1860s cap and evening headdress

This is an 1860s dressy cap from the collection of the Lackawanna Historical Society. I believe it is for day wear, although I find it difficult to differentiate between day and evening caps for this period. 

This cap is made of very fine black silk netting and lace, horsehair-like ecru edging, and purple silk ribbons mounted on a wire frame. 

The ecru edging and the lace and netting are extremely fragile and are crumbling into dust. I wonder if the color combination indicates 2nd mourning, or coming out of mourning.

Provenance unknown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another 1860 headdress from the collection of the Lackawanna Historical Society. This would be for ball wear. 

Fine tan colored silk taffeta ribbon is pleated over a wire frame and accented with faceted black glass beads. They probably sparkled when new! Attached behind the center front are three embroidered cotton medallions.

Provenance unknown.

 

Scranton Annual Civil War Ball

I'm still trying to get the hang of getting the text around photos, so these are just lumped together this time! These photos are from last weekend's Annual Civil War Ball, hosted by the Lackawanna Historical Society. Lots of our friends were in attendance! I meant to take more pictures, but once we started dancing, I forgot to do it. Clockwise from the top: Bill and me; ball coiffure and headdress; Lucille and me; Lu, Bill, Ed, and Gregg; Kathy and Jan. The event was held at the beautiful Century Club in Scranton. It's a large, yet cozy feeling building, built in 1914 as a Ladies' Club (which it still is). The dance floor is excellent. For intermission, everyone sweeps up the grand central staircase for refreshments in the large parlor on the second floor. It's amazing that our gowns acually look intact; the wind was gale force as we left our house, the rain was driving across the porch, and Lu caught her skirt in the front door as we were dashing to the waiting car! Then we had to climb up the steep front stairs to the club, the wind yanking our shawls and umbrellas as we tried to manage elevating our skirts to make the climb! Bill could not help as he dropped us off in front to let us out and then he went to park the car. We should have done what Jan did and dressed at the club! She has so much sense.

Lu's dress is just smashing on her, it's white bengaline trimmed with black satin pleated ribbon and tiny little yellow flowers that she made. She can pull off pure white with her coloring. My mauve gown was formerly soft white, a color I can wear, but the effect washed me out, so I plunked the whole thing in the tub (it's a thin striped lightweight silk) and hoped for the best! Amazingly, it turned out ok, and I like the color. I re-trimmed it about three times before I was satisfied. The lace on the bodice is taken from an early 1870s overskirt that I had acquired (the rest of the gown was missing). The garland is inspired by one worn by Mary Todd Lincoln in one of those famous photos of her in ball dress.

I think I look a little tired! I was! We had 21 of the ball-goers over for breakfast the next morning, and I had spent two weeks Spring cleaning the house like a maniac. Well, at least it's all done now, except for the windows. Now we are done with balls for the season, and I'll be doing a few reenactments in the next couple of months with my group, The Union Patriotic League.

1860s shoes

These little shoes were recently acquired by my county historical society. Robert Land has introduced this style in his collection of reproductions. He says they are quite rare for the period, and calls them "walking shoes." So, I was quite amazed to see a pair show up at LHS (Lackawanna Historical Society). This pair is in great shape, despite their age and evidence that they received a considerable amount of wear. The toes are beige leather, and the rest of the shoe is a black and cream checked silk fabric, with silk shoelaces. The soles are thin leather. They are very tiny, probably a modern size 5, maybe even a 4.5. I would imagine that the use of silk fabric made them suitable for indoor use only. Land's reproductions are two-tone all leather, so they can be worn out of doors.