from here I see everything
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(via Working Girl: 1913 | Shorpy Historical Photo Archive)
November 1913. Kosciusko, Mississippi. “One of the workers (not the youngest) in the Kosciusko cotton mills. The superintendent objected to my photographing them.” Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Long Cheng was often described as “The Most Secret Place on Earth”. It was located in a valley at 3,100 feet elevation, high enough to have chilly nights and cold fogs. It was surrounded by mountains and on the northwest side of the runway where karst outcrops several hundred feet high. In the shadow of the Karst outcrops was “Sky” the CIA headquarters in Long Cheng.
During the Secret War, Long Cheng became the largest Hmong settlement in the world. Long Cheng “became a desultory metropolis, an unpaved, sewerless city of 30,000 where Hmong ran noodle stands, cobbled shoes, tailored clothes, repaired radios, ran military-jeep taxi services, and interpreted for American pilots and relief workers.
The “secret city” of Long Cheng maintained a population of 40,000 inhabitants, making it the second largest city in Laos at the time, although it never appeared on maps.
While these incredible shoes were not worn by the Wicked Witch of the West, she probably would have loved them. Labeled “The Livingston Shoe,” these bronzed leather lace-up beauties came from Charleston shoe retailer, Walter Francis Livingston (1874-1946). He opened his store at 366 King Street in 1896 and these probably date to right around then. They have long, shallow pointed toes, curvaceous Louis heels and high front lacing over a tongue lined in lamb’s wool.
Bronzing refers to a process of treating the leather with red dye, originally cochineal and by the 1890s, an aniline dye imitation, to give it a metallic semi-iridescence.
Livingston remodeled his store in 1922 and opened a second store in Jacksonville Florida. In the 1921 Boot & Shoe Recorder, he was touted as using an aeroplane to advertise “the best advertised shoe sale ever held in the South.” Livingston himself went up as a passenger in the plane to drop circulars and advertisements over the Isle of Palms on Sunday, June 25. Among the flyers was a coupon for a free pair of shoes and $1 off coupons. He was often mentioned as having attended the Boston Style Show, bringing the latest styles and patterns to Charleston direct from the largest and most representative manufacturers.
Ladies’ skirts were still long in the 1890s, so probably just these pointed toes would appear. But, some of the more active fashions (walking outfits, business wear) saw skirts rising around the ankle, so these would have been perfect.
TEXTILE TUESDAYS: Each Tuesday we post a piece from our textile collection. Some items have been on exhibit, some will eventually be shown in our new Historic Textiles Gallery and some may be just too fragile to display. We hope you enjoy our selection each week – do let us know if there’s something in particular you’d like to see on TEXTILE TUESDAY! #TextileTuesday
(via oldrags)
This wonderful cream silk capelet has scalloped edges embroidered with a delicate garland of chenille flowers. A shoulder cape like this would have been worn in the early 19th century with a fashionable Empire dress - a slender silhouette with high waist and puffed sleeves. It is likely that this one was worn by Elizabeth Cruger Guerin (1787-1874) who married John Cart, Jr. in Charleston in 1816.
It was given to us in 1955 by Mr. & Mrs. William Porter Cart. Mr. Cart’s paternal grandmother was Elizabeth Guerin Cart.
Chenille threads were popular throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The velvety, fluffy silk thread originated in France and takes its name from the French word for caterpillar, chenille. Because they are so thick and puffy, just a few simple stitches are required to make a charming motif. Later chenille thread (from the mid-19th century) has a wire core rather than the silk core of these early strands.
See this capelet in person when it goes on exhibit as part of Coat Check, on display November 12, 2011 through March 4, 2012.
TEXTILE TUESDAYS: Each Tuesday we post a piece from our textile collection. Some items have been on exhibit, some will eventually be shown in our new Historic Textiles Gallery and some may be just too fragile to display. We hope you enjoy our selection each week – do let us know if there’s something in particular you’d like to see on TEXTILE TUESDAY! #TextileTuesday
(via oldrags)
This lovely wedding dress was worn by Cornelia Milam who married Leslie Gladstone McCraw on June 15, 1928 in Sandy Springs, SC. The dress was made by Cornelia’s mother, Hattie Pickett Milam. It is cream silk chiffon with lace yoke and lovely lace ruffles around the skirt and overskirt. Short, in 1920s fashion, the hemline dips in the back. The stylish low waistline has shirring on the bodice and gathers on the skirt. It has a side opening on the left with snap closure. The bridal veil of tulle is very fragile and not shown, but her cluster of wax orange blossoms and buds still exists, as do her lace and orange blossom shoe ornaments.
The wonderful wedding party photographs allow a peek at the dress and the bride as they look in 1928.
These were given to the Museum in 2010 by Cornelia’s daughter, Ann McCraw Nelson.
June Brides… surprisingly, based on the collection at the Museum, in earlier years most weddings weren’t in June. Other months seem to have been more popular, at least until the 1920s.
TEXTILE TUESDAYS: Each Tuesday we post a piece from our textile collection. Some items have been on exhibit, some will eventually be shown in our new Historic Textiles Gallery and some may be just too fragile to display. We hope you enjoy our selection each week – do let us know if there’s something in particular you’d like to see on TEXTILE TUESDAY! #TextileTuesday
Orange Blossoms
Orange blossoms have long been associated with weddings and brides. Tracing back to the Greek and Roman gods, they were symbols of fertility, purity and loveliness. In Greek mythology, Gaea, the earth goddess of fertility, presented Hera with orange blossoms on the night she wed Zeus. Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and guardian of women, was said to have received orange blossoms from Jupiter.
In ancient China, where orange trees grew in abundance, the flower was used in bridal arrangements and in wedding tea – as emblems of purity, chastity and innocence.
During the Crusades, both the custom and the plant were brought from the East to Spain, then to France, and on to England. These trees became popular in royal and secular gardens from the 16th century on. In Crete, the bride and bridegroom were sprinkled with orange flower water; in Sardinia, oranges were hung upon the horns of the oxen that pulled the nuptial carriage.
Perhaps the popularity of orange blossoms as bridal flowers relates to the fact that orange trees are evergreen and capable of blooming in all seasons, are very prolific, and they bloom even as they bear fruit. Their heady aroma is mysterious and romantic. There were even orange groves here in Charleston. 18th century Charleston merchant and botanist, Robert Pringle, was successful with his large plantation of orange trees covering the area now bounded by Tradd, King, Broad and Logan Streets. The Orange Gardens only lasted about 20 years, but provided many delicious oranges and undoubtedly many orange blossoms for wedding bouquets. Pringle shipped gallons of orange juice along with bags of dried orange peel to London. In 1747-8 over a million oranges were exported from South Carolina.
Today’s Orange Street was cut by Alexander Petrie when he subdivided the area into lots in 1767 and is a reminder of those fragrant gardens.
Queen Victoria is sometimes credited with bringing this tradition to later brides. As queen, she could have chosen any number of priceless diamonds for her veil in 1840. She chose instead a wreath of orange blossoms to signal that she was marrying as a woman, not as a monarch. This romantic notion was quickly adopted by English, European, and American brides, remaining a tradition for many decades. Brides even before Victoria selected orange blossoms for their wedding attire. Miss Mary Hellen, when marrying President John Quincy Adams’ middle son, “looked very handsome in white satin, orange blossoms and pearls” for her White House wedding in 1828. Orange blossoms for weddings continued well into 1950s. Jacqueline Bouvier wore orange blossoms in her lace tiara for her 1953 marriage to John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
(via oldrags)
