Victoria magazine was started in 1987 by Hearst Publishing. It had 800,000 subscribers with a 75% renewal rate. For some reason, it folded in 2004. My sister couldn't wait till the magazine hit the stands every month. I was not obsessed with the Victorian Era as I am now, but I did love to look at her magazine, especially the Christmas issues. I will never forget how upset she was when they stopped publication. Her interest was in china, silver and especially linens, which she collected.
The magazine was revived in 2007. My sister was so excited till she bought the first few issues. The magazine is now bi-monthly and not nearly as sizable as the old one. She did however buy the Christmas issues for us to look at.
I recently decided to subscribe to Victoria. In the last few years I have become obsessed with anything Victorian, well, almost anything. Thought I would give it a try. Well, I am sorry to say, I am disappointed. It has lost it's elegance and become more commercial. Most of it just doesn't say Victorian to me.
The Victorian Era was from 1837 to 1901, which of course was the reign of Queen Victoria.
The things that come to mind when I initially think "Victorian" are large beautiful hats, long bustled dresses, top hats, gloves, red and pink roses, tea cups and saucers, etc. I decided to look a little farther than England, after all, that 64 years of time was universal. So look at the Wild West, that was during this same time. No doubt the ladies were heavily influenced by the same fashions. Watching westerns on television, you see the beautiful bars in the saloons, the washstands with the pitcher and bowl, fancy carriages, kerosene lanterns hanging on the wall. The west was more barbaric than England, but we did have morals, modesty and a bit of proper decorum like our friends across the sea.
The Victorian era gave us Edison, Henry Ford, the first safety elevator, the bicycle, the sewing machine, steel cable and the first mechanical reaper. In the arts, we had Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, literature was blessed with Yeats, Bronte Carrol, Dickens, Mark Twain and Louisa May Alcott. The Salvation Army was founded and slavery was abolished.
I said all that to say that I am not completely narrow minded and I realize this era was long and diversified and shows us many things. But when I pick up a travel issue of the Victoria magazine and see pages of Sante Fe New Mexico, beautiful deserts, but all that dirt just doesn't lend itself to the romance, charm and loveliness of what we used to see in the magazine. Another issue has 6 pages dedicated to a picnic. There is a 2 page layout of the picnic on the ground. That's ok, I will go for that. But then, there is a picture of a stack of cookies, glasses of lemonade in a basket, a basket of fruit, a straw hat on a basket, the ends of white bolster pillows, a long sandwich and yet, another basket with flowers in it. I'm sorry but that's just too much.
Where did the beautiful roses go, where did the beautiful dresses go, what happened to the romance. Victoria magazine used to take us deep into a world we wanted to visit and be a part of, if only for a short time. It took us to that secret garden that was just for us, a place where we could forget our lives and who we were and become something else.
I haven't decided to keep the subscription or not. Please don't get me wrong, there are still some beautiful things to look at and some beautiful stories to read.
The editors must know what they are doing. Supposedly, they have 900,000 followers. Sorry, but for me, it's just not as good as it used to be.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Employment for Women
A considerable portion of the various operations of pearl-blowing, as of fan making is carried on by women. Although this work is but poorly re-numerated, yet, as affording employment for many hundreds of women, it would be a useful introduction in America.
The first mention of artificial pearls is found in 1318. M. Lazari, in his "Notizie delle opere d'arte e d'antichita," tells us that the makers of them, called "chaplet makers" and "pearl makers," were established at Vienna and Murano, and formed a sufficiently numerous body to require an express statute for their regulation. Although even at that time the large export of pearls to the East brought large sums of money to the Venetion republic, it would appear that it had not reached it's apogee, for the same author adds, "The fabrication of artificial pearls, by means of the glass-blower's lamp, confers immortality on the name of Andrea Vidoare, to whom we owe, if not the inventing, at least the perfecting, of the process in 1528." The manufacture is now carried on chiefly in Rome, Venice and Paris, and in those cities it has reached a dangerous excellance.. So perfect beyond all others are the French imitation pearls, that it is difficult for the practised eye of a jeweller to distinguish the true from the false. The French are very happy in the production of black pearls. The perfection of these imitations renders them all but indistinguishable from the real pearls.
The process of the manufacture of these charming little fancy articles is carried out in the following manner:--
The pearl-blowers workshop is of the simplest character. It is composed of a little table about a yard long, on which is placed a lamp with a thick wick, which, fed either with oil or lard, gives forth a long jet of flame--this flame being regulated bya bellows arranged under the table, and moved with the foot of the operator. On this table are placed some hollow glass tubes of different kinds--some of ordinary glass, which are used to make common kind of pearls; others of a slightly iridescent tint are only employed for the best description, known commercially as "Oriental plearls."
The secret of the composition of the latter kind of glass, due to the researches of the chemist, M. Pierrelot, who died some years ago, now belongs to the house of M. Valez and Co.
We will now describe how the pearl-makler, with the aid only of a tube of hollow glass {precisely the same as a child's peashooter}, is enabled to produce pearls of all kinds, some of which, by the beauty of their form and their opaline lustre, can with difficulty be distinguished from the finest Oriental variety. The pearl-blower, seated at the table, has the lamp before him. On the right are placed tubes of very small dimensions, the size of the tube employed naturally is in proportion to the size of the pearls required. The first operation of the workman is to draw out the tube --that is to say increase its length, to diminish the diameter. The tube being drawn out to the required dimensions, he breaks it into minute fragments, he then takes up one of these fragments, and presents one end of it to the lamp. As soon as the glass begins to liquefy, he blows softly into the tube, which, though drawn out, retains the internal passage, and the air dilating the warmed end, a globule is formed. This globule will eventually be the perfect pearl; at present it is incomplete, for in order that it should assume a faultless form three operations are indispensable- firstly, the peircing, which consists of two holes if the blower is making round pearls for necklaces, or of one hole only if he is making round or pear-shaped peals for earrings, buttons, etc.; secondly, the required form, whether round or pearl-shaped; thirdly, the coloring of the interior of the pearl.
The double piercing necessary to admit the string, which is to unite the pearls, and form them into a necklace, is done at the moment when the glass, still of a spheroidal form, and adherent to the tube, is yet ductile. The first hole is made in the lower half of the pearl by the breath only of the blower, and the second is the natural result of the hollow of the tube at the point where the pearl is separated from it by means of a sharp tap.
All artificial pearls are made in the manner here described;but what are termed "Oriental pearls," being the most exact imitation possible of the real article, require a still further application of the pearl blower's art. Although the method of manufacture is precisely similar in both cases, the so-called Oriental pearls are distinguished from the commoner kinds, not only by their being made of an opalescent glass, but by the care the blowers bestows on their form , as well as on their varied internal tints.
Every pearl buyer knows the difficulty of finding a pearl without defect, not in the material of which it is composed , but in the shape and color. The art of the pearl blower, then, consists in the production of the best possible imitation of Nature; his talent is evinced not only by his neutralizing the exact regularity obtained by blowing the pearl, but he must produce on it the effects usually found in natural specimens. The work requires long practice , and is the fruit of careful and patient observation.
As artist in pearl blowing ought to be sufficiently acquainted with the appearance of real pearls, only to place on his own productions such defects as shall, by the aid of skillfully devised reflected lights, enhance the beauty of the work he has completed. In order to obtain this important result, the blower, taking advantage of the instant while the pearl yet adheres to the tube, takes a small iron instrument, with which he striked lightly on certains portions of the pearl that are yet malleable. It is this last labor which, producing on it here and elevation, there an almost imperceptible depression, ends by forming a pearl which, losing its mathematical regularity, becomes a perfect imitation of nature. At this point the blower has finished his work. the pearls , which as yet are only morsels of colorless glass, will now pass into the hands of workmen whose business it is to give them the requisite coloring.
Although the work of coloring which will now be described is the same in all pearls, yet as the manufactured pearls are divided into two categories--ordinary pearls and Oriental pearls--it is evident that two kinds of workwomen are necessary to finish them off. One undertakes the coloring of the ordinary ones, and the other of the finer kinds. We shall only detail the method of coloring the latter sort, it merely differs from the other process by requiring a larger amount of finish. Our illustration enhibits the process of finishing. It will be observed that each workwoman has before her a series of small compartments, containing altogether several millions of pearls; so arranged that the side with the hole left by the blower is on its upper surface. Before introducing into it the coloring matte, which would be too easily detached from the glass if it were not consolidated by some fixing medium, each pearl receives inside it a very thing layer of a quite colorless glue made from parchment. This layer being spread over the internal cavity of each pearl, the workwoman takes advantage of the moment while it is yet wet to commence the real coloring operation.
The workwoman, taking up her slender hollow tube of glass, dips it into a paste composed of the scales of tiny fish called bleak, of which she blows a certain small quantity into each of the pearls. Reference to the illustration will show the figure on the left hand in the act of performing this operation. The pearls are now finished, and have to be sorted and packed for the purposes of commerce. The fish-scale paste now used in filling the pearls is said to be the discovery of a Parisian chaplet maker, named Maitre Jacquin, in 1686. It was a most useful and fortunate discovery, for up to that period artificial pearls were colored by quicksilver, and its emanations proved most deleterious to the health of the work people employed in manufacture.
Colored pearls are made in precisely the same manner as the white varieties, except that instead of the bleak-scale paste, a compound of the color desired in the pearl is blown into it.
It has already been stated that the women practisers of this art gain but a poor livelihood; in order to earn from three and a half francs to four francs per diem, they must color forty thousand pearls. Still, even this rate of pay contrasts favorably with that obtained by needlewomen, and induces us to wish for the introduction of this branch of industry into our own fields of labor.
We've all seen autograph books, maybe even had one when we were kids, wagging it around everywhere we went to get friends, family and perfect strangers to sign it. The development of the autograph book dates back to the middle ages. Aristocratic families circulated genealogical tables and guides between one another with each adding his or her own personal information.
The first autograph books appeared in German and Dutch regions by the mid-16th century known as the "book of friends" or "friendship book". Very popular with college students from the 15th century until the mid-19th century, after which they were replaced with college yearbooks or alcaldes as we called them. Before the autograph book, students would have classmates and instructors sign their bibles.
Besides the signature, the writer might include a small verse, poem, drawings or personal messages. I had a German autograph book that also had antique Victorian die cuts on each page. Most wonderful of all is they dated their inscription.
Academics tended to keep their autograph books for years and gather the correspondence of fellow intellectuals with whom they associated, so that not only were the books sentimental artifacts, but also a crude form of scholarly credentials, a modern " list of references" if you will. They may have been used as an address book. There is great historical value in these books as we look at the biographical data of those who composed them and they culture in which they wrote.
German immigrants brought the tradition to America in the late 19th century. By the mid 19th century, they began to decline sharply though a considerable number of young women continued to exchange them. Still today, in Germany, they are still a lingering fad among elementary school aged girls. The books themselves could have been plain cardboard or gold-tooled leather. The autograph books of the 1800's were far more beautiful than the plain ones you find today. Oh, and you can still buy the "weenie dogs" to autograph.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Victorian Slide Bracelets
Victorian Slide Bracelets
Antique enthusiasts began collecting these slides around the 1930's and making them into bracelets due to the elegant designs. The slide bracelet was born. They would cut the necklace chain and string the slide on a double strand gold chain bracelet. The slides are drilled with four holes so the two strands of the bracelet chain can pass through them. Each slide was stuffed with cork on the inside around the chain so it would hold the slide in place on the bracelet. Eventually the bracelet would be a complete slide bracelet; unique to the collector and many times becoming a family heirloom.
Over time new gold slide designs have mixed tradition with modern appeal. The same Victorian style is used in other jewelry as well: including brooches, earrings, rings, pendants, and necklaces. In the 1990s slides became popular again with reproductions, variations of previous revivals, and new modern designs.
Some folks often refer to slide bracelet slides as charms, slide charms, and even slider charms.
Today, the cork stuffing is often replaced with more modern material. With cork it was recommended to have the cork replaced every year or so, depending on wear. As a substitute, a cushion material will last longer and function just as well as cork. Another alternative is to use filled beads between the slides that fit snug on the chain and can hold the slides in place on the bracelet without the need for stuffing the individual slides.
In ancient times cameos were carved to record significant events and to communicate information. Queen Victoria of England popularized the cameo during the Victorian Era. Most cameos are carved in seashells and showcase a woman's profile. Cameos have always been very popular in slide bracelets for that classic Victorian look. Some of the other more popular stones set in slides are the rich purple amethyst, deep red garnet, diamonds, and beautiful pearls.
A starter slide bracelet makes a great gift. It's a unique item that gives something to build on and also something to pass down to future generations. The slide bracelet has become a tradition in many families.
Antique enthusiasts began collecting these slides around the 1930's and making them into bracelets due to the elegant designs. The slide bracelet was born. They would cut the necklace chain and string the slide on a double strand gold chain bracelet. The slides are drilled with four holes so the two strands of the bracelet chain can pass through them. Each slide was stuffed with cork on the inside around the chain so it would hold the slide in place on the bracelet. Eventually the bracelet would be a complete slide bracelet; unique to the collector and many times becoming a family heirloom.
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Over time new gold slide designs have mixed tradition with modern appeal. The same Victorian style is used in other jewelry as well: including brooches, earrings, rings, pendants, and necklaces. In the 1990s slides became popular again with reproductions, variations of previous revivals, and new modern designs.
Some folks often refer to slide bracelet slides as charms, slide charms, and even slider charms.
Today, the cork stuffing is often replaced with more modern material. With cork it was recommended to have the cork replaced every year or so, depending on wear. As a substitute, a cushion material will last longer and function just as well as cork. Another alternative is to use filled beads between the slides that fit snug on the chain and can hold the slides in place on the bracelet without the need for stuffing the individual slides.
In ancient times cameos were carved to record significant events and to communicate information. Queen Victoria of England popularized the cameo during the Victorian Era. Most cameos are carved in seashells and showcase a woman's profile. Cameos have always been very popular in slide bracelets for that classic Victorian look. Some of the other more popular stones set in slides are the rich purple amethyst, deep red garnet, diamonds, and beautiful pearls.
A starter slide bracelet makes a great gift. It's a unique item that gives something to build on and also something to pass down to future generations. The slide bracelet has become a tradition in many families.
Antique enthusiasts began collecting these slides around the 1930's and making them into bracelets due to the elegant designs. The slide bracelet was born. They would cut the necklace chain and string the slide on a double strand gold chain bracelet. The slides are drilled with four holes so the two strands of the bracelet chain can pass through them. Each slide was stuffed with cork on the inside around the chain so it would hold the slide in place on the bracelet. Eventually the bracelet would be a complete slide bracelet; unique to the collector and many times becoming a family heirloom.
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Monday, March 5, 2012
Miser's Purses
Miser's purses are known by many names. Misers, ring or string purses, and finger purses, are just a few of the names they were given. They originated in the late eighteenth century and were popular into the early 1900's.
These purses were used by both men and women and usually were long, almost stocking looking. One end of the purse was usually rounded, while the other was squared. "The Ingenious Miser's Purse", in Piecework, Nov/Dec 1996, says this about it's design:
"Narrow in the middle and closed at both ends, miser's purses ranged in the course of their history from 4 to 36 inches long. During the Victorian era, many miser's purses were from 8 to 10 inches long. The "toes" of the purse, might be of the same or different shapes, often are tasseled or fringed.
A short slit in the narrow midsection of fabric let the carrier drop coins or other small objects into either end of the tube. It could be closed off by moving two rings, or sliders, of different materials including steel, brass, silver, gold, or mother-of-pearl toward the ends, gathering the fabric snugly around the contents.
When miser's purses were designed with one rounded and one square end, the different shapes had a purpose: in the frequently poor lighting the correct coins could be withdrawn by feel. The square end with fringe might contain silver coins and a contrasting diamond, round, gathered or tasseled end, gold coins."
With all miser's purses, the object was to keep the contents secure. The string, or ring miser is a wonderful example of this with its flat, pouch-like shape. Under the flap, several strings would feed up through the flap and attach to a ring. Some were single pouches, while others were double-sided.
The popularity of these bags declined in the 1920's, but today, beaded and crocheted bags are making a major comeback. Maybe you'll see someone carrying one of these unique bags soon!
Purses, of all shapes, sizes, and designs, were the preeminent monetary storage device for men and women of the Victorian era, and the miser’s purse was perhaps the most ubiquitous in nineteenth-century culture. This small, highly decorative purse is a particularly compelling type of object because, unlike other purses, it was deeply embedded in Victorian popular culture. As seen in hundreds of contemporary sources, the crafting, giving, receiving, sale, and use of the miser’s purse reflected specific social mores, and conveyed certain meanings, to the Victorians. This information, though, has remained largely unknown to present-day scholars as, to date, very little has been written about the miser’s purse. By citing references to miser’s purses found in nineteenth-century literature and paintings, as well as non-fictional accounts of these accessories found in fancywork guides, etiquette guides, and women’s magazines, the author examines the personal, social, literary and artistic functions of the Victorian miser’s purse. Among these sources are important contemporary works, including the fictional writings of Charles Dickens, James Fenimore Cooper, and William Makepeace Thackeray; paintings by James Collinson and Ford Madox Brown; the pre-eminent American magazines Godey’s Lady’s Book, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, and Peterson’s Magazine; as well as popular etiquette and fancywork guides by Lydia Lambert and Matilda Pullan. By this approach, the miser’s purse is shown to be a separate and distinct accessory from other contemporary purses and bags, and its social and symbolic roles are explored. Not only was the miser’s purse emblematic of the Victorian era and its domestic ideologies, but it also embodied the culture’s gift-giving modes. The author explains how these social functions were adapted by Victorian writers and artists into the works they produced. Both the crafting and giving of purses functioned as important literary and artistic devices, often to teach a moral lesson, to help young women to capture the attention of male suitors, to serve as a representation of filial love, or to foreshadow marriages between literary characters.
his is a miser's purse (also known as a wallet or stocking purse) made in the early 1800s. It was a fashionable style for both men and women, and would have been based on a pattern found in popular women's magazines and knitting books.
Design
It is called a miser's purse because its long tubular shape with a slit down the centre is held tightly by sliding rings (or 'sliders') to keep the coins safe at either end. This meant that it was hard to get the coins out in a hurry - hence the name miser.
Miser's purses were usually weighted at the ends (sometimes with steel bead tassels) to hold the coins in place. In the case of this particular purse, one end has been rounded with a single trimming while the other end has squared corners and two trimmings. This meant that coins of different denominations could be kept in either end, making it easier in a dark carriage to find the correct fare to pay the driver by feeling the difference in trimmings.
Women carried miser's purses held in the middle, letting them fall elegantly over the hand or from their belts. Men carried them in their pockets.
Significance
Thousands of women made purses such as these for personal use or as gifts or novelties - sometimes donating them to fundraising causes. This purse was probably made as a gift for a gentleman because green was a popular choice for men's purses at the time.
My love of the Victorian Era
I think my love for the Victorian Era started off slowly. First was roses, my favorite flower. There is nothing more beautiful than the depiction of Victorian roses. I love hats and this era had the biggest hats of all time! My biggest downfall came when I discovered Ebay. What a treasure trove of all things Victorian! I was and still am hooked! When I found something I liked, I immediately went to the Internet and researched it Wikipedia is great along with all the sites that have Victorian Era information. Three or four years ago, I became interested in the antique ornaments from the era. I have spent a small fortune on trims, die cuts, dresden trims, antique tinsel garlands to make the ornaments. It is getting extremely hard to be able to get the antique die cuts at an affordable price, but my addiction hasn't stopped, just slowed down.
I will attempt to show you many things that are wonderful about this era. I have some articles and photos that I have already developed that I will be passing along and a box full of new research to develop.
So, if you are like me and love all things Victorian, stayed tuned.
Lorrie Darlin
I will attempt to show you many things that are wonderful about this era. I have some articles and photos that I have already developed that I will be passing along and a box full of new research to develop.
So, if you are like me and love all things Victorian, stayed tuned.
Lorrie Darlin
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