A Blessed Christmas I Wish for Thee~

Outside the house the air was cold
And quiet all about,
Till far across the snowy roofs
The Christmas Bells rang out.......................

From my Heart to yours~ I wish all my faithful friends a most Blessed Christmas. May all your wishes come true, and your hearts overflow with Happiness and Joy. Thankyou for visiting the Museum & blog, and for the most generous support that has been shown to us this year. Words just cannot express my appreciation adequately

Ever history's humble servant~
Rachael

Tis The Season.............
For making much happiness and merriment! Above is a little peek at a very special Christmas Queen coming to eBay soon..............I am also happy to announce I will be starting the TDIPT Mercantile Nov 15th~ Ill have a link on the sidebar~ hope you' ll stop by both the Mercantile, and The Primitive Gathering on the 15th to see whats new. As Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, early this year, I wish you all a Happy & Safe holiday!

Give Ye Thanks.......
I hope thee wilst stop by my eBay auctions tomorrow next~ 2 new dollys I wish thou to meet, both one of a kinde, and so very sweet. You'll see a wee peek at one below, a Harvest time Pilgrim. Me thinks her quite sweet in nature, she has just gathered the oaks for the Harvest feast table ~

'Tis Autumn time! The summer flowers

Have faded 'neath it's golden feet;

The birds have left heir shady bowers,

and winds chime mournfully and sweet;

The maple boughs, whose faded leaves

Have whispered thru the summer days

Like bright-winged birds, around the eaves

Are flitting in the sun's pale rays;

I hear their rustling low and sweet,

As if an angel floated o'er;

They seem to me like friends I meet,

And love, then part forever more.

---Lottie Linwood, 1855

May Ye a Bountiful Harvest Have~
Tis the season of harvest~ I hope all of my readers find themselves knee deep in pumpkin, corn, squash and potatoes! Alas, the one super human zucchini plant has ceased its over production and gone to sleep for the winter. YAY! I have spent the last few days cleaning up the garden tidbits out into the compost....all except the corn stalks. We froze more corn on the cob this year than any before~ and I love decorating with the stalks. Just tied up with twine on the fence posts makes for a most festive Fall welcome to my visitors.
One of my goode friends Edyth O'Neill sent one of her precious antique China dolls to come play with me~ she is holding her above. You can see her blog here http://edythoneill.blogspot.com 'Rachael' is by far the largest doll I have ever had pleasure of dressing~ nearly 30" tall.
I had in mind another c1850 print for her dress....but Rachael liked this one best...how could I say no to this sweet face? She wears a strand of Peruvian blue opals around her neck.
I wasn't the only one to get attached to Dear Rachael! Thank you Edyth for letting her come to visit us at the Inn

Welcome Fall!
Fall has arrived in all its glory here at the Museum! Above you can see a sampling of some of my favorite adult bonnets displayed on my sideboard, 'Olde English'. from left to right, starting with the bonnet atop 2 c1840 & 50 hat boxes.....is a lady's cream silk velvet hat with blonde lace streamers, referred to as a 'Eugenie' style. It is the same era, early 1870's, as the plum silk visiting gown you will see later. Next, are two early 1820s leghorn poke bonnets with gorgeous watered silk ribbon chin ties(all bonnets in this photo have original trims). The term "Poke Bonnet" was loosely used in the 19th century for a great many decades~ depending on the year you were in, determined how deep the bonnet's brim. In nearly all circumstances, tho, if viewed from the side, the face of the wearer could not be seen. Moving on to the 4th bonnet, this is really a nice example of a 'fanchon'. This type bonnet became popular directly after the Civil War and into the early 1870s. It was worn towards the back of the head. It looks beaded from afar, but up close, as you can see below, it is made from rows of little balls..........

And on even closer inspection, you will realize that this entire bonnet is handmade of straw that has been twisted, contorted and arranged very neatly~ even the little balls are made of folded straw. A true masterpiece of design and handiwork. This bonnet would have been extremely expensive in its day~ definitely owned by a very well to do woman of Society.
Next bonnet after this, a wonderful c1834 leghorn Poke, then next a black velvet hat, my earliest, c1800-10, with label. Up on the last stand is a late 18teens gold silk poke, again with makers label, and a white lady's day cap last. One of these, in different styles, of coarse, would have been worn under each of these bonnets, so the wears hair would never come in contact with the bonnet itself.
I have just 3 gowns in this vignette, an 1850 black silk day gown, to the left, a lavender silk day gown, c1865, and on the right, spectacular c1872 plum silk & velvet visiting gown. This was worn by my Lady in her parlour to receive guests....never worn outside.

This black silk taffeta gown is one of my favorites, because the bodice is quite special~ its a maternity bodice. On either side of the front, there are lacing side gussets so the wearer could expand the fit as her tummy grew. These are extremely rare! There is a very misguided rumor that women did nothing but stay indoors through out their pregnancy~ when actually, just the opposite is true. They continued on about their daily business right up until the last few weeks, then entering into confinement.

Ladye here, is holding a period c1850 openwork basket purse on her arm. I specialize in these little purses, sooo precious and sooo fragile. We have over 100 examples here. The above purse is nearly identical in weave to the one held in the daguerreotype below

Did you ever wonder what women were wearing during the battles of our Great Civil War? Below is a day dress, c1865~ just beautiful lavender tissue silk trimmed in sea foam green bias satin strips, cloth buttons and AWESOME chenille & pearl fringe
There is not a machine stitch on any of these gowns
How I would have loved to been in the store where this trim was purchased~ it may have been brought by boat across the Atlantic from France.

An All Hallow's Eve Masquerade
I hope you will take a minute and stop by the Primitive Gathering on the 15th to see all the new goodies everyone has to offer! Ascha will be there~ all decked out for the Masquerade!

c1750-65 Lady's Brown Linen Strapped Stays
These snapshots leave alot to be desired, but thought you would enjoy them just the same. Alas, I thought I had found the perfect 'girl', but, as you can see.....she is much to well 'endowed' for my stays to fit properly.............my quest will continue! Being a private entity, I just cant afford the 2-3 grand for a correct 18th century form mannequin of proper posture~ I'd rather have another dress. I think you can get a goode idea of what these stays looked like when originally worn.

They are in immaculate, near mint condition~ fully lined in a crisp, original cream linen. Entirely hand stitched over whalebone strips~ too numerous to count. They are so very rigid~ a sheer monstrosity when it comes to trying to store them..........yet, when fitted and laced, they twist and turn in all the right directions, and mold the body like butter. Because of the sheer brute strength needed in the hands to stitch them, nearly all staymakers were men.
All the back lacing eyelets are precisely stitched in white linen, as are the lacing eyelets for the shoulder straps. The main reason these stays don't fit well on a modern form, is the placement of the shoulders~ 18th century posture dictated the arms and shoulders held way back~ all the time~ it was common the shoulder blades to touch each other. While you are sitting comfortably at your computer, take note of your posture, and now, sit erect and jet your shoulders back as far as they will go..........until it is uncomfortable~ chances are, your posture still would not be correct~ hence the need for stays~ they sucked the waist IN, narrowed the ribs down to a conical shape, and thrust the bust UP, pushing the shoulders back until they could go no further.
I love how contrasting thread was used, and major seams taped in same~ a true work of art.
It was more common for the back lacing to start at the bottom, and continue up skipping every other eyelet~ then once at the top turn around and lace back down to the bottom......but these have clear wear marks of where the laced originally laid, and I have laced them in that fashion
The tabs at the bottom not only eased out prettily over the hips, they also gave 'displaced flesh' a place to retreat to

Stays shown over a later 1790 linen shift