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

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.

CDV: London Women

CDV: London Women, c. 1860-66

CDV: London Women, backmark

Backmark: “J. Ward, Photographer. 78 Easton Road, London”

Date: c. 1860-66

Subject: Older woman and younger woman

Location: London

Older Woman:
This woman wears a hip-length, unfitted paletot over her dress. The jacket is either a shiny, worsted wool, or a wool/silk mix. The jacket is trimmed with two rows of dark ribbon- probably black velvet- and a row of decorative buttons down the front. Curiously, two of the buttons read as white and the rest as black. It is unclear if the white collar is attached to a dress-bodice underneath, or if it is attached to the jacket which is functioning as a bodice. A brooch fastens at center front and neck.

The dress, of which only the skirt is visible, is striped.

Her hair is parted in the center, and she wears an elaborate headdress or cap. These caps were in style in the 1850s, and so it is not surprising that an older woman would wear something a litlle out of style. Unlike headdresses of the early 1806s, which formed a moderate amount of fullness from forehead level to the nape, this 1850s style concentrates all the fullness at ear-level. Wide ribbons falling on the shoulders complete the full-yet-droopy look.

Younger woman: The younger woman wears a plain dress over a wide cage crinoline. No trim details are visible on her dress, except for the dark ribbon belt/sash tied fashionably at the side front of her waist. The black cord hanging from her neck is probably a watch fob. A slim white collar fastened with a brooch completes the dress.

Her long, fair-weather coat (i.e. more decorative than functional), probably made of wool, is trimmed with two rows of ribbon around the neck and down center front. Her sleeves are also trimmed in ribbon or tape, in a vaguely military style that was faddish in the early to mid 1860s. The white handkerchief at her elbow indicates the presence of a coat pocket. She fastens only the first button; the rest of the tiny buttons which go only to rib-cage level lie unused. This button formation is unusual for the period; most coats have large buttons that extend past the waist.

Her hair is center parted and rolled away from her face and bound in back in a low coil. She carries her hat, which appears to be straw and trimmed with ribbon and possibly flowers.

CDV: Girl in Coat

Girl in Coat, c. 1860-66

[No Backmark]

This girl wears a long coat -almost the length of her dress. The fabric is probably a fine wool with rich shine. The coat’s armscyes are dropped unusually low, and the wide two-piece coat sleeves are bunched up around her arm, so this coat may be a hand-me-down or something meant to last several growing seasons. Although mostly obscured, two pairs of large buttons at the hem hint that the coat fastens with buttons and loops at the top. There are two barely-visible patch pockets; one is obscured by her hat, and the other is just below her left arm.

She wears a long scarf, fastened around her neck with a decorative pin. The ends of the scarf are fringed, and the scarfs appears to have dark edges, though it is unclear from the photograph exactly what makes the edges dark.

Her hat may be made of wool felt, based on the other cold-weather outerwear. I am unaware of other hat materials, so if you have any information please use the comment form below. The hat is trimmed outside with a dark bow tied at back, a ribband around the crown, and what is probably an ostrich plume on the side. The two long ribbons hanging down may be to tie the hat under her chin (I am guessing at this- correct me if you have other ideas).

The girl appears to be wearing a tasseled hairnet (see the light-colored tassel with dark head near her right ear). Her hair is center parted and probably bound in a low coil on the nape of her neck.

She wears a wide hoop, for her size, and her skirt hangs at least six inches off the ground. This silhouette is typical of adolescent girls of the period.