Tag: 18th Century London

New dress for Lady Marguerite

I have been commissioned to make a ball gown for the Lady Marguerite – in Second Life.  Having enjoyed The Duchess so much I decided Georgianna’s wedding dress had to be it!

I found plenty of pictures to cut, paste and manipulate to create the gown.  On closer inspection you can see it is ladened with embroidery, stitches, stump work, gold thread, gems, jewellery the bodice alone must have weighed a tonne, not to mention the farthingale underneath to keep the metres and metres of silk satin standing out about 1.5 metres wide.

Here tis:

Me wearing the gown

 

The Movie Poster

Georgianna The Duchess

During the week I watched the movie The Duchess with Keira Knightly as Geogianna Spencer Cavendish  -The Duchess of Devonshire.   It is based on her life over a ten year or so period from her marriage to the Duke through to her disgrace and subsequent reintroduction to society.  (Sorry no spoilers).  It is an excellent depiction of marriage rituals in the aristocracy if not completely accurate with her life.  And besides all that her costumes and the sets were magnificent!

It posses an interesting question though… this is classed as an historical movie but as we know from past experience Hollywood can be somewhat loose with the truth.  Perfectly understandable -they have an audience to please.  To its credit it does start with “based on a true story” but like all other movies there are no sources or references listed.  Intrinsically movies much be fiction- they must write dialogue and scenes to tell the story – often of a very intimate nature and hopefully no one was standing around taking notes at the time nor where the participants writing tell all books.

The combination of visual and audio  for long lasting impact is monumental.  How many people would have read a book about Georgianna and had such an emotional connection with her?  Who knows but I suspect far less than if you saw the movie.  Most movies do not pretend to be historically accurate or a portrayer of truth but often documentaries do.  This is far more dangerous.

Simply because it is labelled a documentary it implies credability, but they too often lack a list of sources or references, often going as far as not airing counter or contrary thought.   Combine this with being produced by a reputable institution, eg BBC, it immediately takes on the value of gospel.

The documentary on the theory of the Salem witch trials is a classic example.  A biologist put forward the idea of ergot posioning to explain the fits and a subsequent documentary made it appear a for gone conclusion, even though the historical evidence does not support this theory and few academics believed it.

So back to the movie…   amazing!  Well worth a look even if your not into history.

Love and Marriage in 18th Century London

In our tutorial on Monday we discussed the ideas behind love and marriage in Georgian London.  We discussed the history and/or prospects of marriage from our Avatar’s point of view.  Several things emerged from our conversation. 

  • Marriage was different for each class of society
  • The notion of marriage for love was not the dominate idea but neither was strictly arranged marriages
  • The average age was around 27 – I found this particulalry astounding as the modern world portrays later marriages as a modern concept – career first marriage later.

In the upper class marriage was a legal negotiation based on blood lines, titles, dowries and family obligations.  Love was definitely not a consideration.  That would “grow”.  Daughters were groomed to be suitbale wives from birth; they were well educated and cultured, often more so than their husbands.

For the middling classes it was made on a good match – social status, financial prospects (not so much dowries as they were not substantial enough to be of a lifelong income), religion and propriety.  Love was a consideration but my favourite was the directive to “Look for love where the money is.”  and the fact that dauhgters and sometimes  in conjunction with their mothers, often manipulated their fathers to achieve their own matches.

For the lower classes it still wasn’t entirely for love, they too had to ensure their financial future but there wasn’t the family obligations and blood line issues.  It was more about what each person could bring to the household’s benefit.  Marriage was often delayed until both parties had enough money earned through a trade or service to set up a new hosuehold. 

Many women in the lower  and middling classes opted not to marry, that way they kept all of their property and money, as when all women married what was theirs became their husbands.  In fact they became the property of their husband!

My Avatar Phoebe Miller is a widow and plans to stay that way.  She has taken her inheritance from her parents and turned it into a small fortune – so why would she marry?

Creative Luxuries

Singapore and Melaka were fabbo, we had a great time and I did buy 5 saris of which I will felt later.  But I have neglected my blog, second life and housework.  I’m not too worried about the last one but the other two are concerning.  So here I am.  My head is completely torn in two at the moment as both my Uni units are excellent!  I have already spoken of my Georgian period experince in Second Life and will continue that thread but I haven’t spoken of my Creative Writing unit.  Its the last one to complete my Minor and it is the Project – a 6000 word short story.

I have always approached writing creatively as I would any other creative process but today I realised that with writing you get loads of chances to make it just how you want it.  In my normal practice I plan a project with enough detail to ensure the outcome is within my expectations but still allowing for necessary changes along the way.  But with a felting or painting project, once you start the process, there is no rewrite.  The result you get is it.  There’s no do over – but in writing you can edit your work as many times as you wish.

I think this is a luxury, a creative luxury.  Which ties up nicely with a reading I have just done for the History unit.  Its about the roots of consumerism in Geogorgian England.  The reading asks the question what is luxury?  Is it brand names and expensive items?  I don’t think so – I think luxury is anything that you would pay a price for.  For some it could be an experience, for some it is Prada or Armani, for others it is as basic as eating.  Luxury depends on your need.  And the price is variable too.  For some it is money, it could be time, it may even be integrity.  But it is always a personal choice.

Chatelaines

One symbol of a house keepers status was her Chatelaine, the Swiss Army knife of the 18th century!  A good housekeeper was prepared at all times so besides carrying her great big ring of keys she may also have a thimble, pair of scissors, a watch, or any handy little tool.  Phoebe’s chatelaine is now on display in the Victoria & Albert Mueseum in London. 

Mrs Phoebe Miller – Housekeeper

My role in the house is that of housekeeper  who is repsonsible for the smooth running of the house and all of the female staff.  When researching a house keeper’s role I came across the wonderful Hannah Wolley and her 3 publications of sage wisdom and advice for gentle women who aspire to run a smooth a and efficient household.  She advices that I should carry myself as  grave, solid and serious and I should be competent in preserving, conserving and candy making and of course all manner of waters.  I should be careful when looking after the rest of the servants ensuring they perform their duties correctly and that no goods be spoilt or embezelled!

I just have to share this recipe for Plague Water:

One pound of Rue, Sage, Rosemary, Sorel, Celandine, Mugwort, the tops of Red Brambles, Pimpernel, Wild Dragons, Agrimony, Balm, Angelica.
Put together in a pot and cover with white wine, let stand for 4 dasy then distill it for your use.

Might not have cured plague but it probably smelled better than the inhabitants of the city.

18th Century Fashion

I have finally got my dream boutique in London!  As a young teenager I always wanted to have a really cool shop in London.  I loved the late 60s and early 70s fashion that came from London but being an Aussie girl from the suburbs that wasn’t really ever going to be an option – until now.  I have a dress shop in Second Life in 18th Century Charing Cross.  I have recreated clothing that is available for the other students to wear in their roles in the house.  This means that I had to design and create clothes not just for the Lady of the house but the servants as well.

I discovered that althought the working classes could only afford simple woollen clothing – cotton did not become affordable till the second half of the 18th C- as part of their salary packages their Lords and Ladies would give them their hand me downs, which could be sold or worn.

In the first half of the 18th C bodices or corsets were always laced at the back, setting them apart from the French, but as they became stays to flattten the bust line the lacing moved to the front.  Farthingales were worn (which became crinolines in the 19th C) to give enourmous full skirts.  Women always wore a hat or cap and a big red cloak was essential for travel.  Just like Little Red Riding Hood.

The Georgian House

To facilitate our role playing in the house we have been assigned characters typical of the era in an 18th C London town house – I have a second avatar (not the movie kind I am quite tall but I’m definitely not blue)  or persona so that we are all anonymous.

The house has been furnished with period appropriate furniture, fittings, art works and acroutements.  Over the semester we have to research every aspects of our characters life; how they came to be in London, what they do in the house, their social lives, money matters, future prospects, consumption (not the disease! consumerism consumption  – shopping) and the evolving modern society.

What I have come to realise already is that most of our modern institutions have their origins in the 18th Century:

  • The financial world – banking, stock markets, even the global financial crises – the South Sea Bubble.
  • Colonialism & the British Empire
  • Consumerism
  • Industrialisation
  • Urbanisation
  • Pollution
  • Entrepreneurial-ism
  • Home Decorating!
A view through the window of our Georgian town house
Outside view of my shop