hip-level, and closes up center front with three sets of buttons.  The buttons probably fasten with a cord loop. The coat has a narrow, rectangular collar and what appears to be a brooch pinned at the throat.

The coat is decorated with fabric tabs and buttons at the shoulder and cuff, giving it just a hint of the military style popular with women during the war years.

Her jewelry is a pair of hoop earrings and a ring on her finger.  She is holding something in her hand, but I cannot make out what it is.  A tiny miser’s purse, perhaps?

Hair:  Her hair is typical of that worn by young women towards the end of the war.  It is oiled (note the comb marks), center parted, and the front sections rolled away from the face.  The roll begins right at her part, rather than down near her temples, which is a feature of late-war style.   Her front rolled hair is combed back and down to meet her back hair, which is coiled into a low-lying bun or knot.

Photograph: Woman with Sword Pin, c. 1895

Backmark: None

Date:. c. 1895

Subject: Woman Seated

Location: Unknown

Note: This looks like a photograph of a Cabinet Card.

Dress: This woman wears a two-piece dress with large leg-o’-mutton sleeves. The bodice is fitted over a corset with tucks radiating up from CF/waist. The bodice closes at center front with hooks and eyes. The sleeves are typical of the mid 1890s. They may be supported inside with horsehair fabric or pleated buckram lining the sleeve, or a separate set of sleeve cages or pillows.

An enormous eyelet collar fans out from her neck and over the sleeves. The dress is finished with a high standing collar, bows at the shoulder, and trim at the waist made of velvet. A tiny sword pin pierces the front of the collar.

Hair: She wears her hair swept back, with small curls framing her forehead. A small comb holds the sides of her hair back, she probably has a matching one on the other side of her head.

The hat is typical of the 1890s. It rests directly on top of the head and level, and adds height with bows and feathers. Feather use in clothing and accessories reached a peak in the 1880s and 1890s. Entire birds (and other small animals) adorned hats and became fans. The straight, spiky plumes in this woman’s hat may be from one of any number of exotic birds, but are probably egret.

CDV: Large Woman in Silk Dress, c. 1860-62

CDV: Large Woman in Silk Dress, backmark

Backmark: “P. Rosenaker, Photographer, No. 51 Third Avenue, N.Y.

Date: c. 1860-62

Subject: Woman Standing

Location: New York, NY

Dress: One piece, attached bodice and skirt with “pagoda” style sleeves. Silk, plain weave. Opens up center front with concealed hooks and eyes. Bodice is dart-fitted; darts are very high and from the slight puckers at bust level, it appears that they let out (i.e. are not sewn to the tip of the dart) The bodice is poorly fitted, note the horizontal wrinkles caused by being too long and too narrow for her corseted torso.

Sleeves are trimmed with ribbon or ruching along the cuff and up to the armscye. Decorative buttons up front placket.

The skirt is attached to the bodice with knife pleats (possibly gathers, it is not clear). The skirt ends about 4-6″ from the floor in front and is bound at the hem with wool braid. Note how narrow the skirt is in relation to the cage crinoline supporting it.

Her collar is about 3″ wide, which indicates an earlier date (1850s) but she may simply have been out of fashion. Her hair is in a style typical of the early 1860s. She also wears undersleeves and a brooch at center front/neck and earrings.

Hair: Center parted, combed down behind her ears. Bound rather low on the nape of her neck in a coil.

CDV: Young Woman with Rolled Hair, c. 1862-64

CDV: Young Woman with Rolled Hair, backmark

Backmark: “D.K. Jewell Artist, Augusta, Me.”

Date: c. 1862-64

Subject: Portrait of a Young Woman

Location: Augusta, Maine

Dress: Fabric is striped and barred (dark vertical stripe, thin light “bars”, or widowpane) may be wool, cotton, silk, or a mix.

The piping at the neckline is visible. Most, if not all, round (jewel) necklines were piped in this period.

She wears a short standing white collar and a brooch at center front/neck. Decorative buttons down center front are just barely visible.

Hair: The three-quarter pose allows us to see a wonderful hairstyle. Center parted and oiled (note the comb lines just below her part); the front hair is combed away from the face over a wide “rat,” making the width extend from just above her temples t o the nape of her neck.

The front hair continues in a thick roll (no doubt augmented by a rat or false hair) across her neck, with the ends integrated into the back coil or tucked beneath is.

Her back hair is combed into a low-lying coil. Note the prominent levels(coils sticking out, with the last coil being the farthest out); this is typical of back coils from the 1840s through the middle of the 1860s. The back hair was typically held in place with a comb, usually ornamental as well as functional. Unfortunately, her comb is not visible. She may also be using hairpins to help hold everything in place.

CDV: Woman in Fan-front Dress, c. 1860

Backmark: None

Date: c. 1860

Subject: Woman

Location: Unknown

Dress: One-piece dressed composed of bodice with attached skirt; fabric is probably wool, plain weave and solid color; fan-front bodice (“Y-bodice”) with pleats at shoulder; “bishop” or gathered sleeve into a cuff, pleats at armscye; knife-pleated skirt.

This woman is unusual for a few reasons. The fan-front bodice went out of style before CDVs were invented (1858), and she does not appear to be wearing a cage crinoline. There are a few explanations possible: 1) The CDV is very old (c. 1858)- supported by her style of dress. 2) She wears outdated styles, is perhaps marginalized by location, age, status 3) She is a Quaker or a member of a similar religious group- supported by her plain clothing and simple hairstyle. I don’t know enough about Quakers to be sure, can anyone help with this? Her flat, narrow collar, which was stylish in the early to mid 1860s, supports #3.

Fan front bodices were usually gathered or gauged at the waist; some were tucked, though tucks were more typical of earlier styles of the fan-front (1820s-40s). The pleats at the shoulder was a feature dating back decades.

She does not appear to be wearing a crinoline. Although it is impossible to be sure, especially without seeing the hem, the bulge at her hips looks more like the abrupt fullness of several petticoats and a pad than the smooth curve of a cage.

The dark velvet ribbon tied around her neck may be a watch fob. I guess this by how it is pulled taut and to the left. Watch pockets were usually small, horizontal pockets sewn into the waist of the skirt.

Hair: Her hair is center parted and combed behind her ears. There is none of the side fullness typical of the period. Her hair is probably bound up in a simple bun at the back.

I’ll just share this great blog today, The Cabinet Card Gallery.

The blogger has a question about this girl’s outfit. What is she wearing? I’m not very familiar with this era, or children’s clothes, but it looks to me like a fancy-dress costume in a vaguely 18th c. riding style.

Happy holidays! I’m gone for the rest of the year, so tah till 2009.

Cabinet Card: Woman with Poufed Fringe, 1880s-90s

Cabinet Card: Woman with Poufed Fringe, backmark

Backmark: “.Whitbeck. Successor to Forshew.  Photographer. Hudson, N.Y.  Duplicates may be procured at any time”

Date: c. 1880s- early 90’s

Subject: Bust of a Woman

Location: Hudson, N.Y.

This woman’s bodice is made from three materials (at least).  The body and sleeves are plain colored wool, the lapels are velvet, and the false waist in the center is a lightweight striped silk.

Bodices from this period often opened up center front with buttons or hooks and eyes, and the false waist hooked over it to conceal the opening.

Her sleeves are slightly puffed, which was in style during the late 1880s and early 1890s.  Could we see her skirt, it would probably be asymmetrically-draped, cylindrical in shape, with a small bustle.

She wears a tight bead necklace high on her throat, a pin of some sort at the front of her bodice neck, and small earrings.

Hair:  Her hair is pulled back tightly into a bun at the nape of her neck.  She wears her bangs short and puffed, a style which was popular throughout the 1880s and into the 1890s.