Mary''s other clothes ?

[Donna McCreary]

(04-02-2018 06:16 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(04-01-2018 01:49 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(04-01-2018 11:17 AM)Donna McCreary Wrote:  

(04-01-2018 09:38 AM)L Verge Wrote:  

(03-31-2018 06:14 PM)Donna McCreary Wrote:  When relaxing, Mary, like other women in the Victorian era, wore a wrapper. Day dresses were worn to church, shopping, visiting hospitals, and several other occasions.

All of Mary's clothing was not black, nor is she wearing mourning attire in all of her photographs. Actually, she is wearing mourning attire in only three or four of them. Other colors she wore included magenta, green and white plaid, white, steel, pink, blue and many others.

I do not wish to appear to be promoting my books, but there is not a better study of Mary Lincoln's clothing than FASHIONABLE FIRST LADY: The Victorian Wardrobe of Mary Lincoln. It was used by the costume director of Steven Spielberg's movie LINCOLN, and has been used by many others trying to recreate Mary's clothing.

Donna - Am I correct that she spent most of her time in mourning garb after 1862? I thought that was what Anita was referring to. Of course, she would have worn colorful dresses during the early part of her life and until tragedy struck with her children and husband.

About one year after Willie's death in 1862, Mary hosted a reception for Charles Sherwood Stratton (General Tom Thumb) and his new bride Lavinia Warren. Mary wore pink. She may worn several colors associated with mourning - such as purple, black, and gray - however, her dress style was not mourning. Mary wore purple velvet - velvet is not a mourning fabric because of its sheen. Black clothing was considered appropriate business attire for men and women. So, when Mary went to the Senate chambers to listen to debate, she sometimes wore black. One newspaper recorded on one particular day Mary wore a black dress trimmed with ermine -- again -- not mourning attire.

A couple of months prior to Lincoln's death, Mary ordered quite a bit of mourning attire. Some historians have taken this to mean that she was still in mourning for Willie. Some think it was because she had a premonition that Lincoln would die. What happened was that she was thrust back into mourning. Her brother Levi died in October 1864, and her uncle, Dr. John Todd, died in January 1865. This is why Mary wore black and white to the theatre in April. She was mourning her brother and uncle.

Thanks for the clarifications, Donna Mc. Many long years ago, when Surratt House first started doing their popular Victorian mourning exhibit (before your book came out), we researched Mary Lincoln in mourning. I do not recall any sources at that time that indicated she broke mourning after Willie's death - such as during the Stratton reception. Several sources that I see today also state that she remained in mourning for Willie for 2-3 years, not emerging until January of 1865. Is this just a lack of research on the part of other authors? As much as Mary enjoyed fine clothes, I can certainly see her "cheating" on strict society's rules.

We used to sell your book in our gift shop, but I think we've sold out. I'm at home and not able to check our research center's shelves to see if we have a copy there in what is basically our Victorian Life section.

Some of you may enjoy this about the Stratton wedding: http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/the-...tom-thumb/ and also this: https://www.nytimes.com/1863/02/11/archi...l-tom.html

Sorry folks, but Donna Mc has gone and gotten me interested in Victorian mourning customs once again. Thought you might find this snippet interesting about types of fabrics and when to wear them during mourning:

'[A widow] would wear deep mourning for at least one year, consisting of black clothes made from a non-reflective fabric such as bombazine ... Once a widow had completed her first year, she dressed in 'secondary mourning'. This had a less rigorous dress code, and white collars and cuffs ... were permitted. After nine months came 'ordinary mourning', a three month stretch during which women were permitted to wear shiny fabrics such as silk and velvet ... Finally a widow entered the six months of 'half-mourning', when muted colours such as grey, purple and lilac were permissible.'

Just an FYI that it appears that Mary Surratt remained in mourning throughout the period of 1862 to her own demise. She was dressed in bombazine when the "fair, fat, and forty" photograph was taken (probably shortly before the assassination) and appears to still be in that dress or a similar one at the time of her execution.

I forgot to cut and paste the source for the above quote, but it was from an English museum that specializes in mourning customs and memorabilia. It also brought back memories of learning about mourning food.

Years ago, we set our family dining table with ham, raisin pies, and other appropriate mourning food for the post-funeral guests. I'll try to find a reference to something that I found unusual -- mourning (or funeral) biscuits, which were actually wrapped in commemorative paper, sometimes even carried in the funeral procession, and then distributed to both those who returned to the home reception as well as those who did not. Sort of like taking home a piece of wedding cake... Go here for more info: http://modernloss.com/food-death/ I would love to know if any of this ritual was practiced at the burial of Lincoln.

P.S. Also google tear bottles. Most are beautiful. Did Mary Lincoln have one or several with all the losses she went through?

And finally, I depart with this most unusual tribute by a widow to her deceased husband: http://strangeco.blogspot.com/2014/08/ne...ay_13.html

Oh my Laurie - that is indeed an unusual tribute!

Your post forced me to look at the script for my lecture about mourning customs.

Here are a few more thoughts on mourning attire:

As previously mentioned, women in the first stage of mourning could not wear any fabric with a sheen. The color became known as "dead black." Crepe was often used to make the weeping veil, which when in public, a lady was expected to wear down over her face. This was an unspoken request for privacy. If a woman's veil was down, no one could speak to her, and she was to speak to no one. To make matters worse, it is believed that crepe was made by soaking the fabric in formaldehyde. With such a toxic chemical worn so close to the face, one wonders about the meaning behind "getting the vapors."

A black over-petticoat may have been worn, and black ribbon was often used to trim drawers, chemises and under-petticoats in order to show that a woman’s grief ‘had penetrated to the innermost sanctuaries.”

Regarding funeral food - it is my understanding that each culture brought their own rituals to America, and Americans sort of adapted many of them.
In Cumberland, each mourner took home a piece of cake that had been wrapped in white paper.
In Yorkshire, a paper bag of biscuits with a card bearing the name of the deceased was sent to friends.
Dutch colonies made funeral cakes that were a biscuit with caraway seeds and molasses. Each biscuit was marked with the initial of the deceased. Often these were not eaten, but saved as mementos.
The Amish served Raisin pie, which was called funeral pie.
The British would hold a funeral tea, and serve ham, condiments, pickles, and jams.
The Irish celebrated with a wake. Mourners who came to pay their respects were served a full meal of ham, cabbage, potatoes, cakes, and other family favorites. At the wake, mourners were given whiskey, snuff, and tobacco in exchange for prayers and toasts for the dead. To believe the deceased was truly in a better place was a reason to celebrate life. This custom was called ‘waking the dead.’

I have no idea if any of these customs were observed at Lincoln's funeral. Maybe someone else will know.

I googled "tear bottles." Okay --- now, I want one. They are beautiful!