“It is not to be questioned that all women, without regard to social position, or lack of it, would rather be comfortable than uncomfortable, and the woman who does not wish to look well is s…
From the New York Times in 1864 "The arrangements for the Calico Ball are nearly completed. It is to take place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Friday night of this week. The object is to aid the families of our soldiers. Everything is being done to make it a grand affair, and there is no doubt that it will be successful." Metropolitan Fair, my current Moda Civil War reproduction collection, celebrates the fairs that women put on to raise money for soldiers' aid societies during the war. The Brooklyn and Long Island Fair held in 1864 was closed with a grand "Calico Ball," one last charity event. At the time, people all over the English-speaking world knew what a Calico Ball was---but I needed to do a little research. My first acquaintance with the term was an invitation I found in an old scrapbook printed on a piece of fabric years ago. Printed on a piece of calico much like this. Calico today means a small cotton print and it meant the same thing back then. Calico reproduction Calico was considered an inexpensive alternative to fancier fabrics made of silk, linen and wool. Aunt Eliza's Star by Denniele Bohannon It was suitable for patchwork, for everyday clothing and for inexpensive furnishings like curtains in the homes of the working classes. There was definitely a class and fashion distinction between cotton calicoes and more elegant fabrics. Calico defined women who wore it as streetwear or to a party. The dress may look like a cotton print but for a formal portrait most women would wear silk and/or wool combination fabrics. It looks like a cotton print, but you have to be skeptical and examine the way the fabric drapes. Could be silk or a wool blend. So a Calico Ball held many meanings, much of them having to do with condescension . Instead of wearing one's most lavish silks to a dance, one would dress down by wearing a garment made of calicoes. This could raise money for charity just by being an entertaining social event in which the ticket costs were donated to a good cause. In New York there was the implication that members of high society "the ton," would come dressed in calico---quite amusing and a draw. Detail of a Calico Ball held in Hamilton, Ontario Wouldn't you like to see Mrs. Astor dressed like her scullery maid? A real housekeeper? Or a belle dressed for a Calico Ball? And the idea of wearing calico alluded to wartime austerity---better to dress in inexpensive cottons than overdo in brocades and velvets. At some Calico Balls held during the war or during hard times afterwards attendees had a calico dress made up to wear and then donated that dress to the poor. Skeptics noted that a fancy dress in a size 4 did the poor little good.... There was even some discussion that at midnight ladies might disrobe to give their calico away---but I cannot imagine. George Sala explained it a little more clearly: "At one time, I am told, 'Calico Balls' were fashionable. Do you know the nature of a calico ball? The ladies who are to attend it agree to wear only calico dresses; the colour, the design, and the trimmings being left to the discretion of the wearer. After a few weeks of the calico movement, it was found that the New York milliners were charging rather more for cotton dresses full trimmed than they had hitherto asked for silks and satins. Then the movement was modified. The ladies came in calico dresses, like so many Molly Moggs, and wore them until twelve o’clock; but at midnight the reverse of the transformation scene in Cinderella took place. The cotton-clad belles tripped into their disrobing power, whisked off their calico frocks, and re-appeared in dresses of the most expensive materials, and blazing with jewels." The Calico Ball at the Brooklyn Fair seems to have incorporated many of these ideas. In the record of the Fair: "The ball was given with great eclat on Friday evening, March 11th. More than half the ladies were in plain calico dresses...The Ball netted about two thousand dollars for the worthy object for which it was given. After the Ball, many of the ladies who were present sent their calico dresses to the Academy to be given to the soldiers' wives and daughters." In the internet age I have found out so much about Calico Balls that I will have to do another post another day. See an entire newspaper printed on calico in honor of a Calico Ball in Akron at the Ohio Memory site by clicking here: http://cdm16007.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p267401coll36/id/365/rec/12 And see the whole photo documenting the Hamilton Calico Ball by clicking here: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/lac-bac/results/images?module=images&action=results&Language=eng&form=images_simple&lang=eng&startRecord=41&sortBy=score+desc&digitalContentInd=1&query=ball&mediaType=1200
Calico Balls: The Fashionable Thing of the Late 19th Century. Mid-century newspapers tell the story of Calico Balls: how, where, and why.
“It is not to be questioned that all women, without regard to social position, or lack of it, would rather be comfortable than uncomfortable, and the woman who does not wish to look well is s…
Introducing Henry and Isabella, hero and heroine of my new release: Isabella's Calico Groom (within Calico Ball: Timeless Western Collection, Book 1). I'll share a little about their back stories that impacted but wasn't 'shown' in the book. See the vintage photographs that inspired the characters.
Late Victorian Dentistry: Ultra Modern! 1890s dentistry looks familiar--male AND female dentists of color! Modern tools, laughing gas...
Featuring "Mrs Harrison's Daily Life in the White House", "A Man's Idea of Home Comfort", "Hints on Home Dressmaking", "How to Marry Well", and more.
Just like today, tooth decay was an unpleasant part of life, but for the most of 1800s and early 1900s, extraction was the only treatment available.
Cocaine in Victorian Dentistry by Author Kristin Holt. Did dentists treat patients' pain (1890) with cocaine? Why? How? Consequences?
Victorian Calico Fabric--More Than Little Flowery Patterns. Calico clothed 19th century men and women, and with good cause!
Cocaine in Victorian Dentistry by Author Kristin Holt. Did dentists treat patients' pain (1890) with cocaine? Why? How? Consequences?
Cocaine in Victorian Dentistry by Author Kristin Holt. Did dentists treat patients' pain (1890) with cocaine? Why? How? Consequences?
A photograph blog depicting painted signs and artwork on buildings.
From the New York Times in 1864 "The arrangements for the Calico Ball are nearly completed. It is to take place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Friday night of this week. The object is to aid the families of our soldiers. Everything is being done to make it a grand affair, and there is no doubt that it will be successful." Metropolitan Fair, my current Moda Civil War reproduction collection, celebrates the fairs that women put on to raise money for soldiers' aid societies during the war. The Brooklyn and Long Island Fair held in 1864 was closed with a grand "Calico Ball," one last charity event. At the time, people all over the English-speaking world knew what a Calico Ball was---but I needed to do a little research. My first acquaintance with the term was an invitation I found in an old scrapbook printed on a piece of fabric years ago. Printed on a piece of calico much like this. Calico today means a small cotton print and it meant the same thing back then. Calico reproduction Calico was considered an inexpensive alternative to fancier fabrics made of silk, linen and wool. Aunt Eliza's Star by Denniele Bohannon It was suitable for patchwork, for everyday clothing and for inexpensive furnishings like curtains in the homes of the working classes. There was definitely a class and fashion distinction between cotton calicoes and more elegant fabrics. Calico defined women who wore it as streetwear or to a party. The dress may look like a cotton print but for a formal portrait most women would wear silk and/or wool combination fabrics. It looks like a cotton print, but you have to be skeptical and examine the way the fabric drapes. Could be silk or a wool blend. So a Calico Ball held many meanings, much of them having to do with condescension . Instead of wearing one's most lavish silks to a dance, one would dress down by wearing a garment made of calicoes. This could raise money for charity just by being an entertaining social event in which the ticket costs were donated to a good cause. In New York there was the implication that members of high society "the ton," would come dressed in calico---quite amusing and a draw. Detail of a Calico Ball held in Hamilton, Ontario Wouldn't you like to see Mrs. Astor dressed like her scullery maid? A real housekeeper? Or a belle dressed for a Calico Ball? And the idea of wearing calico alluded to wartime austerity---better to dress in inexpensive cottons than overdo in brocades and velvets. At some Calico Balls held during the war or during hard times afterwards attendees had a calico dress made up to wear and then donated that dress to the poor. Skeptics noted that a fancy dress in a size 4 did the poor little good.... There was even some discussion that at midnight ladies might disrobe to give their calico away---but I cannot imagine. George Sala explained it a little more clearly: "At one time, I am told, 'Calico Balls' were fashionable. Do you know the nature of a calico ball? The ladies who are to attend it agree to wear only calico dresses; the colour, the design, and the trimmings being left to the discretion of the wearer. After a few weeks of the calico movement, it was found that the New York milliners were charging rather more for cotton dresses full trimmed than they had hitherto asked for silks and satins. Then the movement was modified. The ladies came in calico dresses, like so many Molly Moggs, and wore them until twelve o’clock; but at midnight the reverse of the transformation scene in Cinderella took place. The cotton-clad belles tripped into their disrobing power, whisked off their calico frocks, and re-appeared in dresses of the most expensive materials, and blazing with jewels." The Calico Ball at the Brooklyn Fair seems to have incorporated many of these ideas. In the record of the Fair: "The ball was given with great eclat on Friday evening, March 11th. More than half the ladies were in plain calico dresses...The Ball netted about two thousand dollars for the worthy object for which it was given. After the Ball, many of the ladies who were present sent their calico dresses to the Academy to be given to the soldiers' wives and daughters." In the internet age I have found out so much about Calico Balls that I will have to do another post another day. See an entire newspaper printed on calico in honor of a Calico Ball in Akron at the Ohio Memory site by clicking here: http://cdm16007.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p267401coll36/id/365/rec/12 And see the whole photo documenting the Hamilton Calico Ball by clicking here: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/lac-bac/results/images?module=images&action=results&Language=eng&form=images_simple&lang=eng&startRecord=41&sortBy=score+desc&digitalContentInd=1&query=ball&mediaType=1200
Victorian Mouths ~ Worms or Germs by Author Kristin Holt; late 19th century dentistry so advanced, dentist identifies microscopic bacteria behind cavities.
Discover the best hiking trails with breathtaking scenic
Cocaine in Victorian Dentistry by Author Kristin Holt. Did dentists treat patients' pain (1890) with cocaine? Why? How? Consequences?
Female Dentists (1889): Man Haters Without Maternal Instincts. Vintage article by (male) dentist severely criticizes females in dentistry.
Frederick E. Webster's Doctor of Dental Surgery Diploma from Western Dental College, Kansas City, Missouri, dated April 2, 1896.
Late Victorian Dentistry: Ultra Modern! 1890s dentistry looks familiar--male AND female dentists of color! Modern tools, laughing gas...
Featuring "Mrs Harrison's Daily Life in the White House", "A Man's Idea of Home Comfort", "Hints on Home Dressmaking", "How to Marry Well", and more.
British Dental Journal - 125 years of developments in dentistry, 1880–2005 Part 3: Dental equipment and materials
This is 10 Supercute FREE Amigurumi Dog Crochet Patterns that's easy to follow and very beginner friendly! These patterns are perfect for every child and will be their best friend! Most of the patterns use a soft yarn that's perfect for a baby to cuddle with the dog. These Dog patterns are some of my
Learn how to crochet the perfect Amigurumi ball with very simple rules and a few tricks to make your sphere look perfect on both sides!
This is my favorite peanut sauce recipe. It is made with just 6 key ingredients, and it is a great dipping sauce or dressing for salads.
free vintage sewing, knitting and crochet patterns
Lentil curry is one of our best lentil recipes as it’s easy to make, it can be frozen for those lazy weeknights, and it’s full of flavor, vitamins, and antioxidants.
With just a few simple ingredients, you can create beautiful and delicious charcuterie boards for beginners that everyone will love.
Klassische Kürbissuppe, die wie bei Oma schmeckt. Das beste Rezept ist einfach und schnell zubereitet und wird dank Kartoffeln und Crème fraîche so cremig.
