EVENT – Learn more about 19th-century textiles at Fulford Place
Saturday, March 20, 2010 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with one hour for lunch
In this workshop, Sotheby's-trained instructor Janet Carlile looks at 19th-century textiles. Learn about samplers and the iconography used on them. Explore early Canadian pictorial wool work. Find out how Irish linen is made – and how to remove stains and care for it. Hooking and hooked rugs, quilts and coverlets will also be examined. You will also discover ways of determining the age of textiles. Each participant may bring one textile item to be appraised.
Janet Carlile has lectured throughout the United Kingdom and Canada. She taught a course at LancasterUniversity called Artefacts and Implements Relating to Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian Social History. Carlile has undertaken appraisals of government department collections and is an appraiser for the CanadianMuseum of Civilization, the American Embassy, the House of Commons and has worked for Rideau Hall – the official residence of the Governor General. She has also appeared as an expert on the Canadian Antiques Roadshow.
The cost of the session is $65 per person. Pre-registration is required. Seating is limited. Bring a bagged lunch.
To purchase tickets or receive more information, call 613-498-3003.
Fulford Place – a National Historic Site – is owned and operated by the Ontario Heritage Trust, an agency of the Government of Ontario, dedicated to identifying, preserving, protecting and promoting Ontario's heritage.
For more information about Fulford Place and other Trust activities, call 416-325-5000.
(Posted on: http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_10170_1.html)
A friend of mine emailed me about a vintage purse given to her by her aunt (shown in the photos below).
She wasn't exactly sure why it had a strap running straight along the back. I hadn't seen anything like it myself. The big questions were how was it supposed to be held and what was the strap for?
After some looking around in my reference books I came across an example in a 1908 Sears Roebuck catalogue and an illustration on how to wear it (see bottom photo). It's apparently called a vanity purse and you slip your hand straight down with the palm of your hand facing the side of your body. Since I did not come across any photos like this on the Internet or references to "vanity purses" as Sears had referred to this style I thought I would share the reference (excuse the quality).
The vanity purse seems a bit awkward to carry which might be why we don't see this style anymore. Today we see the more commonclutch pursefor evening wear which you simply wrap your hand around and hold.
(1908 Sears, Roebuck Catalogue: A Treasured Replica from the Archives of History, Ed. Joseph J. Schroeder, Jr., published by Digest Books Inc. Northfield Illinois, 1969. Vanity purses listed on page 1000.)
Victorian Costume: Demonstration and Talk Thursday, December 10, 7:30 pm Lorraine Ivey Shuttleworth Community Gallery
After graduating from the Fashion Arts Program at Niagara College, Karen Harley dedicated 25 years to theatre, working in various venues such as the Stratford Festival and the Grand Theatre. She now teaches sewing, history of costume and textile science in the Fashion Design Program at Fanshawe College. Karen will speak about why people dressed the way they did in Victorian times, and will elaborate upon the styles, influences and attitudes of the era. She will display a collection of Victorian costumes from the Stratford Festival, and will show us what it took to get undressed as a woman in this period.
This weekend I went on a little road trip to Coopersville – a small city just outside of Grand Rapids. I stopped in to check out a paper doll display set up at the Coopersville Farm Museum. The display case housed what looked like close to 30 or so different paper dolls. The collection is on loan by Jan Harings a local person with a passion for collecting paper dolls. The exhibit is dedicated to a collecting friend of hers, Julie Cain, who recently passed away.
This small sample of her collection is definitely worth seeing. It brought be back as I had forgot how much I loved paper dolls as a little girl. From the display it's interesting to see how different paper dolls were throughout the 20th century. The variety of silhouettes of the paper dolls, some looking like little girls, others like women and the different illustration styles. Having studied clothing history I definitely have a new perception of paper dolls than I did when I was dressing my own Barbie paper dolls in the early 90s! The fashions worn by the dolls show high fashions of various decades and are a great source for tracing trends.
Here are some web links to information on the history of paper dolls:
-The OPDAG (The Original Paper Doll Artists' Guild), "History of Paper Dolls "by Judy M. Johnson
The Coopersville Farm Museum is charming museum with a real community feel. The exhibits are anything from model trains, artwork to historic displays and were created by locals. They are pretty random which is not a bad thing! When you have visited as many museums as I have it’s enjoyable to be surprised when visiting a museum. Next time I go to Coopersville I hope to ride the train which is also run by volunteers - so many volunteers in this city - what a nice community!
Grand Rapids, Michigan is a vibrant place to be! Today I took in ArtPrize. If you have not heard about this event, it is a city-wide art competition where artists have the opportunity to win 250,000. It's the first year running - hopefully it won't be the last as it has brought people out to share and celebrate not just the art but all of the great things this city has to offer: talented people, great restaurants, museums and a lovely downtown waterfront.
Today I saw a giant table and chairs on one of the city bridges by painter Sarah Grant. There is tons of contemporary art throughout the streets and some gems displayed inside various shops/restaurants that are hosting works of art.
This weekend the streets were crowded with people (10,000 apparently!) to see one of the events - the dropping of 100,000 paper airplanes from the tops of building by artist Rob Bliss. He created a rainbow of colorful airplanes flying through the Grand Rapids skyline. Check out the video!
A fantastic event that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is still on until the end of the week so get out and see some art!..It's clear that although this was an artist competition, the real winner has been the city of Grand Rapids - through successfully enticing people to get out and enjoy all the city has to offer.
On Wed. Sept. 9 @ 6:30pm at the Textile Museum of Canada Sharon McDonald will be giving a talk on hooked rugs. I just got a preview this morning over coffee and she has some amazing knowledge to share. If you are interested in the hooked rugs, design, textiles or Canadian history more generally this talk should not be missed!
Here is the event information:
Lecture: Hooked Rugs and the Economy with Sharon MacDonald
Wednesday September 9, 6:30 pm
The history of rug hooking in Canada goes well beyond an account of a domestic craft in which decorative and practical furnishings were produced for personal household use. Citing examples that span diverse communities and geographical regions, Sharon MacDonald will explore the fascinating and significant role that hooked rugs have played in the hidden and not-so-hidden economy over the past century.
Cost:
general public: Full-time students Free; Non-members $12 TMC members: Free
Reservation: Not required
Advance tickets may be purchased in person at the TMC’s front desk. Please arrive early, seating is limited.
The Curatorial Assistant is responsible for providing logistical, research, administrative and technical support to the Curatorial Department. The Assistant will play a key role in project research, development and coordination, creating planning documents, preparing digital design files, contributing to the maintenance of a data base and the ongoing content development of TMC Web sites. The Assistant will play an important support role in day-to-day office tasks, assisting with written correspondence, business contracts, record keeping and filing. The position reports to the Curatorial Director and works directly with all members of the Curatorial team.
The pumping music of a fashion runway combined with that of a marching band drew me into the Camouflageexhibit currently running at the Canadian National War Museum.
The themes in the exhibit: Conceal, Distort, Deceive and Disguise explore the different uses of camouflage throughout history. There are a variety of fascinating artifacts to see from historic military uniforms, to cubist paintings and haute couture gowns. Each of the pieces on display has an interesting story to tell. One of my favorites was a pair of sandal boots (1967 Courtesy of the Bata Shoe Museum) that were used for military purposes. The bottoms of the boots are imprinted with an enemies tread (the footprint of the inhabitants rope sandal) so they would leave no print when encroaching on enemy territory - how smart!
I was also impressed with how interactive the exhibit was from a chance to try on military uniforms for different terrain to building your own disguised city. Camouflage is little kid and big kid friendly;)
Having an interest in the history of design I was excited to see this was the major focus of the exhibit. It would have been great to learn more about how successful the use of the camo techniques actually were on the battlefield as some of these inventions on display, although impressive, seemed a bit bizarre (building fake tree structures on the battlefield to hide in?).
It sounds like there has been work done on the exhibit since the first showing at the Imperial War Museum in Britain including some new additions – particularly on aspects of the Canadian history of camouflage. Hopefully these museums will continue to build a base of knowledge on this fascinating subject.
Camouflage is on display at the Canada National War Museum from June 5, 2009 to January 3, 2010. See the website for cost of admission or visit on a Thursday night when it is FREE:) A really great show that should not be missed!
Firstly, how the paper "Badges of Honour or Devices of Control? Nursing Uniforms At Kingston General Hospital" came to be. The Master's in Public History Program at the University of Western Ontariooffers the opportunity to work in the public history field for a semester. While enrolled in this program in 2007-8 I was honoured to work at the Museum of Health Care at Kingston as their Dr. Margaret Angus Research Fellow for 2008. I have a personal interest in the history of clothing stemming from my early experience as a student of costume design and a museum curator of costume which I brought to the position. While at the Museum of Health Care (MHC) I spent just over 3 months studying nursing uniforms in the museum collection that were worn by students of the Kingston General Hospital Training School for Nurses in Kingston. The MHC have an extensive collection (and a great new permanent exhibit on the subject of nursing at KGH with lots on the history of nursing uniforms). I also used the archives at KGH located next to the museum. (The photo above was taken of me at the MHC next to one of the museum displays).
The primary sources were very important to me - especially the uniforms themselves and the voices of the nurses that wore them. Talking to graduates of the training school and hearing their opinions on the uniforms provided a great deal of insight for me.
I also read a lot of literature on the subject - I could be found on most days in Queen's University Library with a stack of books on subjects that included clothing and uniform history, medical history, nursing history and of course, the more focused literature on nursing uniforms. I also branched off onto general subjects of feminist and labour history in order to better situate my study and gain knowlege of the various perspectives. What I discovered during my primary research was that there is a lot more to the uniform than being just a form of control for the nurses which was the dominant perspective expressed in the literature I covered. Many student nurses I talked to liked their school uniforms and found them quite empowering. This was the perspective I chose to focus on for my study.
I won't put up the whole paper (as I am still working on fine tuning it - and it's long!) but here is the introduction. My original manuscript (50pgs) is also available at the Museum of Health Care (or through me) - this has also changed a bit. I am happy to answer any questions about my reseach so please feel free to email me: andrea.melvin[at]hotmail.com (replace the [at] with @).
Badges of Honour or Devices of Control? Nursing Uniforms at Kingston General Hospital Training School for Nurses
By Andrea Melvin, Dip. Costume Studies, Hons. B.A. (Dalhousie ‘05), M.A. Public History (Western ‘08)
At the Museum of Health Care in Kingston, Ontario, a collection of nurses’ uniforms from the Kingston GeneralHospitalTraining School for Nurses provides an opportunity to study the nurses’ uniforms and the relationships nurses had with them. With nurses and the public frequently visiting the museum to view this collection, however, the garments are far from being simple remnants of historic nursing practice. The question of what they represent – either the oppression of nurses in training prior to the 1970s (which dominates current historiography) or an expression of women’s agency - has no simple answer.
This paper looks briefly at the late Victorian period when the uniform was introduced to KGH, until the 1970s when the uniform became no longer mandatory for nursing schools. I draw on archival sources, oral history and actual nursing garments. In this presentation I argue that there is much more to the uniform than the form of control and oppression it is represented as in literature on the subject.
This literature offers interpretations in the context of Marxist and feminist scholarship that support the view that nursing uniforms were used to oppress nurses in training. James M. Wishart, for instance, likened the student nurses at Kingston General Hospital (KGH) in Foucauldian terms to “trained soldiers,” and that nursing leaders at KGH like Ann Baillie viewed students as merely “material” that filled the uniform.[1] In his opinion, the nurse’s uniform demonstrated one aspect of the rigorous discipline that nurses faced while in training. Historian Kathryn McPherson also viewed the uniforms as a symbol of oppression and linked uniforms to aform of Victorian repression that was led by the professional elite. McPherson explained that nursing leaders, who wanted to maintain a good reputation at their school, used dress codes as a way to restrict the association of nursing students with more liberal ideas on femininity and sexuality that began in the 1920s.[2] Similarly, Janet Muff sees the uniform as a piece of propaganda for nurses intended to keep them dependent upon male hospital administrators and physicians.[3] Finally, Professor of Nursing, Ellen MacFarlane views the uniform as a symbol of “past struggles” in the nursing profession. In particular, she believes that the cap, because of negative historical symbolism and lack of functionality, should be “placed permanently in the archives.”[4] This coincides with the opinions of more recent generations of nurses; appropriate dress has moved away from the importance of symbolism to an emphasis on functional attire, exemplified by scrubs and other forms of casual wear.
These interpretations offer intriguing insights into the imagery of nurses and nursing, but do not explore how the traditional uniform proved advantageous for student nurses. In my findings, the secular nursing uniform has shaped the public perception of the nurse and remained for many years an important form of professional identification for nurses. When nurses recall their experience in hospital-based training, the nursing uniform is inevitably discussed as a central part of their schooling and they often lament the scrubs worn by nurses today as the loss of a valuable professional tradition. By dismissing the important symbolism found in the uniform by those who wore it means that a piece of the nursing experience is lost. The uniform as a method of control and a symbol of empowerment both have validity and there is no doubt that the symbolism of the nurses’ uniform offers many contradictions. This should not overshadow what nurses found empowering about their uniforms and what they symbolized.
In this paper I look at the following three areas:Firstly, from the beginning, how the uniform helped young women maintain their status in society during a time when there were few respectable occupations open to them.[5] Secondly, how it was used to demonstrate internal ranking, similar to military uniforms, and was a basis for measuring professional success and encouraging women to work towards personal achievement. My third point is that throughout the twentieth century, nurses had influence over the uniform they were wearing.
[1]James M. Wishart, “‘We Have Worked while We Played and Played while We Worked’: Discipline and Disobedience at the Kingston GeneralHospitalTraining School for Nurses, 1923-1939” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, 21:2 (2004): 66.
[2] Kathryn McPherson, Bedside Matters: The Transformation of Canadian Nursing 1900-1990. (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1996), 165.
[3] Janet Muff. “Of Images and Ideals: A Look at Socialization and Sexism in Nursing,” in Images of Nurses Perspectives from History, Art, and Literature, ed. Anne Hudson Jones. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1988), 209.
Today I took some time to check out the new Virtual Museum of Canada's website which was just released. The site is a tool that not only links visitors to virtual exhibits - which if I recall, was the main feature of the last site - but to actual museums across the country, their websites and educational projects led by museums.
I wasn't able to get one of the new major features working called My VMC which involves creating your own museum space (but I see the site is still under construction). If you are interested in keeping track of what's going on or what's new in your local or favorite Canadian museums this will no doubt be a helpful resource. Another really useful feature was the Teachers' Centre which has a list of lesson plans and projects.
To be honest, I don't remember much about the old Virtual Museum website - I guess that says something! Hopefully this will be a much more useful and rich tool for the public as well as professionals to connect with their museums.
Check it out: http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/index-eng.jsp
We all know how challenging it can be to find a job in the public history field - yet alone one that pays the bills! For me taking on a part-time position with a garden center (who doesn't love flowers!?) was a great opportunity to work flexible hours and make a little extra cash. The other major bonus of the job is fresh air and exercise which I don't get sitting in my dark office all day at the museum. I was informed that for this position I would require a pair of work boots. This was a bit of a problem for me because of my love for high heels and looking pretty. My first instinct was to search online for something other than the tan boots I normally see around on men working at construction sites. It turns out, as I Googled "pink workboots", I was not the only hard working female labourer searching the Web for the same thing. My search results took me to Moxie Trades, a Canadian company considered home to the original pink work boot. Check out the company's development - it is an interesting story. Their pink Betsy work boot has not only given personality and style to an outdated boot, but has helped to make tradeswomen working in what was once a man's domain more visible.
Job Title: Curator, Mactaggart Art Collection Institution / Organization: University of Alberta Museums Location: Edmonton, Alberta Closing Date: May 15, 2009 E-Mail: Janine.Andrews@ualberta.ca Fax number: 780-492-6185 Web link to Institutionhttp://www.museums.ualberta.ca
Job description: The University of Alberta is seeking a Curator for the Mactaggart Art Collection, a world-renowned Asian Art collection. The University of Alberta is one of the largest collecting institutions in Canada with more than 17 million objects and specimens that comprise the University of Alberta Museums. The Mactaggart Art Collection is one of 35 collections that comprise the University of Alberta Museums which are integral to the University's teaching, research, discovery learning and access programs, and it is the newest addition to our 100-year history of collecting.
The Mactaggart Art Collection consists of works of art and textiles from a range of countries, time periods and traditions. More than 600 textiles, costumes and related artifacts date from the Song (960-1279), Ming (1314-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties. The art collection is comprised of hanging scrolls, hand scrolls, albums and engravings with great strength in Qing court paintings. This collection situates the University of Alberta Art Collection within the same company as only a handful of other museums in the world with similar collections. For more information, please refer to http://museums.ualberta.ca/mactaggart/
Pendant la fin de semaine, j’ai mené un atelier de couture avec mon collègue au Musée du domaine Billings. A l’atelier nous avons fabriqué un sac décoratif. C’etait pour les enfants âgés de 8 ans ou plus; mais, c’est possible de le mener pour les différents âges. Pendant l’atelier les étudients ont appris l’historie de la couture et ils ont conçu un bricolage à leurs guises. Enseigner aux jeunes personnes aide à développer leurs habiletés à faire le suivant :
A talk coming up by Susan North in Kingston, Ontario this Thursday night looks fantastic! I am hoping to get over to it and will report back;) Susan North is a V&A Curator and author of the amazing book "Historical Fashion In Detail - The 17th and 18th Centuries" with Avril Hart. I am sure she has many other achievements but this book, recommended reading for Dalhousie Costume Studies, sits in my library and I love it!
Susan North, Curator of Fashion 1550–1800, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, will speak at Chernoff Auditorium, Queen’s University, Kingston, at 7 p.m. Thursday 5 March 2009. Her subject will be “Wearing One’s Art on One’s Sleeve: Iconography and Preservation Issues of an Early 17th Century Jacket.”
There will be a reception (cash bar) afterwards for attendees to meet Susan. Contact for special needs: artcon@queensu.ca. Release came via Queen’s Art Conservation Program, contact lm15@queensu.ca, or artcon@queensu.ca.
(Image Note: Men's 18th Century Coat, designed and constructed by the author Andrea Melvin, please email me if you want to use it).
I was thrilled to come across the new website for the Costume Society of Nova Scotia. Okay, ever since I heard that it was under construction I have been keeping an eye out for it. I am from Halifax, Nova Scotia and did the Costume Studies Program at Dalhousie University so I have always been interested in the Costume Society of NS as being a sort of link to my early passion for costume. The website is a simple and attractive design with images of various examples of colourful costumes. Check it outand join - I plan on it!
I recently visited the McCord Museum for a colloquium called Bodies on Display in part with the Costume Society of America and alongside the fascinating exhibit Reveal or Conceal?. At the event I learned a new skill through a workshop on constructing mannequins for exhibition. Preparing mannequins was a major task for the McCord's conservators, as almost every fragile textile in Reveal or Conceal? required special considerations for the exhibition (I highly recommend seeing this show by the way, it only runs until Jan. 18, 2009!). The mannequins were made by Caroline Bourgeois who specializes in mannequin making for the museum. Although often a behind-the-scenes activity, the mannequins are part of the visual presentation of the exhibit, so wonderfully crafted, that they could not possibly go unnoticed. The display of costume in this manner is a complicated beast. Following a talk by the McCord's Chief Conservator, Anne MacKay, it was clear that those involved with the process require a great deal of knowledge about a garment before mounting it. This includes the period in which the garment originated, intended silhouette, method of construction, size and materials. This is important not only for achieving an attractive presentation on a mannequin, but for the long-term preservation of a garment. Mounting it incorrectly ie: a 1920s Flapper dress that has been sewn on the bias with little support on a mannequin can have damaging effects. Mounting correctly, like for instance a corset from the turn of the century, can sometimes help to give shape to a garment that has been lost overtime by sitting flat in museum storage. There are also numerous other considerations including lighting, positioning of the dress stand and length of time exhibited that concern conservators.
The McCord used supplies for building their mannequins similar to those used by a milliner: buckrum, glue, twill tape, wire, nylon boning, hoop steel, stockinette cotton and various other creative materials when required. They recommended buckrum for the main body of the form be black for display purposes to help prevent it from showing in dark exhibition galleries. Also, understructures like petticoats or bustles should be made out of cotton or tulle to create the period silhouette. One supplier which carries many of these materials and that I personally recommend, as I shopped there while a student, is Farthingales in Stratford, Ontario.
I will not get into the "how to's" of construction here, because there are far too many techniques. Below is a list of resources for constructing dress stands that are available online.
Last weekend's Virtually Fashionable was an exciting lead up to the new game Tomb Raider: Underworld which will be released on November 18th, 2008. The fashion show combined the actual and the virtual designs of 10 Montreal designers. Each designer was asked to create a new outfit for Lara Croft, who as we know, or can relate to, is a busy woman so absorbed in her work she has little time to spend on her wardrobe. She typically wears the same-old, same-old outfit everyday: a short black tank top and short-shorts with a backpack and belt to hold her ammo with only slight variations depending on the weather or the task she is performing. The winning design produced by one of the Montreal designers would then become part of Lara's wardrobe.
As the lights dimmed at the event the models, who were spitting images of Lara with her amazonian height, muscular build and dark locks, strutted the stage. The virtual version of the dress would then be projected on either side of the catwalk illustrating Lara's complex movements. It allowed the audience to see how Lara would function and look while sporting the design. The actual version of the outfit provided a close-up of the detailed work that went into creating a garment for a real-life Lara. Although, I can't particularly imagine raiding tombs in most of the designs that were shown, the actual garments presented fabrics that the virtual world could not. The winning design, a white, almost pea coat-style garment was made of a waterproof wet suit material which was no doubt, the key to its success as it would suit Lara's field of work.Virtually Fashionable was a fashion show like no other. For more info on that event and the designers visit the Gaming Nexus web site. If you are interested in reading about the representation of women in Cyberspace this article by Sheryl Hamilton is fascinating and briefly discusses Lara Croft.
Welcome to my blog! My name is Andrea Melvin and I am a recent graduate of the Master of Arts in Public History from the University of Western Ontario and a specialist in costume studies. I use this blog to share my ideas and experiences while working in these fields. Please email me if you have any questions about my blog: andrea[dot]melvin[at]hotmail[dot]com
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Bienvenus à mon blogue! Je’mappelle Andrea Melvin. Je suis une diplômée récente en maîtrise en Historie Publique de l’Université de L’Ouest d’Ontario et j’occupe le poste d’une spécialiste en vêtements historiques. J’utilise ce blogue pour transmettre mes idées et mes expériences pendant que je travaille. Si jamais vous avez des questions concernant mon blogue, veuillez s.v.p. me les communiquer à mon courriel : andrea[dot]melvin[at]hotmail[dot]com.
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