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Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at a comb and brush set from the Victorian period. Both pieces have silver repousse, which is a design that is hammered into the silver from the underside of the piece. The comb is made from tortoise shell, which was very commonly used in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th Centuries. Tortoise shell was only banned from use in 1977 by the International Trade in Endangered Species. The brush is made with a wood backing, and natural or boar bristles. You can still purchase a boar bristle brush today, and are considered to be quite good for your hair. Boar bristle brushes help to better distribute your hairs natural oils, and can leave your hair feeling less frizzy. This comb and brush set were part of every ladies morning and evening routine, so let’s learn a bit more about the history of the comb and the brush.

The comb has been in use in various cultures from anywhere between 5,500 and 5,000 BCE. Archaeologists have found combs in Egypt and China from this time. Combs were originally carved from various different materials including, wood, bone, tortoise shell, and even ivory. Metal combs were and are still less common, but we have found gold, silver, copper, and steel combs. Today, most of the combs we use are made of plastic, because it can be easily sanitized, but wooden combs are still very common. All combs have teeth, which are called combdrums, and come in many different shapes and sizes, depending on what type of hair a person has, and what you want the comb to do. If you have long straight hair, you can use a finer toothed comb. If you have very curly hair, you want a wide toothed comb, so you don’t damage your hair when combing it.

Let’s move on to brushes. The history of the hair brush is a bit more complicated. Hair brushes were very labor intensive to make and therefore, were originally only used by very wealthy people. Imagine trying to set each individual boar bristle into a brush?! The hair brush as we know it was invented in the 1770’s by a man named William Kent. He founded Kent Brushes in Hertfordshire England, which is today credited with being the first known hair brush manufacturer. The company made it’s brushes using a wooden back with applied animal hair, and each brush took up to twelve people to craft it. Kent Brushes is still making their fine quality wooden brushes today, more than 240 years later. In the United States, the first patent for the modern hair brush was filed by Hugh Rock in 1854. Today, hair brushes, similar to combs, are mostly made of plastic. This is again because they are easier to sanitize.

This comb and brush set are rumored to have belonged to Catherine Dowling, the long time domestic and companion of Fannie Delord Hall. There is nothing to prove that she owned them, but it’s the only attribution we have for them. The comb is in good condition, but the silver handle is cracked, but still firmly in place on the comb. The brush on the other hand has seen better days. The handle has been broken off a couple of times, and repaired. Sadly, it has been broken again, and there is a small piece missing. We are so lucky to have these pieces in our collection. They are beautiful examples of Victorian women’s toiletries. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Music: Acoustic Breeze by Benjamin Tissot www.bensound.com

Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another Artifact Corner. Today we will be looking at three lovely portraits taken in the 1860’s. The first is of Betsey Delord. This picture was taken in 1864, following the death of her second husband, William Swetland. This was not uncommon to hire a photographer to document important events in people’s lives, including funerals. Betsey is pictured in front of our gate, leading up to the front door of the home. The second portrait is of an unknown woman, probably again taken around the mid 1860’s. She is seated and holding a purse and a handkerchief. In this portrait we can see the intricate detail on her skirt, which is adorned with lace and silk or satin ribbon. The third and final portrait is of a young man and woman, again probably taken in the mid 1860’s. The man is standing, while the woman is seated. All three of these portraits show women in clothing that would have been considered some of their finer clothing, since they were having their portraits taken. Let’s explore women’s fashions in the American Civil War period.

Every woman in the American Civil War period would have gotten dressed in the morning in pretty much the same way. You would start with a chemise. A chemise is a cotton or linen undergarment that was worn to protect your body, and your outer clothes from sweat. The next garment that you would don would be a pair of drawers. Drawers were just coming into fashion in the early to mid 1860’s, and so some women would have chosen not to wear them, but that was a personal preference. These would be worn for warmth, and also comfort under crinoline skirts. Then you would put on your stockings. No self respecting woman would leave the house without her stockings, which would come above the knee, and be held in place with garters made from a variety of different materials. The next step is to put on your corset. There are so many misconceptions in regards to corsets, that we simply do not have time to go over all of them in this video. Maybe we will have another artifact corner dedicated to dispelling some myths about them? A corset in the 1860’s was not designed to make your waist smaller, it was designed to support your body, and all of the layers of clothing you were wearing. If your corset was made to measure, it should fit quite comfortably. Following your corset, it was time for a petticoat, or an underskirt. This was the layer that would protect your skin from our next garment, the cage crinoline or hoops. If you were an upper to middle class woman, you would most definitely be wearing these hoops. If you were lower or working class, you may not have these in your wardrobe. That did not mean working class women did not still try to achieve the fashionable silhouette of the time. Many women without the means would simply wear multiple petticoats to fill out the shape of their skirts. And that completes our undergarments.

The next step was to cover the foundation garments a bit further. Women would wear a corset cover, or a camisole. This was to protect your outer garment from anything on the corset that might snag it. Next you would put your skirt on. This would be held up, often times with suspenders. The average outer skirt required up to five yards of fabric to make! Next you would put your bodice on. Then you would put your shoes on. Once you were done, it was time to add decorative items like jewelry, or hair pins. You would also want your gloves and bonnet. If it was hot outside, you would carry a folding fan made of sandalwood. If it was raining or bright and sunny, you may want to add a parasol to your ensemble. And if it was cold, you would bring a shawl or a mantle to ward off the cold. A woman would also not want to leave the house without her purse or bag. In this period, it was considered gauche for a lady to wear make up. That’s not to say that women didn’t add a little color here and there to their cheeks and lips using beet juice or alkanet, a common weed that provides a lovely red dye. They would also extenuate their pale skin by powdering their faces with rice powder, zinc oxide, or pearl powder (which was a mixture of chloride of bismuth and French chalk). Chloride of bismuth is not a safe thing to put on your face, it can cause headaches, loss of appetite, and serious skin irritation, so please do not try any of these concoctions on yourself.

Our portraits are of younger and older women, dressed in their best clothes to have their picture taken. Their garments are very typical of the time period, and the details are really beautiful. We are so lucky to have these lovely portraits in our collections. If you are interested in seeing a replica Civil War ladies garment up close, come visit us at the museum. We have one on display for the season, and we are open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 to 3. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Music: Acoustic Breeze by Benjamin Tissot, www.bensound.com

Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at a very early Victorian Match box. The box is made from cardboard, with a paper label on the top of the box. The paper label says “L. Miller’s Never failing damp proof Improved American Friction Matches, 7th Avenue, between 17th & 18th Streets, NY.” On the back of the box there is sand glued to the cardboard for striking the matches on. Matches are a relatively new invention, let’s learn a bit more about them.

Prior to the invention of the friction match, getting a fire started was hard work. There were a number of different ways to start a fire. One way was to use a glass lens to focus the suns rays on some dry tinder. The obvious problem with this method is that you need the sun to start a fire. The other and most prevalent way was to use flint and steel. By hitting a steel striker against a piece of flint, sparks will be created. You can catch those sparks on a piece of char cloth, which is 100% plant based cloth that has been cooked in an oxygen starved environment. The char cloth will hold the spark while you transfer it to your tinder pile, allowing you to start a fire. With practice, this method of starting fire can be fairly fast, but it requires a number of pieces that you’d have to carry on you at all times. Another method was to start a friction fires, by rubbing two pieces of wood together. This method is very labor intense, and requires a lot of patience. If the weather was bad none of these methods was very reliable, and starting a fire could be very difficult. A more reliable and portable method was being sought out across the world.

The friction match was invented in 1826 by John Walker, a chemist in England. He had been trying to solve the problem of portable fire for some time, developing different chemical concoctions for making a quick and easy fire starter. Walker stumbled upon the invention when he scraped a stick coated in some of these chemicals against the hearth of his fireplace. The match head was a mixture of sulfide of antimony, chlorate of potash, and gum. He used camphor to help improve the smell. He sold them at his store in boxes of fifty for one shilling. Each box with a piece of sandpaper for striking the match head on. Walker’s invention was a huge leap forward, but still dangerous. Bits of the match head would fall off while lit, and caught carpets, drapes and even dress hems on fire. For some reason, Walker did not patent his new invention, and in 1829 Scottish inventor Sir Issac Holden had duplicated and improved on Walker’s recipe. Holden also did not patent this invention, and a London based entrepreneur named Samuel Jones got a hold of the recipe, and patented them. He began selling them as “Lucifer” matches, and the name stuck, so much so that matches are still called Lucifers in Dutch to this day.

Match boxes from the early Victorian period are fairly rare, because they are made of paper, and were often thrown out after the matches were all used. Our match box no longer contains any of the original matches, and is in slightly rough shape. The corners are starting to come unglued. Hardly surprising given the rough life it must have had, and it’s age. We hope you enjoyed this look back at fire starting and match making. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Music: Acoustic Breeze by Benjamin Tissot, www.bensound.com

Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another Artifact Corner. Today we will be looking at two portraits painted in 1812. These portraits are of the Webb brothers, Thomas and Joseph. Thy are the brothers of Henry Webb, who married our Frances Henrietta Delord. Their daughter, Fannie Delord Webb Hall inherited her father’s estate, and these two portraits were a part of it. Both of these painting were done in 1812 by the artist Ezra Ames. Ames’ portraits are in The National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Zimmerli Art Museum. Ames is a fantastic early American portrait artist. Let’s learn a bit more about Ames.

Ezra Ames was born in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1768. He began his carrier as a carriage painter, but quickly began to diversify his talents. He learned miniature portrait painting as well as engraving. By 1790 he was working in Worcester, Massachusetts, taking literally any job that he could get. He was taking commissions and painting things like fire buckets, ear trumpets, fences, mirror frames, drums, clock faces, and various items of furniture. By 1793, it became clear that there was not enough work for Ames in Massachusetts. So, he moved to Albany, NY. Thankfully, there were not many other portrait artists in Albany, and Ames had plenty of work.

In 1794 Ames married a woman named Zipporah Wood, and settled into life in Albany. He started to get recognition for his works, and therefore more prominent clients. He was unofficially known as the “official” New York State Portrait painter. He painted the wealthy of New York, as well as legislators and even Alexander Hamilton. The Chautauqan Magazine describes his importance in this way; “(he) was the most noted portraitist in the state, outside New York city. The sure and fluent ease of his brush, his keen characterization, his pure, fresh coloring, are all remarkable for this early period. His portrait of Governor George Clinton, exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1812, won him wide notice; but he did delightful work some years earlier, and many even finer canvases are scattered through the middle states, in private hands.” Ames continued to paint until about 1820, when he slowly worked into retirement. He passed away in 1836, leaving behind three children, two of whom also became artists. He is buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery.

Our portraits were painted of two of the Webb brothers when they were merchants in Albany. Sadly, both of the brothers passed away shortly after these portraits of them were painted, and are the last images we have of Joseph and Thomas. These are both beautiful examples of early American portraiture, and we are so fortunate to have them in our collections. If you’d like to see more of the amazing artwork in our collections, the museum is now open for tours Fridays and Saturdays from 10 to 3. We hope you enjoyed this look at these beautiful portraits. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Music: Acoustic Breeze by Benjamin Tissot, www.bensound.com

Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at Frank Hall’s Civil War saddle. Frank Hall was married to Fannie Delord Webb Hall in May of 1856. The young couple took a long honeymoon in Europe and then settled in Luzerne, NY. Frank had studied theology at Princeton University, and was offered a pulpit in Luzerne. But, in May of 1861 the Civil War broke out. The 16th NY Volunteer Regiment was one of the first to be mustered in New York State. When the war began, they were one of the first regiments to be shipped out. For every 100 soldiers, there was supposed to be a chaplain, although this was not always possible. By the Fall of 1862 the 16th NY’s chaplain had resigned due to illness. Frank Hall was nominated by the men to be their new chaplain, and the invitation was sent to Frank. He mulled this decision over and decided he needed to serve his country. By the end of 1862, Frank was headed to war.

Normally at this point I would be discussing something about the history of saddles or talking about some of the battles Frank was witness to, but, for this Artifact Corner, I thought we’d let Frank speak for himself. He wrote home to Fannie, and we have so many letters from Frank during this period. His writing was very matter of fact, and often he was writing on horseback while battles were happening. Some of his sentences feel disjointed, but are almost like stage direction. So, here is what Frank saw from his saddle while serving the men of the 16th NY.

“Dec. 12th, 1862
Waiting to cross the Rappahannock writing on horseback right by the side of the Major.

The musketry at the upper pontoon bridge has just commenced and the heavy batteries have just boomed and oh what a scene. Over this vast plain the multitude are spread and waiting to cross artillery, cavalry & infantry everywhere. Oh how those guns sound. We are crossing under the cover of a mist but the sun shining brightly all the while.
Oh How beautiful it was, but night, beautiful, no! Wartime. We came down in heavy columns from the woods to cross and several regiments were thrown across followed by the thundering wheels of the artillery regiments. But in the first regiments their pickets they came suddenly upon the enemy. Live of battle – we are starting – we are waiting on the bridge – just over Gen. Franklin just past – we are forming in line of battle & oh what a scene in this waste plain………

Fredericksburg in flames and wild confusion of whirling platoons and heavy cannon………it was perfect uproar, but my splendid horse Zollicoffer, it seems as if I could put anywhere. He is perfectly trained. Oh, if you had seen the signal fire from hill top to hill top last night. The whirling half circles of light & the return from the signal corps past over. Oh it was beyond description…… Our skirmishers are out in front of us. Now we move. There, just over there, a shell has burst, a beautiful little cloud of smoke against the blue sky.

The old chaplain of the fifth Maine regiment has just ridden up to me and handed me an unexploded shell. I have just ridden over & am standing by the side of a dead rebel, his head is all torn open. Poor man, he has paid the penalty. Now I am standing by the body of another, fuse burned up – & there is a dead horse – now I am by another dead body, who they say is an officer – work will commence soon – ………

We marched down to White Oak Church & then to the banks of the Rappahannock. We halted some time at White Oak Church – The old Chaplain of the 5th Maine has just come up to me with the fly leaves of a bible taken from the knapsack of one of the dead rebels to the right & he has read to us 3 verses of the 26th chap of Deut. From the blood stained leaves.

A squadron of cavalry has just past & my man Edo Winslow has just moments ago picked up a sword bayonet. Our Colonel has just cried out “Premiers to the front.” There, way off to the left go an immense body of our cavalry – There is a fellow looking through his glass, resting it on the back of a fellow soldier. The soldiers are all laying down or sitting, & the skirmishers are going steadily forward, cautiously.

The cannons booming most fearfully, up here where they were then laying the bridge. The colonel and I had ridden up together (now the skirmishers are firing briskly. Now we are not sure whether we are going to have another Antietam or whether the rebels have already, or are going to skedaddle).”

Frank’s time in the Civil War, albeit brief (he only served a little over six months), really stayed with him. When he left the 16th NY volunteers he brought home all of his gear, including his horse and saddle. During the Civil War only two chaplains received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their service during the war. Frank Hall was one of them, for his work bringing injured soldiers off the front lines. This saddle has seen better days. The leather is deteriorating, but that will happen after almost 160 years. It is a reminder of the invaluable service that non-combatants offered during the American Civil War. If you’d like to learn more about Frank’s time in the Civil War and read all of his journals and letters, we have them compiled in a book that is available for purchase on our website. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Music: Acoustic Breeze by Benjamin Tissot, www.bensound.com

Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at two different medicine bottles that are in our apothecary. Both of these are glass bottles with paper labels. The first bottle is a tincture of Arnica from the druggist H.W. Cady here in Plattsburgh. The second is of Cherry Balsam also sold by H.W. Cady. One herbal we still use today for it’s curative purposes, the other, not so much. Let’s learn a bit more about these two medicines, and why we have them in our collections.

Fannie Delord Webb Hall was a self taught pharmacist, and she and her husband built an extension on their home, so that she would have a place to help the citizens of Plattsburgh. Fannie treated anyone who came to her door free of charge, and often was the only place the poor residents of Plattsburgh could go to receive medical assistance. In her small shop at the back of the home, Fannie kept all of her medical supplies, medicines, and medical texts. She was an avid reader who kept up to date on all of the latest medical improvements and best practices. Her goal was always to better the lives of the people in her community, and medicine was one way she accomplished this.

So, what is Arnica? Arnica Montana, also know as wolf’s bane, leopard’s bane, and mountain tobacco, is a member of the sunflower family. It originated in Europe, but is now found in East Asia, Europe, and North America. The Arnica plant’s flower and stems can be used for medicinal purposes. Arnica is primarily used as an anti-inflammatory. It can be used to help with muscle strain and reducing the healing time of severe bruising. Because of this, many sports medicine doctors today use Arnica to treat athletes. Arnica can be applied topically to the area of injury or soreness, but should never be applied to an open wound. Arnica can also be taken internally, for things such as concussions, but in very small doses. Like most medicines, ratios are very important. If you ingest too much Arnica, it could make you very ill.

Our second bottle contains a substance called Cherry Balsam. This title is a bit deceptive. While this medicine did contain a cherry extract to flavor it, the primary ingredients in this concoction were alcohol and opiates. Each druggist would have their own ratio of opioids, and therefore each bottle of Cherry Balsam could contain completely different ingredients. Cherry Balsam was used to treat minor concerns like colds and coughs, all the way up to incurable diseases like consumption, better known today as tuberculosis. While this elixir may have helped with the discomfort of the patients ailment, it was not actually helping the problem. This was purely pain and symptom relief, thanks to the myriad of drugs in it. In the Victorian period, drugs such as cocaine and heroin were commonly used in medicine. They do provide temporary relief from pain, but they are highly addictive, like modern pain killers.

Our bottles no longer contain their original contents. We have so many bottles from the late Victorian/early Edwardian period, that contained substances that can be life threatening if consumed. Therefore, we had all of the contents safely disposed of. Victorian medicine could be dangerous, so before trying any medicinal recipes or herbal remedies, please consult your doctor! Our bottles and their paper labels are in quite good condition, and we are so lucky to have them in our collections. For more information about medicine in the mid to late 1800’s come visit us at the museum. We will be opening for the season June 25th! Thanks so much for stopping by.

Music: Acoustic Breeze by Benjamin Tissot, www.bensound.com

Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another Artifact Corner. Today we will be looking at a very small, and seemingly insignificant piece of paper. This is a calling card for Fannie Hall, the last member of our family to live in our home. It is a heavy card stock, with black engraved letters that states “Mrs. Francis B. Hall, 17 Cumberland Avenue,” on the front, and is blank on the reverse. It is quite simple and elegant in its simplicity. We have a handful of other calling cards as well. All of these cards are from the late Victorian to early Edwardian period, which was the heyday of the calling card. Let’s learn a bit more about the history and social etiquette of calling cards.

The origins of the calling card or visiting card date back to the 18th Century in France. They could be used for a myriad of different reasons. They could be sent as a thank you for a lovely dinner, to offer condolences, or for something as simple as a hello. Their popularity quickly spread from mainland Europe across the Atlantic, and became very popular on the East coast of the United States. The earliest calling cards were white card stock with black engraving, similar to the ones used by Fannie Hall. Other popular motifs or illustrations on calling cards included, floral borders, greek key borders, urns and birds.

As printing technology advanced in the Victorian Era, calling cards became more elaborate and vibrant. The social etiquette behind calling cards was also becoming more elaborate at this time. In a book written by John H Young called, “Our Deportment,” he says this about calling cards:

“To the unrefined or unbred, the visiting card is but a trifling and insignificant bit of paper; but to the cultured disciple of social law, it conveys a subtle and unmistakable intelligence. It’s texture, style of engraving, and even the hour of leaving it combine to place the stranger, whose name it bears, in a pleasant or a disagreeable attitude even before his manners, conversation, and face have been able to explain his social position.”

Similar to a business card today, the appearance of your calling card was indicative of your social standing. Most calling cards in the Victorian period simply had your name and your address, with some type of colorful decoration. Your calling card could be your first impression on a prospective employer or even a potential romantic partner.
Calling cards were very much a tradition of the upper and middle classes. If you were heading to visit a friend or relative, upon ringing the bell, a servant would answer the door, and you would hand them your card. If your friend or relative was home, they would be given the card, and you would be brought in to see them. If they were not home, the card would be given to them upon their return. Calling cards also became a means for young men to court women. If a gentleman was unknown to a woman, he would send along his card. If she was interested in meeting with him in person, she would send her card to him as the formal invitation. If she had no interest in meeting with him, she would either send nothing in response or send his calling card back in an envelope with no other information. Sending someone back their own card in an envelope was a polite declination of their attentions. You could also leave a set of initials on a calling card which would be code for the reason for their visit. Here are some examples:

• p. f. – congratulations (pour féliciter)
• p. r. – expressing one’s thanks (pour remercier)
• p. c. – mourning expression (pour condoléance)
• p. f. N. A. – Happy New Year (pour feliciter Nouvel An)
• p. p. c. – meaning to take leave (pour prendre congé)
• p. p. – if you want to be introduced to anybody, send your visiting card (pour présenter)

Our calling cards were not for courting. Most of these are late Victorian, and by that point, Fannie and Frank Hall had been married for decades. These calling cards were from family and friends that came to call on the couple for a visit. They are all in quite good condition, and a lovely example of a forgotten social etiquette. We hope you enjoyed this look back at calling cards or visiting cards. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Music: Acoustic Breeze by Benjamin Tissot www.bensound.com