Fridge List for Fall 2019

Kimberly Alexander 

Upcoming Talks for Fall 2019:

Treasures Afoot: Shoe Stories from the Georgian Era 

and

Fashioning the New England Family

September 9, 7:00pm

Wiggin Memorial Library and Stratham Historical Society, Stratham, NH

Fashioning the 18th Century New England Family

https://www.library.strathamnh.gov/library-info/pages/calendar

September 28, 2:00pm

Massachusetts Historical Society 

Workshop/Free but registration required

Primary Sources for Fashion & Costume History Research

With Kimberly Alexander, University of New Hampshire and Sara Georgini, MHS

Antique textiles, images of historical figures, and material culture hold a wealth of information that can enrich personal stories, explain relationships, and contextualize the world that people occupied. However, these sources can seem daunting to explore. Two experts on fashion and material culture will guide you through unraveling the stories woven into history’s fabric. This workshop is part of MHS Remember Abigail programming, and Boston Fashion Week

https://www.masshist.org/calendar/monthly,mo=2019-09,path=#juniperCal

October 1, 6:30pm

Malden Historical Society, Malden, MA

Shoes and Their Stories[part of the Elisha Converse  2020 Exploring the Industrial History of Malden series]

https://www.maldenhistoricalsociety.org/home/events-projects/

October 16, 7:00pm

Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, MA

“1 gowne 6 petticoats 1 pair body’s’: Dressing in Early New England


https://pilgrimhall.org/museum_events.htm#October

October 25-27

The Honourable Cordwainers' Company35th Annual General Meeting with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, VA

‘Shoes for the Southern Trade’: Northern Complicity & the Shoe Trade in the Early Republic

http://thehcc.org

November 3, 1:00pm

Durham Historic Association

Buying Shoes and Purchasing Patriotism: The Politicization of Footwear, 1760s-1770s

https://www.ci.durham.nh.us/community/durham-historic-association

Brocaded Silk Shoes: James Adams, London Shoemaker, 1770s

I viewed these elegant court pumps from the collection of the Pilgrim Hall Museum, in Plymouth, MA. (www.pilgrimhall.org) on my summer research road trip in 2018. They are stunners. 

Vibrant, with high quality finish work, these c.1770s brocaded silk buckle shoes exhibit a high Italian heel, oval toe and pattern matched heels & toes. There is evidence of multiple buckle piercings on straps/lachets; they may have been wedding shoes. Note the snippet of the brocade placed on the underside of the upper portion of the tongue - a special visual 'pop' for the wearer.

One shoe features a paper label, identifying the shoemaker as James Adams at the ‘shoe warehouse,’ 224 High Street, Borough, London. Adams is mentioned in Wakefield’s Merchant and Tradesman’s General Directory for London from 1793. 

The accession number is 1373.3a,b

Thank you to curator Rebecca Griffin, and the staff of the Pilgrim Hall Museum for their kindly assistance.

Two Views of the Same Georgian Shoes, c. 1730-40s

I have long been enamored of these cheerful, chipper shoes, housed in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. They are visually pleasing with a balanced design. These linen canvas shoes are embroidered with colored wools in cross stitch and tent stitch, and feature a short heel and latchets (or straps) for buckles to fasten them. From Great Britain, c. 1730s-40s; the wearer and maker are unknown.

As I prepare to curate an exhibit at www.MassHist.org in 2018, I have been thinking a good deal about photography and presentation of costume over time. I find both the V&A and the Metropolitan Museum good sites for such exploration as they have been documenting their collections over an extended period of time. I will be returning to this theme over the next 18 months, but thought you might enjoy considering your response to these two photographs of the same shoes. Does the photographic style change or influence your response? Do you have a preference between an artistically photographed vision and the more documentary style? Note the wear apparent at the heel and the toe; the turned up, pointed toe; the white rand, and the straps for buckles are much more visible in the second photo. There is drama associated with the single shoe which appears suspended in a beautiful blue backdrop, and with its saturated color, may appeal to contemporary audiences. Both images convey different features and qualities – some which may appeal more to one audience over another.  Taken together, the differing photos provide a fuller portrait.

For more, see the Victoria and Albert Museum: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/…/O74390/pair-of-shoes-unknown/

Made in London, Worn in America: Brocaded Silk Shoes, c. 1760

An elegant pair of brocaded silk buckle shoes, with leather sole and carved wood heel, were London-made by John Hose & Son, c. 1760 and likely worn by an American bride. Hose shoes were incredibly popular in British-America, and will be discussed in my forthcoming book.They are housed in the collection of the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum (DAR Museum).

 These shoes are believed to be the wedding shoes of Elizabeth Lord. She was born in 1735 in Lyme, CT, and married at the age of 25 in 1760 to Jared Eliot in nearby Killingworth, CT. Note the excellent pattern matching at the toes which is evident in a number of surviving Hose shoes, such as this pair in the collection of Historic New England. Similar in design aesthetic, the HNE brocaded silk buckle shoes feature a two-inch French heel, oval toe and bright polychrome florals, London, c. 1770. The owner is currently unknown.  

Pattern matching on toes and heels indicated a particularly expensive shoe as creating the upper required more of the costly fabric than if it was pieced together from smaller bits.

Top two images: Courtesy, The Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, Washington DC. Accession number 3629.A-B http://www.dar.org/museum/collections

Bottom image: Courtesy, Historic New England, Gift of Miss Mary C. Wheelwright, Accession Number 1919.140AB https://www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/

The author thanks Curator Alden Tullis O’Brien, and Assistant Curator/Associate Registrar Carrie Blough, of the DAR Museum, for their assistance with the shoes.

What Shoes Did Mistress Firebrand Wear?

I was asked by author Donna Thorland (www.DonnaThorland.com) to join her in an intriguing project: to consider what style of shoes her fictional heroine, Mistress Firebrand, would have worn as a popular actress on the New York stage in 1777. With Lauren, doyen of vintage shoes at American Duchess (www.AmericanDuchess.com)  we looked at a sampling below with a shoe giveaway in mind! (See details here:  http://www.donnathorland.com/shoe-giveaway/)

Given the character and the profile Donna shared, we agreed that we had some latitude for dazzle, sparkle and shine. The London and New York connections made it possible to consider a wide scope of footwear styles and materials. Some of the leading cordwainers (in terms of elite audience, skill, and high-end production values) who were in Georgian London and participated in active trade with New York and New England, would have been John Hose & Son; Thomas Ridout & James Davis, and William Chamberlain & Son. Bright yellow silk brocades and damasks, with metallic lace and silver threads, red leather Moroccan pumps or scarlet silk satins shoes, seemed appropriate candidates.  Visual clues, such as the expense of the accessories and textiles, would have been instantly understood by the audience.

The contenders were from several museum collections. And the winner is…..

1) British (probably London made) silk brocade shoes, 1760s (?)

Yellow, with bright red creating an exotic “Chinoissere” effect. Not only would the silk have a shimmer, check out that wide band of costly metallic lace which runs from toe to vamp to throat. The thick expanse of lace (or braid) just shouted luxury.  These shoes would have been noticed anywhere! They are in the Metropolitan Museum collection; but this is the only view given – would love to see the heel.

A view of Lauren's interpretation of the original (photo courtesy of @AmericanDuchess)

 The runner ups were certainly keepers as well:

 2) London-made silk brocade shoes, ca. 1760, are said to have been owned by Mercy Otis Warren. They are in the collection of the Plymouth Antiquarian Society.

3.) Fabulous Rococo shoes by London cordwainer’s Ridout & Davis, who carried on their trade near Aldgate. These are in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum. Mid 18^th century, silk brocade.

4.) Another pair by Ridout and Davis, these are in the collection of Colonial Williamsburg but hail from Maine. They are in fabulous condition. Mid 18^th century, silk brocade.

5) One of my personal favorites as we start to transition into the Neoclassical style – scarlet silk satin high white leather Louis heel shoes. Made by Chamberlain & Son, London c. 1775-1785. Via www.eng.shoe-icons.com

6.) This shoe is sizzles! Super high heel, red Moroccan leather. Kyoto Costume Institute. Not only would the high quality of the supple leather have conformed to the wearer's foot, the elegance of the higher-than-usual, slender Louis heel, would achieve the profile many women seek - then and now. Most likely French, c. 1770s-1780s.

About Mistress Firebrand:

British Occupied Manhattan, 1777.  American actress Jenny Leighton has been packing the John Street Theater with her witty comedies, but she longs to escape the provincial circuit for the glamour of the London stage. When the playwright General John Burgoyne visits the city, fresh from a recent success in the capitol, she seizes the opportunity to court his patronage.  But her plan is foiled by British intelligence officer Severin Devere….www.DonnaThorland.com