Cabinet Card: Young Woman from Brooklyn, 1890s

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.

Cabinet Card: Woman, 1860s

Cabinet Card: Woman, 1860s

Cabinet Card: Woman, 1860s, Backmark

Backmark: “S. Piper, 864 Elm St., Manchester, N.H.”

Date: Original image c. 1860

Subject: Woman

Location: Manchester, N.H.

Note: The style of dress in this photo predates the invention of the Cabinet Card, so I believe that this is a reprint of an older photograph.

Dress: This woman wears a one-piece dress, attached skirt and bodice, of silk.  The fabric appears to be solid-coloured.  Her bodice is darted fitted, opens up center front with concealed hooks and eyes, and decorated with a row of ornamental buttons

Her sleeves, while not completely out of style in the late 1850s and early 1860s, were certainly unusual for the time.  They are probably made in two parts- the top section sewn onto a tight lower section.  I am not aware of a specific name for this cut of sleeve, either period or modern.  Gigot or leg’o’mutton always seemed to me to most accurately describe the one-piece sleeves that are puffed at the top and narrow at the cuff (after all, a leg of lamb is in one piece!).  At first glance this woman’s sleeve resembles the gigot, but I think the shape is different enough that it deserves another name.

Her full skirt is worn over a wide hoop or cage crinoline.  The skirt is knife-pleated into the waist, with the pleats facing towards center front.  Her skirt is trimmed in several horizontal bands.  I can’t tell exactly what the trimming is, but a good possibility is that it is rows of self-fabric ruched up the center to from two puffs, and outlined top and bottom with velvet ribbon.

She wears a watch fob suspended from her belt- the watch is tucked into a small, vertical watch-pocket.  The majority of watch-pockets that I have seen on original garments are horizontal and on the left side of the dress (PL), but vertical pockets do show up occasionally.

Her dress is finished with narrow, flat white collar, pinned at the throat with a brooch.

Hair:  Instead of trying to tame naturally curly hair into the smooth hairstyles popular during the mid-victorian period, many curly-headed women preferred to wear them in controlled ringlets.  We would call them “banana curls.”  This woman conforms to the style of the period by center-parting her hair, oiling it, and setting it into uniform ringlets.

CDV: Kate E. Perry

CDV: Kate E. Perry, c. 1860

CDV: Kate E. Perry, backmark

Backmark: I. G. Owen Newton, N.J. “Negatives Preserved” Additional Copies from the plate from which this picture is taken can be had at any time if desired.

Date: c. 1860

Subject: Woman

Location: Newton, New Jersey

Note: Photo taken at the same studio as the Woman in Plain Silk.

Dress: Perry wears a one-piece dress composed of a bodice attached to a skirt. The fabric is printed with a regular pattern of small flower bunches or geometric shapes in straight rows. The fabric may either be wool or silk or a mix of the two. The drape of the fabric, especially in the sleeve, looks to me like wool.

The bodice is darted and closes at center front with hooks and eyes. Note that the two fronts are poorly matched, indicating that Ms. Perry made this dress herself or hired a less-skilled dressmaker.

The sleeves are wrist-length in a wide sleeve, which may either be classified as a modified pagoda, or an extra-wide two-piece coat sleeve. The sleeve is pleated to fit into the armsyce, and hangs clumsily around the arm.

The skirt is floor-length and appears to be knife-pleated.  The hem is bound with wool tape.

The dress is trimmed with wide box-pleated ruching over the bodice and down the sleeve.  She wears a belt -colored blue in the original photograph- and a watch tucked into the belt, with the fob hanging below.  She is probably wearing undersleeves, though they are not visible, and she wears a narrow flat collar fastened in front with a brooch.

Hair: Her hair is center parted and combed low over the ears.  At about ear level her hair is rolled towards the face slightly, creating just a hint of a puff.  She wears a headdress of decorated hairnet, and drop earrings.

CDV: Woman in Plain Silk

CDV: Woman in Plain Silk, c. 1860

CDV: Woman in Plain Silk, backmark

Backmark: I. G. Owen Newton, N.J. “Negatives Preserved” Additional Copies from the plate from which this picture is taken can be had at any time if desired.

Date: c. 1860

Subject: Woman

Location: Newton, New Jersey

Note: This CDV is from the same photography establishment as Kate E. Perry.

Dress: One piece dress composed of bodice and attached skirt.  Most likely silk, with a hint of a woven figure on the chest, although it is difficult to tell if this is an actual jacquard from the photograph.  Numbers of original garments show that delicately figured, single-color silks were common in the early 1860s.

The bodice is darted and closes at center front with hidden hooks and eyes.  Her sleeves are modified pagoda.  Notice how short they are in relation to her wrist.  Sleeve lengths from this period range from over the wrist to nearly at the elbow (though the latter seems to have been mostly a result of remaking old dresses and not having enough fabric).

She wears a very narrow white collar, with the neckline of the dress peeking over, which indicates that the collar is probably just pinned on top of the bodice.  The front closes with a brooch.  She also appears to be wearing a plain belt without a clasp or buckle.

Her skirt is pleated into the bodice with narrow knife-pleats, facing towards center-front.  The skirt is worn over a cage crinoline, and is finished at the hem with a wool tape to prevent wear on the dress fabric.

Hair:  Her hair is center-parted, combed low over the ears, and pinned back into a coil at about the hairline level.  Her hair looks slightly old-fashioned; hairstyles with the greatest width over the ears and ending abruptly near the earlobe was popular in the 1850s.

CDV: Woman in Silk with Watch

CDV: Woman in Silk with Watch, c. 1860

Backmark: None

Date: c. 1860

Subject: Seated Woman

Location:Unknown

Dress: This dress is probably made of silk taffeta, one of the most popular fabrics for dresses in the early 1860s. The bodice is darted and opens in front, as nearly all dresses of the time do (for women. Girls’ dresses open in back). The sleeve is a version of the “modified pagoda,” as it is known to modern costume historians. A wavy edge winds its way from the front of the shoulder to the wrist. There may be a series of pleats at the top of the cuff, which serves to gives the sleeve a attractive upward curve. The skirt is gathered or gauged, and trimmed with a deep box-pleated flounce of self-fabric. The only other trim on the dress is ribbon or braid on the sleeve.

Accessories: She wears a flat, white collar about 1.25″ in width. A necktie made of ribbon is penned at her throat. Her pocketwatch is suspended from a chain around her neck and tucked into a ribbon belt. Her undersleeves are fitted at the wrist, with a narrow ruffle over the hand and gathered fullness in the arm. The undersleeves close with visible buttons (or, the buttons may be decorative, and the undersleeves may close with a hook and eye. She wears a lot of jewelry, including three visible rings, dangling earrings, and what appears to be a thin, dark necklace at the base of her neck (or this may be a looping of the watch chain)

Hair: Center parted and combed down to form a slope across the sides of her forehead and smoothly behind her ears. Bound in back in a coil, and covered with a decorated hairnet.

CDV: Close Curls

Close Curls, c. 1863-67

J.J. Boyton Clinton, Mass.

This woman’s clothing appears uninteresting at first glance, but a closer inspection will reveal some unusual details of mid-1860s fashion.

She wears a one-piece dress composed of a bodice and attached skirt. The fabric is probably wool. Her bodice is dart-fitted, with a row of functional buttonholes closing center front. There are eight visible buttons, in a contrast color to the fabric. She has a short standing detachable white collar, and wears a light-colored neck-bow. The strap is just barely visible around her neck. She wears a dark belt, approximately 1.25″, with no visible buckle.

Her sleeves are pleated into a decorative seam down the top. The seam may be covered with braid or some other trim, the photograph is unclear.

Her cuffs are noteworthy: They are slightly conical and pointed on the top edge, with two decorative buttons. The question is over the material- are these black leather? Spectacularly shiny satin? Cuffs like these show up occasionally in photographs, often enough and randomly enough that they could not have been simply a localized fad. I have never come across anything like them in museum collections. Does anyone have any information?

Her skirt is also noteworthy. The wide box pleats at center front and side seam(s) are typical of the mid ’60s, but note the three smaller pleats radiating out from each. The hem of her skirt appears to be box-pleated with the same fabric as the rest of the dress. I wonder how those pleats are attached? It appears that the flounce is sewn right-sides-together, but this construction is not typical for the time period. A pleat topstitched on with a short header is more common. If you have seen an original like this, please comment below.

Finally, her hair, which I consider also noteworthy. It is center-parted, combed smooth for about two inches, and then erupts into a dense but controlled mass of curls on either side of her head. I cannot tell whether her hair is cut short, which was faddish in the late 1860s and early 1870s, or if the sides were let to curl naturally and then combed into a low back bun.