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Serena Lake – writer

~ where romance and history join together…

Serena Lake – writer

Tag Archives: 18th century

Virtual Tours and a Challenge…

07 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by serenalake-writer in fashion, Museums

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18th century, 19th century, Bath, costume, dresses, fashion, shoes

2020 has been a difficult year for everyone.

A Virtual Tour…

While many museums and galleries are reopening, sadly, others are not, among the latter is my favourite, the Fashion Museum in Bath, Somerset.

Late July it was announced that both the Fashion Museum and the Victoria Gallery would remain closed until 29th March 2021.

On my last visit, I ran out of time to visit the Victoria Gallery, and put it top of my ‘to see’ list, next time.

For those who’ve never had the opportunity to see the History of Fashion in 100 Objects, you can take a virtual tour of the exhibition.

Though a number of the items have changed since my visit in 2017, there are a few that appeared in the photos I shared in my April 2017 post, here.

Now for the challenge…

Look at my April 2017 post; look at the photos and the clothes displayed. Then, take the virtual tour and see how many of them you recognise.

Look out for these shoes, they’re there, but easy to miss.

High heels from the 1780’s

I’d love to hear which ones you identify, and whether you enjoyed the virtual tour…

 

A Few Views from the Fashion Museum in Bath…

23 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by serenalake-writer in research

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18th century, 19th century, Bath, costume, dresses, exhibitions, fashion, history, shoes

I have had a few busy months, but I did manage a much-needed long weekend break in Bath last month, with the main intention of visiting the Fashion Museum.

You’ll find a couple of posts over on Carol’s blog about the visits to the Bath Postal Museum and the Museum of Bath Architecture.

Both these small museums don’t get the visitor numbers that the better known locations do, but are well worth taking a little time out to see them if you’re in Bath.

The Fashion Museum is currently exhibiting the History of Fashion in 100 Objects (until 1st January 2019), along with the recently opened Lace in Fashion.

This was two hours of bliss. Selecting my favourites to show you has been difficult, but I’ve chosen time periods I’m interested in for my novels current and future…

And shoes do feature in my image selection.

As lighting is low and items are behind glass to control the temperature to protect the fabrics from deteriorating, I have needed to add light to my images, and you may notice the occasional reflection. I wanted to limit how much adjustment I needed to make, but the ones reflecting the red chairs will take some work. I really didn’t think it was polite to move them just for one photo, so you won’t be seeing that one!

My absolute favourite dress was this striped silk Robe à l’anglaise from the 1770’s.

Striped silk Robe à l’anglaise from 1770’s

Actually I have to admit to favouring the dresses of the 1770’s. They must have looked amazing when they were first worn; the wearer making their way around a ballroom with the candlelight reflecting off mirrors and windows bringing the colour to life.

The early costumes displayed a more practical element, less glamour than those late 18th century gowns. They also show how styles could change over a decade, with open and closed robe dresses revealing, then concealing a warm petticoat.

 

 

Open Robe of the 1730’s and the Closed Robe of the 1740’s

There was an interesting quilted petticoat from the 1740’s on display with an open robe. The information card suggested it could be Scottish, and perhaps an indicator of sympathy to the Jacobite cause. The stitched thistle design is not immediately obvious until you look closer…

Quilted petticoat from the 1740’s with thistle design

You can just see the dress this petticoat was displayed with to the right in the above group photo…

 

High heels from the   1780’s

Flat shoes from the 1810’s

There were a few shoes within the costume areas, but further on a couple of display cabinets held a variety of shoes and boots.

 

 

 

 

There were a few delightful items of menswear included, waistcoats, jackets, suits, and an early pair of trousers from the 1820’s.

Man’s Printed Cotton Banyan from the 1750’s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accessories were not forgotten. There was a display of Bone, Coral, Ivory and Turtle items, that ranged from fans to hair combs and other pieces. It was highlighting the less pleasant aspect of trade in species from around the world during the 18th and 19th century.

Today these species are protected, but in the 1800’s there was a big trade in these new materials, and the resources were probably looked on as unlimited, though a few hundred years later we’re aware of how much damage this led to…

So that’s just a few items. The exhibition is worth visiting, as whatever decade or century you’re interested in, you’ll find something to admire and be fascinated by.

When you finish the fashion display downstairs in the Assembly Rooms, you can go back upstairs and view the settings those beautiful dresses and suits could have graced in past times…

Carol will be putting a few images from the exhibition on her next blog post too. So do take the time to visit.

 

It’s Shoes…

12 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by serenalake-writer in research

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

18th century, 19th century, exhibitions, fashion, history, shoes

Having finally got the house back to normal, and the horrible winter illnesses have faded away, I’ve had time to think about updating the blog, so I decided to revisit some of the exhibitions I got to visit last year, and there’s a few photos from 2015 included…

The one element we share with the men and women of the past is that shoes and boots say something about us; we’re conformists, or complete exhibitionists, or perhaps somewhere in-between types.

Shoes may be practical or decorative, and at various times across the century practicality or decoration has been predominant.

Small Black Leather Overshoes 1795-1800

Small Black Leather Overshoes 1795-1800 (1)

Whenever there’s an exhibition display of costume, shoes are the useful accessory but get overshadowed by a beautiful dress. Being able to concentrate just on the shoes themselves allows you to see not only the skill of the shoe-designer/maker, but the detail in the material used: leather, brocade, silk, or embroidered textiles.

The Shoe exhibition that Fairfax House in York ran last year, had a number of items on loan from other UK museums (Northampton, and Hereford among them). There was even a black boot belonging to Lord Wellington that wouldn’t have looked out-of-place nowadays.

Sadly no photos could be taken at Fairfax House, so I’ve searched through my own images from other museums and exhibitions I’ve been to, where photos are allowed under set conditions.

(That’s when a good digital camera is invaluable; images can be zoomed in on, and if needed light applied once you’ve downloaded them to your computer.)

I’d happily wear the early 18th century Louis heels if a shoe designer made them for shoes in my foot size, but without the pointy toes!

Women's Brocade Silk Shoes 1730-50

Women’s Brocade Silk Shoes 1730-50 (2)

Brocade Silk Women's Shoes 1730-50

Brocade Silk Women’s Shoes 1730-50 (3)

Heels were worn by both men and women; also decorative buckles to fasten shoes. They could be simple or elaborate, big of small, the must have fashion item of the 1700’s.

You can see some beautiful examples courtesy of candicehearn.com over at Regency World.

18th Century Shoe Buckles

18th Century Shoe Buckles (4)

It wasn’t until I saw the shoes on display at the Fairfax House exhibition that it became obvious how the shape of the toe and design of women’s shoes had changed in a century.

Women's Bargello Embroidery (Wool on Canvas) Shoes 1720-30

Women’s Bargello Embroidery (Wool on Canvas) Shoes 1720-30 (5)

Shoes were neither left or right, so the young women of the 18th and early 19th century probably experienced the pinched toes, and a not perfect fit that many young women nowadays tolerate, but like their earlier counterparts put up with it until they can get home…

So from the pointed toes and lower heels of the 1790’s, women’s shoes became flatter and the pointy toe became rounder and then flat and square. With the materials becoming softer – silks and satin’s, and with the lower cut the need to be tied on, and suitable for dancing in the ballroom.

Mid to late 18th Century Women's Shoes. Paste Buckles.

Mid to late 18th Century Women’s Shoes. Paste Buckles. (6)

Women's Brown Kid Leather Shoes with 1 inch heels 1795-1800

Women’s Brown Kid Leather Shoes with 1 inch heels 1795-1800 (7)

Outside these softer shoes would be unsuitable for walking in, so boots became popular. There are delightful creamy kid leather ankle boots  (circa 1810) in the Alfred Gillett Trust Collection (in The Shoe Museum in Street, Somerset).

Fawn Leather Ankle Boots 1811-1830

Fawn Leather Ankle Boots 1811-1830 (8)

You can follow the ever-changing fashion in shoes via online availability, or depending where you live, by museum visits.

Black Satin Slippers 1830-40

Black Satin Slippers 1830-40 (9)

The Bata Shoe Museum is in Toronto, Canada. But you can see a few shoe examples in All About Shoes.

If the UK, there’s The Shoe Museum in Street, Somerset.

Northampton Museum is digitizing their shoe collection and you can see some of the images on Flickr. Click on the image you’re interested in, and the details are displayed.

On future visits to costume exhibitions I’ll definitely pay more attention to any footwear in the display…

Images 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 from Shaping The Body, Castle Museum, York.

Images 3, 4, 6 from Pickford House Museum, Derby, Derbyshire.

Highlights from My Summer Break…

25 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by serenalake-writer in Uncategorized

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18th century, 19th century, costume, dresses, exhibitions, fashion, history

My blog has sadly been neglected over the summer months, so the time has come to correct that situation.

In June I enjoyed a long weekend away in York, which enabled me to visit two exhibitions while I was there: the Castle Museum, and Fairfax House.

‘Shaping the Body’ at the Castle Museum is an ongoing exhibition, one among many other wonderful exhibits. The route around the Museum starts with a display of a late 18th century Georgian Room that included a large doll’s house in the corner.

18-06-2016-georgian-room-1780-display-at-castle-museum

The Georgian Room with Doll’s House

all-i-need-is-the-dress

Trying on Panniers…

 

Eventually you reach the upper gallery where the costumes are displayed, and while it isn’t extensive there is a good selection of costumes and accessories for each time period.

There’s even a small selection of costumes that you could try on-you need to be slim to fit the dress with the space for panniers, even with Velcro fastenings I could not have gotten the dress up my arms, but I was still able to try on the panniers that went with it.

They were probably much more comfortable than the real thing, as these were a thick foam inside a fabric covering. Nevertheless they still gave the impression of the width that would be created once the dress was in place.

I particularly liked how the exhibition curators had brought context to the exhibits with interesting information.

The pair of brown stays on display (from 1760-80) also noted the UK equivalent size now- size 8. That seems quite thin, but women were smaller and shorter than they are now.

Creating shape

Creating shape

Spread across the displays were shoes from each time period (more about those in my next post).

The Dangers of Fashion were on display too. One cabinet held a beautiful green dress, but the dye was deadly as it contained arsenic. You can find out more about this aspect of fashion from this post.

But it was the large glass Chemist’s bottle that once held Belladonna that drew my attention. The contents were used as drops to enlarge the pupils, but with prolonged use it would cause blurred vision and even blindness.

Chemist's Bottle

Chemist’s Bottle

(As this bottle was low down in the cabinet I crouched down to take the photo, but when I went to get back up, my back bag and gravity tipped me backwards onto the stone slabs. Thank you to the lady who came to offer me help in getting up. Next time I’m in this situation I will kneel instead.)

Leaving the gallery the centuries on show passed by until the sixties arrived, and for anyone over 50 years old, there were lots of recognisable items, toys, posters, music, adverts and information on television shows.

A good place to visit whether young or old, and whatever era you’re interested in…

 

 

 

More Exhibitions to Visit in Bath

30 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by serenalake-writer in Uncategorized

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Tags

18th century, 19th century, Bath, costume, dresses, exhibitions, fashion, shoes

Like many writers I’m signed up to newsletters from museums and history related organisations, so I thought I’d share with you news of the next main exhibition at the Fashion Museum in Bath.

Assembly Rooms and Fashion Museum, Bath reduced size

The Fashion Museum in Bath

It’s called A History of Fashion in 100 Objects. It opens 19th March this year and runs until 1st January 2018.

The exhibition showcases fashion history from 1500 to the present day. So there will be something for every visitor whether you’re a fan of Regency fashion or the elegant gowns of the House of Worth, and then on into the 20th century and beyond.

I like the idea of the ten shoe ‘moments’ they’re including, and ten ‘historical looks’ for children (1700s – 2000s).

Sadly  I have to plan well in advance and save up for trips that can’t be managed within the day – as they’ll require hotel stays, so I probably won’t get to visit the 100 fashion objects until 2017.

If you’re fortunate to live within a short travelling distance from exhibition venues, do visit. So many museums depend upon local support to keep running, whether they’re well known, or a small museum in your town or nearest city.

Meanwhile I’ll be checking the newsletters for any exhibitions or events of interest I can get to.

If you know of any museum newsletters that you’d recommend signing up to, do please share the details in the comments…

 

 

 

A Peek Inside A Former Subscription Library…

14 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by serenalake-writer in Uncategorized

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18th century, 19th century, books, garden, history, staircases, time, trees

The second weekend in September in the UK is when various museums, libraries and assorted buildings and places open their doors (or gates) to the public for free, as part of the Heritage Open Days– a big heritage festival involving thousands of volunteers, and celebrating our history.

Many of the locations are not accessible to the public at other times of the year so these open days are the only opportunity to see more.

Some require booking in advance and the most popular can fill their numbers weeks before the day.

Every year I have wanted to visit the Bromley House Library, but all available places had gone, so this year I was delighted to finally get the opportunity to attend, courtesy of the Library’s decision not to have bookings. Though there was a limit on how many could go into the building at one time, as the attic rooms are small, and one room had a strict limit of 15 people maximum.

Bromley House is only a short walk from the current public Central Library on Angel Row in Nottingham City Centre. Only the entrance to Bromley House at pavement level can be seen, though look up and you can see the frontage to the house, it’s necessary to venture inside to see the scale of the building, even though its original footprint has been disrupted.

The townhouse was built in 1752 for a member of the Smith banking family. A number of these family members became MPs for Nottingham, and elsewhere, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The building is Grade II* listed and thankfully retains many of the original features, and later nineteenth century additions such as the spiral staircase.

The library was formerly called the Nottingham Subscription Library, founded in 1816, though it did not move to Bromley House until 1822, but with fewer books than the library now holds – 40,000+.

In the early decades of the 19th century, members bought a share for 5 guineas, then paid a 2 guinea subscription each year.

The actual plate that was used to print the shares was on display in the Neville Hoskins Reading Room (it has a wonderful Rococo style plaster ceiling). The plate has a big cross scored through it, as was practice to make it unusable once shares were no longer issued. Though apparently one or two far distant library staff printed off shares certificates for monetary gain before the plate was eventually scored…

As the weather was changeable I ventured into the garden first. It is one of two remaining Georgian townhouse gardens in the city and is available to library members, and the public on the Heritage open day.

Bromley House- rear view from the garden...

Bromley House rear view from the garden…

It’s difficult to believe that it is in the middle of a busy, and so noisy city. It was restful and the transport routes that sandwich the house were just a vague hum.

Where there was once a sundial, now there is a Heliochronometer- fortunately there was an explanation sheet attached; “Nottingham is 1°9′ west of Greenwich, therefore when comparing noon at Greenwich with noon at Nottingham, Bromley House is 4 minutes 36 seconds in time after Greenwich.” The Heliochronometer “had the correction ‘built in’ during its original setting up.”

Heliochronometer with little mouse beside it for children to find...

Heliochronometer with little mouse beside it for children to find…

In the Thoroton Room, on one of the upper floors, they have the Library of the British Sundial Society; though it was a small number of books compared to some of the collections housed in the library.

There are three attic rooms and a studio at the top of the house. In 1841 the studio was the premises of a photographer, named Alfred Barber. Though he made alterations (he paid) adding a skylight, the structure was moved by a cog-wheel mechanism that was built in, so he never lost the benefit of the sun.

In another attic room you can still see the groove in the wood where the lower portion of a flag pole was fixed…

Eventually you reach the gallery (an addition in 1844) with the spiral staircase in one corner. You can see down into the Main Reading Room, though I kept looking straight-ahead so I didn’t freeze as I made my way across to the spiral staircase.

For the open day people were only allowed to go down, but at any time only one person can go up or down. This spiral staircase was added in 1857, and it is quite elegant in its own way, despite no central support column – hence the one person at a time rule.

(You can see it in one of the rolling images on the home page of the library’s website.)

Fortunately visitors were warned it can wobble, and it happened just as I started down the first turn, but it was only for a moment, and it was fine the rest of the way down. I suspect body weight creates the wobble, as the visitor who came down next was lighter and didn’t get the movement. Another person in the gallery chose to go back to the main stairs, and I must admit I did wonder why I hadn’t done that myself.

As I visited each room I noticed books on the shelves that had bands around them. These keep the book together while it awaits repair and checking.

The library has teams of volunteers who repair, clean and maintain the books, and this aspect was on display for visitors. If you pop over to Carol’s blog you can see the cleaning tools for cloth-bound books, and discover how they do it.

(You’ll also find a few other pictures from the day.)

The various equipment the conservation teams use...

The various equipment the conservation teams use…

Basically, anywhere there was room to put a bookcase or shelf, there was one – or more.

It’s an amazing place.

 

 

 

Reference sources:

http://www.peerage.com

Bromley House Library information sheets, both outdoors and indoors.

 

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