Previously on Letterstoadress....
'Changing the Century and the season
The new costume exhibit at Henfield Museum
A work in progress'
Welcome to
'The Honeymoon is over'... Job done.
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| As we were in the 19th century |
Regular readers will know that I have been
working on an exhibit at Henfield Museum
that will move their costume display on
from the nineteenth to the twentieth
century.
working on an exhibit at Henfield Museum
that will move their costume display on
from the nineteenth to the twentieth
century.
After another session of moving things slightly to one side and then taking them all out and rearranging them completely, I pronounce the new exhibit is ready.
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| Hello 20th century. |
Both the dresses used
are special.
Both are beautiful to look at and deserve their place in the museum on those grounds alone.
But these two wedding gowns are so much more than anonymous frocks. For I have the pleasure of much provenance, the facts and names that help give substance to these dresses once worn displayed in a case.
Both are beautiful to look at and deserve their place in the museum on those grounds alone.
But these two wedding gowns are so much more than anonymous frocks. For I have the pleasure of much provenance, the facts and names that help give substance to these dresses once worn displayed in a case.
 |
| Back view |
Sadly Miss Farmer does
not hold an esteemed position in family lore, as her conduct in later life did
not fit well with the fairy tale part of her life where the wedding dress comes
into the story. The posed studio photograph we have of Jane and her young
children gives no clues as to the hard future that would be their fate.
Miss Farmer had managed
the not inconsiderable feat of marrying out of service into a family of professionals.
Her husband’s family were in the shoe business, but William Seamark had
forsaken shoes for a life in the army. The young couple were stationed in India
and their family of four girls and a boy came along. Sadly this is when it all deviates
from the happy ever after scenario. William died of cholera, his only son being
born posthumously. Jane and the children came back to England, where she hoped
to be helped by William’s family. They disowned her. Failing to manage on a
small army pension she turned to varied strategies for survival. Unfortunately gambling
and forcing her daughters into prostitution figured largely in her plans. Two daughters
did go on the streets, one went into a sweatshop and the other displeased her
mother to the point of being beaten with a poker and running away. Her son
perhaps understandably, went to Australia. Throughout all this,
Jane kept her dress. It is not full of repairs, or stained or indeed altered,
suggesting it was cherished and not often worn.
The exhibition is lucky enough to have a dressing table set that belonged to Jane. Monogrammed with JES, her married initials, the items are well used. The only damage is to the scissors, which have clearly been repaired in the past and have broken again. I like to think of the dress and the vanity set wrapped up in a piece of Indian fabric and stored in a sandalwood chest as a link to her happier life. The reality was probably rather different. I expect that both were pawned regularly. But at least they were redeemed finally to be put away and kept.
The exhibition is lucky enough to have a dressing table set that belonged to Jane. Monogrammed with JES, her married initials, the items are well used. The only damage is to the scissors, which have clearly been repaired in the past and have broken again. I like to think of the dress and the vanity set wrapped up in a piece of Indian fabric and stored in a sandalwood chest as a link to her happier life. The reality was probably rather different. I expect that both were pawned regularly. But at least they were redeemed finally to be put away and kept.
The wedding dress from 1932 could not be more different.
The lady who wore this,
Nina Christian de Symons Barrow, was from a wealthy family and married someone
of similar social status, Ronald de Crespigny Eastwood. Both the bride and
groom had middle names to conjure with. I have wedding reports from the
newspapers of the time, showing that their guests were similarly double barrelled.
One of the reports contains a list of who gave what as a wedding present. There
was more than one ‘early morning tea set’ on the list and a goodly collection
of silver, cut glass and antique furniture.
The bride received an opal necklace, signet ring and travelling clock from her bridegroom
and reciprocated with a gold watch and a book of poems. Included in the archive
is a copy of the wedding invitation and order of service, plus photos taken by
guests outside the church.
And not forgetting the star of the show.
Her dress and lace cap.
The dress is a thing of beauty. Cream chiffon and Brussels lace with a silk underslip. It epitomises the 1930s style and incorporates a family memento …all the lace used is from her mothers 1898 wedding dress. The wedding photos show a billowing veil and the newspaper talks of a train being carried…all that remains is the lace mob cap worn under the veil. Whilst I was working on the case last week more than one visitor to the museum remarked on how lovely this cap was. It is both whimsical and winsome.
And not forgetting the star of the show.
Her dress and lace cap.
The dress is a thing of beauty. Cream chiffon and Brussels lace with a silk underslip. It epitomises the 1930s style and incorporates a family memento …all the lace used is from her mothers 1898 wedding dress. The wedding photos show a billowing veil and the newspaper talks of a train being carried…all that remains is the lace mob cap worn under the veil. Whilst I was working on the case last week more than one visitor to the museum remarked on how lovely this cap was. It is both whimsical and winsome.
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| Mystery cipher |
I did however have a final piece of bridal finery to display.
Well two actually. Nina’s silk wedding stockings.
These have a floral design woven in them at the ankle and a cipher at the top, which I do hope someone can throw some light on… I
imagine these stockings were put away after the big day. They are not worn thin or
repaired at all.
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| Hankies and silk stockings |
To grace and compliment my display I used a collection of finely worked and exquisitely embroidered handkerchiefs from the bride’s family that I found in the box with the dress.
They are monogrammed as;
MHB for Margaret Henderson Barrow, Nina's mother.
JCY for Julia C Young, her grandmother.
As always when preparing an exhibit, it was just a matter of opening the case doors and flinging it all in, scribbling a few captions and Bob's your uncle…..
Well apart from.... easing
the fragile dresses onto mannequins that had detachable arms but bumps in the
wrong place and in the case of the 1902 frock too wide in the torso to do the
dress up all the way. Making sure that the one mannequin with a head was used
to fit the 1932 dress so that the cap had a home. Fitting everything into a case
that was long and thin, so what went where was dictated to a certain extent by
the space left after the mannequins took their positions. Ensuring that the RHS damage to the 1932 dress was minimally visible by placing 'her' right hand side directly behind a case strut. Arranging gossamer
thin lace edged hankies so they showed their beauty, but did not slide off the
soft material I used to cover the small
plinth that was one third of my ‘case furniture’. The other two thirds were wooden triangles
with flat sides. Having contemporary photographs meant getting them printed large
enough to see and captioning them in eighteen point. Remembering to use the house font.
Tackling the usual challenge of giving museum goers enough information to be
informative without wandering into overwhelming detail. Equally I had so much background
it was a challenge to know what to use and what to leave out. I prefer a narrative
approach to information and I hope visitors will enjoy the glimpse into these
ladies lives I have written for them. Finally four photograph frames and one
wooden knife block later (all from my personal collection of things that will come in useful one day)
I shut the glass doors for the last time.
Sometimes knowing the real life
behind a museum exhibit is sobering.
Yet what a link to have to these women; knowing what they looked like.
Yet what a link to have to these women; knowing what they looked like.
It is a cliché, but
stories, photographs, personal articles..they will all help bring the past…. if not to
life.. then into sharper relief.
Two weddings and a
museum.
Two past lives displayed.
My life enriched.
PS.Jan 2017. I now believe that the Mob cap was not worn on the day, but was either a boudoir or second day cap. The cipher on the stockings is MHB, the initials of the brides mother. Maybe her something borrowed?
Henfield Museum website.
