From: Gretchen Miller Date: Fri, 16 Jun 1995 19:26:22 -0400 (EDT) Subject: H-Costume Digest, Volume 326, 6/16/95 The Historic Costume List Digest, Volume 326, June 16, 1995 Send items for the list to h-costume@andrew.cmu.edu (or reply to this message). Send subscription/deletion requests and inquiries to h-costume-request@andrew.cmu.edu Enjoy! ------------------------------ Topics: Hints for photographing textiles in museums ISO: Folks interested in WWII uniforms and railroad hats Indelicate historical costuming terms (bum-roll) Archers' clothing Paste buckles ISO: Others interested in Elizabethan Source for calico buttons On period behavior ISO: Pattern for "Little Women" dress References for medieval shoemaking and leatherwork Bias cut hose--reality or myth? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: BPH3213@ACS.TAMU.EDU Date: Sun, 11 Jun 1995 14:20:57 -0500 (CDT) Subject: V&A and photographing textiles fishcat@hooked.net (Trystan L. Bass) wrote: >,,,When I was there the museum *gasp* allowed non-flash photography!... >...Of course, the museum may have come to its senses & stopped allowing >photography at all.... I wouldn't worry too much about damage to a textile by non-flash photography. As long as you use only the light the exhibit has on it, you are in no way adding to the deterioration. Using non-flash photography cannot hurt a textile in any way. Nothing is being emitted from the camera or film, only light being let in to the film. Unless they are worried about copyrights or security, there is no real reason why the V&A would ban noon-flash photography. Of course they could always charge an admission price for the camera like they do in many Greek museums..... having just come back from a research trip to photograph textiles (including a tent bag of George Washington's no less!), here's a few tips. 1. TAKE A TRIPOD! The low light levels will make it hard to keep the camera steady while the shutter is open. Low light means longer shutter time, and more chance for blurs if the camera is not mounted. 2. Use a high speed film (ASA 400 to ASA 1000), but beware that in color photography the higher speeds often "yellow" some. I ususally use B&W as I'm after different characteristics, but those I have done in color tend to take on the yellow tintt 3. Take notes on each photograph 4. If you can, a video (using only natural light) can be a blessing when you return and find you forgot to photo something. Even at very dark light levels, my video picked up decent detail and came in very handy. 5. As Trystan suggested, sketching things as you look at them is a good way to be sure you have the details you want, and not have to worry about if the film comes out good enough. 6. If you're after specific examples of someting, ask the curator. Only a small percentage of the holdings are ever on exhibit, and they may let you view a catalog of holdings (with photos and details on the collection card), or depending on how serious your project is, they may grant access to the holdings for research purposes. If this is someting you may need, be sure and contact them well in advance. One museum I just visited seemed so pleased that someone wanted to use their collection for research that they opended cases for me and pulled objects out for detailed measurement. Have fun, and yes. I do envy the chance to spend time at the V&A! Bryan H. bph3213@acs.tamu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Jun 95 16:05:06 -0400 From: dfeaster@epfl1.epflbalto.org (Deborah Feaster 396-5440) Subject: Re: Women's Hair Covering Carl Olson wrote: > If it is not too late to add something to the discussion of women's hair > covering, I found this interesting passage in a book by an orthodox rabbi, > Manis Friedman, titled "Doesn't anyone blush anymore? reclaiming intimacy, > modesty and sexuality." > > "Intimacy is a delicate ability. Like sexuality, the ability to > be intimate and the ways of being intimate have to be protected and > cultivated...The tool the Bible gives us for this task is modesty: the > border that protects our dwelling place. For example, in many cultures > throughout history, women have covered their hair. Was this meant to > make them less attractive? If so, it didn't work. The head covering > itself became attractive. The purpose must have been to protect what was > intimate. There is no virtue in being unnattractive. On the contrary, to > be beautiful, to be attractive, to be immpressive, is a virtue, > especially in marriage. The biblical woman who dressed modestly did so > not to be less attractive, but to preserve and protect something fragile > and easily lost: her ability to be intimate with her husband, which > enriched both their lives." I believe discussion of the cultural aspects of costume are very appropriate for this list. I appreciate Carl's insight in bringing this eloquent offering for us to think about. dfeaster@epfl1.epflbalto.org ------------------------------ From: Edward Wright Date: Mon, 12 Jun 95 10:36:02 TZ Subject: RE: V&A and photographing textiles | I wouldn't worry too much about damage to a textile by non-flash photography. | As long as you use only the light the exhibit has on it, you are in no way | adding to the deterioration. Using non-flash photography cannot hurt a textile | in any way. Nothing is being emitted from the camera or film, only light being | let in to the film. Many museums are now allowing flash photography (for researchers, at least, probably not the general public). They have discovered that a few bright, very brief flashes cause far less damage than turning up the lights for non-flash photography. This is especially true with electronic flash, which has a much shorter duration than the older flash bulbs. | 1. TAKE A TRIPOD! The low light levels will make it hard to keep the camera | steady while the shutter is open. Low light means longer shutter time, and | more chance for blurs if the camera is not mounted. Many museums that allow cameras, and even flash photography, will not allow tripods. There are a couple reasons for this. First of all, tripods get in people's way, especially when the museum is crowded. Second, prohibiting tripods and flash makes it impossible to get truly sharp, professional-quality images, and thus protects the museum's monopoly on photographs. | 2. Use a high speed film (ASA 400 to ASA 1000), but beware that in color | photography the higher speeds often "yellow" some. I ususally use B&W as | I'm after different characteristics, but those I have done in color tend to | take on the yellow tintt This is not due to the speed of the film, per se. It is the result of using film balance for daylight (outdoor) use indoors. Most films of ASA 400 and below are daylight-balanced. Most ASA 1000 films are balanced for tungsten (incandescent) lighting. Flourescent lighting is another matter. No film is really balanced for that, although Fuji Reala handles it fairly well -- getting accurate colors under flourescent lighting is tricky and requires special filers. You can element that yellowish cast by using an inexpensive filter. (Ask at your camera store -- they'll tell you what to buy. The filter will block part of the light, however, so you'll lose some of the film speed. If you use through-the-lens metering, it will compensate for the fliter automatically. If you use a seperate, off-camera meter, you will have to enter the correction manually. As an alternative, you can have the yellow cast removed during processing. This usually means going to a custom lab, rather than a one-hour photo place or local drug store. You'll pay more for this service. Or learn to do your own developing. Finally, if you have your photos digitized (such as Kodak's Photo CD service), you can easily remove the cast using software such as Adobe Photoshop. If ASA 1000 film does not always do the job for you, you can try Konica has a 3200 ASA print film. Film can also be "pushed" to a higher ASA during processing. (Again, this is a custom service and costs extra money.) The Konica film, for example, can be pushed to 6400 ASA. Remember, though, that higher speed films are generally grainier and have lower resolution, so don't think you can solve the sharpness problem by leaving the tripod at home and using a higher speed film. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 13:24:52 -0500 (CDT) From: Gwyndlyn J Ferguson Subject: Re: V&A and photographing textiles > 2. Use a high speed film (ASA 400 to ASA 1000), but beware that in color > photography the higher speeds often "yellow" some. I ususally use B&W as > I'm after different characteristics, but those I have done in color tend to > take on the yellow tintt If you take your film to a real camera/processing store (NOT Wal-mart one-hour), tell them that you used the film for non-flash photos, and could they please color correct the prints. The "yellow" isn't hard to remove when printing if they're aware of it before they start. gf *Gwyn Ferguson***Western Illinois University *SCA: Lady Gwyndlyn Caer Vyrddin***Lochmorrow-Midrealm *Internet: mugjf@bgu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 14:17:04 -0700 (PDT) From: Diana Dills Subject: WW II Naval Uniforms, Railroad Hat Does anyone on this list have access to names of west coast groups who might be interested in Navy WW II uniforms? Specifically, Petty Officer, Pacific Fleet? I also have a brakeman's hat from an, old Kansas railroad that is probably turn of the century and in pretty fair condition. I understand that the railroad stuff has a somewhat limited, regional interest--around here, everybody wants Great Northern, Union PAcific, and Burlington Northern stuff, with not much interest in midwestern memorabilia. Anyone here interested? Or have any suggestions as to who I might contact? I just don't have room to properly store it and would like someone who collects to get it. Thanks, DIANA DILLS ------------------------------ From: MarieD0108@aol.com Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 22:36:01 -0400 Subject: Re: Historical terms (Was: Co... Yes, the Elizabethans were a funny lot. The 'bum-roll' of great debate was not the french farthingale - that was the structured skirt beneath (today's hoop skirt). The bum roll was called a hip bolster, and was a padded roll worn over the farthingale. Picture a C shaped sausage, with the points ending at about the hip bones and you've got the hip bolster. The trunk hose were actually bias cut fabric or knitted silk hose, with canions worn over. Canions were almost a male bumroll, being wide, round, and usually covered in decorated fabric strips. 'Pumpkin pants' were pansied slops. Goose turd green (yellowish green) and dead spaniard (pale greyish tan) were popular, as were Puke (dirty brown) and Rat's color (dull grey). Other color names were scratch-face, ape's laugh, merry widow, resurrection, kiss me darling, judas color, and dying monkey. Ah, for such imagination in naming colors today. So much to know, so little time.... Marie ------------------------------ From: MarieD0108@aol.com Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 22:35:37 -0400 Subject: Re: Archer's Clothing Why would crossbownam clothing be any different from other clothing of the time? Armies weren't uniformed for quite a while after your time period. Perhaps you should be looking more for the specific accoutramont of the crossbowman, and the general clothing of your character's social class than a complete 'outfit' in the books. Marie ------------------------------ From: MarieD0108@aol.com Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 22:36:37 -0400 Subject: Re: Paste Buckle shoes? FYI - the word 'paste' has come to mean imitation jewels. It has been supplanted by 'rhinestones' in our generation. When saying it took a jeweler to tell paste from real stones, remember the period you are talking about. There were no sophisticated methods of examining stones for content. A really good glass stone of today (or CZ) may just have easily passed for real back then. Glass was also full of flaws and such. Remember, as early as the turn of the century there were many devious ways of forgery - slow drying varnish under quick drying to imitate the patina on old art masterpieces, etc. They were still recording the bumps on criminal's heads, but not fingerprints, too. Marie ------------------------------ From: MarieD0108@aol.com Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 23:25:10 -0400 Subject: Elizabethan Interests I'm looking for a few good......people? I have a strong interest in the Elizabethan era (1550-1580, Court, ladies) and am looking for other people who have this interest. Since we are such a diverse buch here, I would like to have some discussions 'off-line' which are more specific to this period. If you are interested, please let me know. I can then put the interesting bits on the mail list for everyone! Marie ------------------------------ From: MarieD0108@aol.com Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 23:24:50 -0400 Subject: Re: calico buttons Go to your local fabric store and get the 'cover your own' buttons. Make the silly things! Marie ------------------------------ From: MarieD0108@aol.com Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 23:22:01 -0400 Subject: Re: Period Behavior (was: Div... Sigh. And so it starts again. Just when we get past these little comments, something else comes up. I believe the intention behind the original posting was to state the _opinion_ that certain types of dress create their own physical movement and bearing. The dress (and manners) of the time in question were what was in discussion, not the reliability of knowing individual motivation. Dustin Hoffman said he did not 'get' the character of Captain Hook until he put on the costume for the first time. The _costume_ decided the character. Those coats do just that. I wear reasonably accurate late sixteenth century Courtly costume for extended periods of time. That dress has a personality all its own, which is imposes on me. After wearing one, a knowledgable person realizes that you simply _don't_ do certain things in them. At least, that was what I believe to be the intent of the original message. Marie ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Jun 1995 16:43:07 +0000 From: "GILLIAN RICHARDS (02) 716 3712" Subject: Little Women In the recent release of Little Women, Wynona Rider was wearing a black check on white day dress, absolutely beautiful. (Or is that an incorrect description of it?) I want to make one!! where do I get the pattern? Thanx Gillian ------------------------------ From: jennyb@pdd.3com.com Date: Tue, 13 Jun 95 10:31:26 BST Subject: Re: Medieval Shoes in particular and Medieval Leatherwork in general >Hi! I am interested in that book you mentioned..could you send me the >rest of the bib if you have it? I have been looking for german/danish >stuff for a while..Thanks! I thought I'd posted the whole thing to teh list, I must be getting even more absent moinded than usual. Here it is:- Groenmann-van Waateringe "Die Ledrfunde von Haithabu" published by: Karl wacholtz verlag, Neumunster 1984 ISBN 3 529 1921 6 That's part of a series, there's also Inga Hagg "Die Textilfunde aus dem Hafen von Haithabu" part 20 in the series "Ausgrabungen in Haithabu" published by: Karl wacholtz verlag, Neumunster 1984 ISBN 3 529 1920 8 If you're not just after shoes you could also check out Margrethe Hald's "Ancient danish Textiles from Bogs and burials" though for shoes there's her book "prinitive shoes" which is a killer to find but well worth tracking down. (I'm pretty sure I mentioned that one already) Or in Danish, but with english captions on teh pictures is: "Oldtidssragter" by Elizabath Munksgaard published by nationalMusset Kopenhavn 1974 ISBN 87 480 0962 8 That's a good book on ancient Danish costume in general Also for old Danish clothing there's an article by Penelop Walton "Dyes and Wools in Iron Age Textiles from Norway and Denmark" in the journal od Danish Archaeology 1988 vol 7 pp 144-158 (for that matter there must be other relevant stuff turns up in that journal if you have access to back issues. And for general textiles stuff with the odd bit on clothing there's E. bender- Jorgensen's "Vorhistorische Textilen i Scandinavien " or "Prehistoric Scandinavian textiles" goes up to early medieval times. Hope that's some help on Danish/German stuff. there is loads more in Archaeologival journals if you can find a good library that stocks them Jennifer ------------------------------ From: VICKI@lib.uttyl.edu Date: Tue, 13 Jun 1995 8:55:17 -0500 (CDT) Subject: calico buttons Calico buttons are not buttons covered with calico cloth, but are porcelain buttons, usually four hole, white with a tiny calico design printed on them. The ones that I have seen at the 1856 Arabia museum are printed with tiny cross-hatches or florals in maroon, blue, pink and green. If you can find any at flea markets, etc., they generally run from $3 to $4 each, and they are usually small, so that you need about 10 for the front of a dress and one each for the cuffs. Sorry if I was unclear. Vicki Betts vicki@lib.uttyl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Jun 1995 09:25:09 -0600 (CST) From: "Donna Holsten" Subject: Bias-cut hose I've heard a lot of people, both here on this list and in the SCA talk about bias-cut men's hose. I'm just wondering if anyone knows of any primary sources to show that "they" (of any period/place before knitting became popular) actually did cut men's hose on the bias. I question this for several reasons. First of all, I hand-weave on a 36" horizontal loom. The widest wool fabric I can get (after finishing/shrinking) is about 29". I certainly couldn't fit a 45 degree bias cut leg on this fabric. In fact, I'm not sure that I could even fit a *calf* on this fabric. And the (little) research I've done into period textiles has given me the impression that even 29" is somewhat wide for hand-woven fabric. And, if you've never woven fabric, you don't know quite how labor-intensive it is. *I* certainly wouldn't want to waste *any* of the fabric, and with bias-cutting you waste the top and bottom corners. Secondly, if you put the pattern piece on the bias, you lose the design of the fabric. I.E., if the fabric is woven with vertical stripes, (or chevrons or whatever), and you bias cut the piece, the stripes become diagonal. And I *know* that I've seen pictures of men with vertical stripes on their legs, but I've never seen a picture of a man with diagonal stripes. (If someone knows of one, please let me know!) Thirdly, I've seen lots of documentation indicating that men had to be sewn into their hose every day, to make them well fitting. They had to be sewn at ankles and knees, and even still bagged a little. (Which implies, to me, cut on the grain.) Finally, I made my husband (who has quite average legs) a pair of hose out of cotton broadcloth, cut with the grain. They fit quite well, and bag only a little at the knees and ankles. And broadcloth certainly doesn't have the stretchiness of wool. And I wasted *much* less fabric than I would have had I cut the hose on the bias. This is something I've been wondering about for a while, and I would love to hear comments either way. Donna Holsten ------------------------------ End of Volume 326 -----------------------