Never a Bad Hair Day in Regency England

Bonnets, hats, bandeaux, turbans, caps, and veils--Regency fashion has any number of ways of concealing the hair of the highly fashionable ladies of the ton. Often, as a result, the styles of hairdressing themselves are overlooked.

As I have been looking at fashion journals lately, I decided to take particular note of the descriptions of hair styles. And, as I was considering pictures, I cropped out some head illustrations because I find, in looking at fashion plates, I am often so distracted by the details of dress that I don't consider the head unless it wears a striking bonnet. I wonder what that is on the 1807 head above right--pearl droplets?

This hair illustration from 1807 suits a description in La Belle Assemblee from a year later:

"Cropt hair, confined with a band, and curled over the left eye."

In the same issue, from January 1808, another style is described :

"The hair confined from the root, the ends flowing in irregular curls, leaving the forehead and temples exposed."

In January 1810 a more substantial description of evening hairstyles was given:

"The hair is either worn brought forward in a full tuft of curls on one side the face, or else closely twisted up behind, and confined with a pearl comb; a wreath of heath is placed at the back of the head a-la Daphne, encircling the knot of hair twisted twice round, and inclining to the left ear.."

The styles below each seem illustrative of that report.

Descriptions from the Edinburgh Annual Review of 1813 are less fulsome:

"Hair in curls and ringlets confined on the crown of the head, and intermixed with flowers."

"Hair twisted up behind in a very large full bow, divided in front, and much fuller on the temples than last month."

Ackermann's Repository for January 1815 describes the classic style we tend to associate with the Regency:

"Hair parted in the centre of the forehead, confined in the Grecian style, and blended with flowers."

In June of the same year, the Repository describes: "Hair in irregular curls, blended with a wreath of lilac."

This illustration from 1819 is unmistakably late Regency; the face shows an almost Victorian sensibility. The hair is showing an emphasis on symmetrical side curls that was to develop and deepen during Victoria's reign before the curls eventually were replaced by simpler bands of hair.

For all the elaborate dressing of hair, products were seldom mentioned in advertising. Atkinson's Curling Fluid and Rowland's Macassar Oil appear in advertisements in La Belle Assemblee in 1815, but no dedicated shampoos appear for sale. Indeed the word 'shampoo'--from Hindi--meant, in the early 1800s, a sort of head massage with oil. Late in the Regency, soap began to be shaved into boiling water and herbs added for fragrance, and the resulting mixture used for particularly washing the hair.

In the present day, we have hundreds of products for the enhancement of the hair, and yet hair styles have never been simpler. How exquisitely ironic!

Next week, popular author Louise Allen will visit to talk about "Exploring the Building of Bath". In her own words, "The Regency is my passion. I find it an endlessly fascinating era full of contrast and change, danger and elegance, luxury and squalor." You can visit Louise here, to read her complete bio and view her impressive books list.

She has two new releases; one is Walks Through Regency London, and another is a double fiction treat Regency Pleasures.  

Be sure to join us next Friday for Louise's fascinating look at Bath.

'Til then,

Lesley-Anne

John Flaxman--Classicist

John Flaxman, devoted to classicism, a talented artist and sculptor, was as instrumental in forming the 'look' of the Regency world as the great designer, Robert Adam. I mentioned Flaxman briefly in a previous blog but he deserves a second, and much longer, look. His self-portrait, right

John Flaxman was born in 1755, some twenty-five years younger than his near contemporary Robert Adam. Like Adam he was steeped from his earliest days in the classical art, architecture and design of the Greeks. The son of a maker of plaster casts, he was a sickly child who spent his youth among his father's stock in trade and studied classical texts in order to understand them.

His artistic talent was developed early with help from patrons who were his father's customers. Renowned painter George Romney was an early admirer, and William Blake became one of his best friends. His early success was rewarded with honours which led him to become something of a 'coxcomb', but he could not earn a living from his work.

At 19 he began to work for Josiah Wedgwood, modelling classical figures for the trademark work of the famed potter. The cabinet, left, contains Wedgwood plaques thought to be his work.

He worked for Wedgwood for twelve years, honing his skill at bas-relief. As well, in 1780 he began to use that skill in producing grave monuments. His memorial work became very well-known and eventually his monuments graced churches all over the country, influencing the artistic taste and world view of the late Georgians.

From 1787 to 1794 he lived, with his wife, in Italy furthering his fascination and expertise with classical art and sculpture. It was there he undertook a marble sculpture--Fury of Athamas, right--which set the tone for future sculptural groups.

While in Britain he became best known for his sculptural and monumental work, on the continent he was famous for his work in outline design illustrations for classical literature. He was commissioned to do designs for the Iliad and Odyssey, for Dante and Aeschylus, for Hesiod and Pilgrim's Progress. Below top, from the Odyssey, Circe; below bottom, from the Odyssey, Suitors

In later life, John Flaxman exhibited every year at the Royal Academy of which he was an associate; he became a full Academician in 1800. He continued to produce public monuments and memorials for churches. His opinion in favour of the purchase of the Elgin marbles was much respected by the parliamentary commission studying the matter.

When you observe the Regency world you are seeing the influence of John Flaxman. He died in December 1826; he was by all accounts a good man and a good friend. He left a great body of work and a treasured memory and a legacy that informs Regency lovers today.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

What Better Time for Reading...

What better time for reading than the middle of winter, when the snow piles high and the thermometer sinks low. I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and I thought I would share the books I am enjoying with you.

Mr. Langshaw's Square Piano: The Story of the First Pianos and How They Caused a Cultural Revolution 
by Madeline Goold
This book caught my eye in the library, I have to admit,  because of the lovely cover. The delightful Regency lady is from a painting titled "The Duet" by G. G. Kilburne, a Victorian painter. A closer examination of the book led me to bring it home, and I am enjoying it very much. Ms. Goold has a pleasant, vivid style of writing. She begins her story with her purchase of square piano #10651 (built in 1807) in a dilapidated state. She recounts its restoration and then traces its history, covering as she does so, the development of pianofortes in Britain and their effect on British society. Along the way, we meet Mr. Langshaw the piano's first owner, and John Broadwood, who founded a piano-building dynasty.

This book is an admirable social history, and I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the period. It has a lovely companion website, here

Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch
by Kate Williams
The first third or more of this book is about Princess Charlotte, her father the Prince Regent and her disreputable, often unpleasant uncles.Williams has a fiction writer's style, dramatic and rather sensational, which makes the oft-told story fresh and new. And the point of course is that if Princess Charlotte had not died, Victoria would not have become queen.

I learned much I did not know about Charlotte, the beleaguered princess, and her short life from the book. And I found my imagination stirred--what if she had lived? Victoria has always interested me as well, so it is no hardship to read all of the book, even for a Regency period devotee.

A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen
by Susannah Carson
This excellent book, offering many fascinating insights into our favourite author and her work, has been reviewed with great thoroughness and intelligence elsewhere. See Jane Austen's World Blog and Austenprose Blog for two excellent reviews. I need only say that I am enjoying it immensely and recommend it to any lover of Jane Austen.

In a slight digression from the Regency, I am also reading Claude and Camille by Stephanie Cowell. Her fictionalized retelling of the great romance of Claude Monet's life is very enjoyable. The great Impressionist painters come alive as they move through Monet's life. Their struggles for recognition wring the heart and Monet's difficult life makes his fabulous artistic output all the more astonishing. This is an enjoyable read--best done with a book of Monet's art at one's side.

To return to the Regency, I am looking forward to reading the wonderful Tracy Chevalier's latest book Remarkable Creatures. The author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, in this book takes on the life of Mary Anning. Mary as a little girl found the first complete dinosaur skeleton on a beach near Lyme Regis and spent her life hunting fossils (1799-1847). I will be interested to read Chevalier's interpretation of the Regency world.

All of these books are available at your favourite book store in North America, and hopefully, also for those of you outside NA. I hope you are enjoying some good books this winter--I'd love to hear about them.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne