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2008 - January Hive
Battle Road Clothing Requirements
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Using Period Satirical Prints for Inspiration
The following are excerpts from our presentation
on using period satirical prints in the development of
your kitSince the camera was invented a
little too late to document the clothing and accessories
of our era, we need to rely on a variety of primary
sources when trying to figure out what we should be
wearing as living historians for Battle Road and other
Rev War events. Although, our forefathers and mothers
were not able to leave us photographic images, they did
leave us documentation in the form of actual artifacts,
inventories, advertisements, transcripts, newspapers and
journals. In addition, they left us artwork that ranges
from fine portraiture to sketches. One of the richest
sources of visual representations, especially for the
depiction of the poor and working class, is the
satirical print. This form of artwork gives us not only
visual clues of what clothing was worn, but also offers
us a view of some of the more mundane details of their
lives. Fortunately, we have a wide variety of these
available to us on-line and more seem to be surfacing
almost daily.
The prints we have chosen to recreate are from the
Yale University Lewis Walpole Library's digital
collection,
which can be found at
http://www.library.yale.edu/walpole/
and the Lewis and Clark College mezzotint website
http://www.lclark.edu/~jhart/home.html.
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The Ladies' Maid
Purchasing a Leek
The older lecherous
man and innocent young maid is recurrent
theme, second only to the naïve man being
taken in by the greedy trollop. The Smiths
recreate this subject complete with leering
old man, innocent maiden and requisite
phallic symbols. Root vegetable aside, this
print shows us a contrast in social class.
The lady’s maid wears a simple gown and
quilted petticoat. Her gown is rucked up
showing her petticoat, show here in cotton
Marseilles. She has a printed handkerchief
about her shoulders and a simple black
ribbon around her neck
Our leek seller, though of a lower class
wears a sleeved garment, breeches, gaiters
over his shoes. He like the maid, wears and
apron though his is clearly is more of a
utilitarian nature. His hair is tousled in
contrast our our maid’s neat cap and ribbon
and his hat shows the wear and tear of a
workingman’s life.
View Original
Satirical Print (click here)
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Hey Day! Is that my
daughter Anne?
A popular way
of satirizing fashion was in prints showing
a sensible country parent horrified at their
child’s transformation into a creature of
fashion.
This
satire is an equal opportunity one and is
seen in both male and female versions. In
one of the male versions, "Is that my son
Tom", the father is shocked by the
appearance of his son Tom who is now the
quintessential dandy. Though Tom’s look is
clearly an exaggeration, perhaps his
father’s garments in contrast, gives us an
insight to the apparel of middling class
country farmer from our time period.
Here’s our
two Sandy’s recreate this satire. Mrs.
Spector as Anne, dons a sacqueback gown with
all the trimming and sports a high altitude
pouf, the type made popular by Marie
Antoinette. The hairdo shown in the actual
satire is unattainable without an
engineering miracle and the experience of a
Las Vegas showgirl. Her gown is, in fact, a
perfect example of a sacque of that time
period. Her mother is dressed in an outfit
of the middlin’ class -- a black silk
bonnet, of which we see many shapes and
sizes during the 1770’s to 80’s, a black
silk mantle, white apron and gown and
handkerchief. Even her glasses -- better to
see you with my dear -- are the typical
round shape seen during this timeframe. Hey
day! Is that my daughter Anne???
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View original satirical prints (click below)
"Is that my son Tom?"
"Hey Day! Is that my daughter Anne?" |
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View Original Satirical
Print (click here) |
Old Couple from 1768
This untitled print from
1768 depicts an older couple probably just back
from market. Each carry two baskets to convey
their purchases, all of a different design but
similar construction - and nary a haversack
handbag to be found. The woman portrayed by
Colleen Humphreys wears the lappet cap similar
to the style she probably wore when she was
younger. Her hat, simply decorated with
only ribbon. The woman’s handkerchief is tucked
into her apron and you can even see the ends of
her shift finished off in a simple band.
Colleen interprets her gown in brown linen and
hat in brown felt.
Our older man portrayed by Abe Fisher carries
himself with a certain dignity but appears to
have seen better times as evidenced by
out-at-elbows frock coat. His once fashionable
cane appears now to be a tool of older age. He
appears to have a variety of goods in his
basket.
This timeless print
could be a view of almost any decade of the 18th
century and shows how slowly changes in common
clothing progressed. |
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The Old Man's Wish
If I live to grow Old as I find I go down.
Let this be my Fate in a Fair Country Town.
May I have a warm House with a stone at my
Gate,
And a Cleanly young Girl to rub my Bald
Pate.
This is an earlier example of the dirty old
man with ingénue theme.
Our older man from 1720 wears a similar
coat waistcoat and breeches to our 1770’s
gentleman though with slightly different
styling. Our head rubbing young maid’s gown
is not too dissimilar from those later in
the century. He wears a neck covering, in
this case a neck cloth, as was typical
throughout the century and his sleeve
ruffles hint as to his more comfortable
socio-economic status.
View Original Satirical Print (click here)
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View Original Satirical Print (click here) |
The Man of Business
Some satires are timeless
in their subject matter, as in this one entitled
“A Man of Business” from 1774. Our cad seems to
have gotten around --something not lost on his
latest paramour. This print is a great example
of the flexibility of 18th century woman’s
clothing construction which could accommodate
pregnancy, hence not needing a maternity
wardrobe. The use of the mantle and
handkerchief to help disguise the baby bump is
employed by all of our expectant mothers. Our
Man of Business portrayed by Gary Gregory,
fashionably dressed in his well fit suit of
clothes, appears to have found a more affluent
honey as evidence by her more stylish dress,
hat and mantle. Lest we be jaded by our
erstwhile Victorian point of view -- that our
man is just a cad and has impregnated a bevy of
innocents. -- in 18th century context , these
ladies might have been willing participants and
probably couldn’t control their desires given
the attentions of this handsome successful
gentleman. Gary! Gary -- wake up, it’s only a
dream... |
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The Abusive Fruitwoman
(Who is now done with her abusing)
Here is a print
where we are not entirely sure of who or what is
actually being satirized. Is the woman on the
left a lady or a well dressed prostitute or is
this a variation on the “my daughter Ann theme?
Nevertheless, we can get some very useful
information from this print, I give you the
Abusive Fruitwoman. One of the first
things we can’t help but notice is the
Fruitwoman’s apparent lack of stays. Though we
believe most women wore stays or other
supportive undergarments, this woman did not. We
don’t know if this is symbolic of her coarse
attitude or what. Despite the difference in
their appearance, there are similarities in
their dress. Both wearing quilted petticoats,
although most likely of different quality and
fabrics. Here we are showing the Fruitwoman in
a worsted quilted petticoat and the well
dressed woman in one of silk marseilles.. Our
woman on the left wears a silk mantle our
fruitseller a short cloak, and a we see a gown
on the left gown versus the jacket of the vendor
on the right. Both woman wear aprons, however,
our well dressed woman’s probably never gets
dirty. Lest we forget our urchin --dressed In the
clothing of young boy -- jacket or coat, neck
covering and hat, he’s looking to distract the
fruit woman and secure a tasty treat for
himself. |
View Original Satirical
Print (click here) |
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We encourage you to closely
examine period prints that are appropriate for
the sort of personae that you want to portray.
When we look closely at these prints we can
observe a wealth of details from material
culture. In addition, they offer us a snapshot
of 18th century life.
Take the time to explore
period prints in conjunction with other primary
sources. Increasing your own personal knowledge
of the 18th century will make you feel more
comfortable and confident in your reenacting and
your interactions with the public.
Looking at these prints we need to be cautious
in our conclusions
but adventurous in our search
for knowledge.
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