Genesee Country Village: Domestic Skills Symposium Day 1

Aaaaannnd I'm back! This time with Jill and Meg, making the 7 hour trek to New York for the one, the only...Domestic Skills Symposium!

So I've seen posts around over the past few months, advertising a learning opportunity at Genesee Country Village and Museum. I've been dying to visit at some point, though I always seem to be busy. This time I put my foot down; with an amazing series of classes and workshops, I just couldn't say no! All held in an historic village too, just to add to the ambiance!

We hustled out of Michigan as early as we could, though 3:30 is a bit late for such a drive. An odd observation: upstate New York feels much like northern Michigan. The same gentle hills, fields and trees. The drive was incredibly relaxing because we avoided the turnpike and opted for a different route than google maps suggested. I highly reccomend doing this. The Red Roof Inn was comfortable, though we were about 20 minutes away. (Tony's Pepperoni has decent pizza and bread sticks!). Workshops began on Friday morning.

We were joined by Jennifer, another member of the 21st Michigan, for our first workshop: springerle cookies. Needless to say, they were pretty and we made a mess! Note: most of the pictures are mine, except the nice ones. Jillian or Jennifer took those...

Check out that adorable apron with that cool-kid leather jacket!

Old school molds.

Here were the examples that teased me with possibilities.

Going to town on that dough.

 It felt like buttery velvet. Also, dough rods. Who knew these were a thing?

Representing Michigan!

These are fantastically amazing cookies. It's the anise seed. 

History is messy but tastes delicious!

As you can see, I am an artistic genius.

 I'm still working on coloring in between the lines.

I do love the acorns though...

Meg and I signed up for a book binding class, so we hurried off to one of the historic houses. We settled in for a bit of history, punching holes, and sewing with waxed thread. There's not so many pictures from this workshop, but we did end up making a small folded paper booklet, a basic bound journal, and the final coptic bound book.

Buying these later...

 A lot of weaving and tying.

With 24 pages, it's actually a decently sturdy book

 And ta-da! I just made lesson plans for my classroom.

By the end of the day we were tired, but still found time to make it to a few antique shops in Mumford. There were so many antiques I don't often see in Michigan!

 We could tell from the window it would be good.

 It was multiple rooms of antiques.

 Don't tell my fiance, but we almost left with this couch

(which means someone would have to walk home).

Steampunk anyone?

 I am both horrified and fascinated by this sign.

While I didn't leave with the couch, I found these two little lovelies in one of the shops, complete with two hidden parents! I can't get the picture just right, but I imagine they'll be added to the display for the conference in March. 

Day one was pretty good.  Tomorrow will see historic food, outerwear, and well drinks.

~Kristen

The Clements Library: A Sneak Peek

For those of you interested in attending the Clements Library workshop at 

The Citizen's Forum of the 1860s next year, here's a little taste of the reading room

that you will see!

Fabulous since 1923!

I'll be posting a video soon too! Check the blog for more updates...

~Kristen

19th Century Motif: Anchors

Ahoy matey! A storm is a' brewin'! One the likes you eh ne'er seen! That's about all the ship talk I'll add to this post. Hopefully you'll sea see the massive amounts of jokes/puns I throw in later. After all, there's nothing more funny than talking about the ocean!

Now to my serious research. I keep seeing anchors pop up over and over again in 19th century literature, patterns, and yes jewelry! As a resident of the Great Lakes state, water is a fixture in my life. Every time I see a reference to an anchor/water related item, I rush back to my childhood on the dock at my Grandma's house. Catching fish. Jetting around in the boat. Pushing my sister off said dock. Somehow we survived a watery Michigan grave...

And yet Grandma still trusts me...

Hence the birth of a very, very, (very) late blog post, one that I should have published at the beginning of the summer. I'm a creature of habit and vacations seem to destroy that with one broad stroke. Enjoy my poirpoiseful research...

History

Anchors are really old. The idea of tying something down with a rock dates back to the Bronze Age. The ancient Greeks used baskets with stone or wood, creating friction on the sea floor to slow down the vessel. Wikipedia has more information about the types of anchors, but I don't need to get into that here. Function trumps form in the ancient times.

Modern, but you get the idea

6th century BC, all stone and looking like an anchor

Eventually though, metal really happened. So did Christianity. Anchors really became a popular symbol when specific quotes in the bible used it, noting "hope" as an "anchor of the soul, sure and firm." (Hebrews 6:19-20) Anchors can be found in ancient Christian catacombs, sometimes accompanied by fish, crosses, or rings. Anchors are one of the oldest Christian symbols still in use.

This is really old!

I can imagine how tickled the Victorian lady would be. The Etruscan revival certainly brought almost pagan-like imagery, with the gods and goddesses. Then suddenly a tomb opens, revealing Christian symbols. With the religious attitudes of many women of the mid-19th century, such a find could validate the use of anchors as an appropriate symbol to adorn oneself. The tradition continues today!

Spoiler Alert: We're going to see anchors pop up often with a heart and a cross in symbolism. The cross represents faith, the heart is charity, and the anchor hope. Art of Mourning has an excellent article discussing this in great length because they are awesome!

Photographic Evidence

There's not a whole lot here in terms of jewelry. Anchors show up many times as a symbol, but not necessarily as adornment. Of all the sources I collect, this is usually the most difficult.

Look at those earrings!

A clear anchor on that paper...

Fancy shirt, 1853

Spirit photography, 1865

Probably post-war, but you can see that necklace

Just like the butterflies, anchors show up on clothing! And earrings/necklace too. I know the anchor means more than nautical themes, but I'm seeing that more with the spirit photography. What I love is that anchors are masculine enough for men to wear, and religious enough for women. Based on this evidence (and I'm sure more to come), anchors were worn in various ways during the mid-19th century and beyond that time.

Textual Documentation

Remember, I include painting, drawings, and actual text in this form of documentation. Why? Because I consider these "interpretations," or descriptions through the lens of the mid-19th century person. While still a primary source, they are how people of the time viewed a particular thing. Sometimes how they depict it doesn't match up with a surviving original or a CDV (have you seen the directions on some of those crafts? Not realistic!). Sometimes...they do!

Princess Charlotte Augusta Mathilde probably by William Beechey, 1790s

Godey's Lady's Book, February 1857

Kellogg & Bulkeley, 1860

Italian, 1861-67

Godey's Lady's Book, July, 1863

C.D.S.— Sent hair anchor 17th.

Godey's Lady's Book, January, 1864

Self-Instructor in the Art of Hair Work, Mark Campbell 1867

The anchor presents itself through numerous avenues throughout the 19th century. From jewelry to slippers, it is obvious that the Victorian lady might have encountered the motif in a fashionable way. Besides the hair, it seems that the anchor in jewelry appeared to be a metal substance. Surviving originals will make this motif crystal clear. (Like water-see what I did there!)

Surviving Originals

Listed as Georgian, but methinks it's a bit later

Late 1700s

1855

Can someone track this for me? Date unknown

1860-1900

1870

Late 19th Century

1850-1890

Can't source this ebay auction, my guess later 19th century 

Do I have you hooked? As is common with other motifs that I research, the anchor can be made in an assortment of materials. My absolute favorite is any of the dark stones, such as jet, bog oak, or gutta percha. That cut steel anchor at the top? Fabulous! I definitely see the mourning aspect of this motif, but not with every piece. Sentimental jewelry could certainly feature an anchor for deeper meaning.

Conclusion

My research took forever because of one thing. Research terms. If you're looking online for an original, many of them are misrepresented as mourning jewelry. Like seriously, I wasted so much time with my typical research terms. An unfortunate part about internet jewelry is that everyone seems to label everything mourning. A fortunate part about this is that you now know the terrible secret that usually unlocks almost any research block.

In the meantime, I did snag a lovely antique brooch with the three symbols. I don't have pictures of the original on hand (it's now safely put away and I'm loathe to move from the couch) but I do have a copy of it made from clay. Forgive the terrible photography; a new phone is in my immediate future. Also, this will be made available at some later date in my Etsy shop, which I will announce with grandeur and flourish. Expect flourish in your future.

It does feel nice to finally finish a research post, after a stream of events this summer. I have been shellfish with my research, and time did seem to get aweigh from me. It a-piers that I will be busy making it up to my readers! HAHA!

Thank you for tolerating my terrible puns. I promise to write more often, pinky swear. I have a blog post coming up about The Clements Library with absolutely no references to the ocean.

~Kristen

Sources

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01462a.htm

http://blog.momu.be/2010/exhibition/mourning-jewelry-in-19th-century-europe/

http://blog.fidmmuseum.org/museum/2011/05/hairwork-jewelry.html