In 1904, clothing styles still reflected Victorian propriety. Women wore corsets that required back lacing (necessitating servants), wore clothing that was made of rich materials like velvet and silk (necessitating great care), and were generally covered up head to toe. Hemlines still trailed the floor except for ensembles worn on outings, like you see here. Women wore their hair long but swept up in elaborate hairstyles.
The oiled look applied to hairstyles with a strong center part. Hair could be combed very flat and slick, or left with a bit of a lift or swoop on one side. Center parted hair tended to have shorter sides than the all-over slicked hairstyle.
1904 hairstyles
African American men, Latinos, and other naturally textured hair types followed some of the above hairstyles. Longer hair could be combed straight back, center parted, or side parted. Short hair could be even all around with slightly shorter sides above the ears. The neat and trim minimalist look was the dominate hairstyle for most of the 1910s.
Cosmetology and beauty treatments in ancient times and the middle ages were present, especially for the wealthy. In the 20th century, styles in beauty, fashion, hairstyles, and makeup began to change more quickly. This was due to mass communication through magazines, movies, television, and in the 21st century, through the internet and social media.
The 1900s is when modern cosmetology matured and flourished worldwide. There were many pioneers in this era. Maksymilian Faktorowicz, better known to the world as Max Factor, moved to Los Angeles in 1904, and provided theatrical makeup to the nascent film industry. In 1909, Max Factor & Company was founded, and helped lay the foundation for modern-day makeup and cosmetics.
The very early years of the century saw a vogue for light and frothy dresses, and was accompanied by hairstyles that were loose and flowing about the shoulders, often in waves. The look was one of slight undress compared to the fitted tailoring and corsetry of the Victorian age, worn especially for evening wear and for entertaining at home.
Double-breasted suitDesigner unknownAbout 1904Great BritainFlannel woven with a thin vertical pin-stripe, with mother-of-pearl buttons, and sleeves lined with cottonMuseum no. T.159&A-1969Given by Mrs Brooks
Hats reached an immense size in the early 20th century. This very fashionable example from 1910 is made of a fine black straw. It has an outsize crown, which would have been supported by the piled-up hairstyles of the time. Long hat-pins would have secured the hat to the hair. Hats were often lavishly trimmed, and with its mass of purple cotton artificial flowers, this is no exception.
The dress was given to the Museum by the Hon. Mrs J. J. Astor and forms part of the Cecil Beaton Collection, brought together by the society photographer Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980). With great energy and determination, Beaton contacted the well-dressed elite of Europe and North America to help create this lasting monument to the art of dress. The Collection was exhibited in 1971, accompanied by a catalogue that detailed its enormous range.
This straight-cut jacket is similar to the one worn by the Duchess of Windsor (Mrs Wallis Simpson) in her engagement photographs taken by Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980). She wore it over a long white crêpe dress with a sequin sash matching the jacket (American Vogue magazine, 1 June 1937, pages 52-57, British Vogue, 9 June 1937, pages 54-56). Beaton's photographs of Mrs Simpson in her Mainbocher ensemble were particularly successful. Its stark, simple lines suited her elegant, uncluttered style.
Day dressJean Dessès (1904-70)About 1953ParisWoollen tweed, bodice lined with crepe de Chine, and waist stay of grosgainMuseum no. T.102-1982Given by Mrs D M Haynes and Mrs M Clark
Lady Ethel Templer (née Davie, 1904-97), bought this dress in the late 1950s. She was very slim and was able to buy the original dress worn by a house model for the collection. It was originally strapless, but she asked Stiebel to add the straps because her shoulders were narrow. Lady Templer was the wife of the British High Commissioner to Malaya, and required an extensive wardrobe for the many formal dinners and state functions that she had to attend.
This 'space suit' forms part of the Cecil Beaton Collection. With great energy and determination Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) contacted designers and the well-dressed elite of Europe and America to create this lasting monument to the art of dress. The collection was exhibited in 1971, accompanied by a catalogue that detailed its enormous range.
Black children were some of the earliest "stars" of the fledgling motion picture industry; albeit, as picaninnies (Bogle, 1994, p. 7). Thomas Alva Edison patented 1,093 inventions. In 1891 he invented the kinetoscope and the kinetograph, which laid the groundwork for modern motion picture technology. During his camera experiments in 1893, Edison photographed some black children as "interesting side effects." In 1904 he presented Ten Picaninnies, which showed those "side effects" running and playing. These nameless children were referred to as inky kids, smoky kids, black lambs, snowballs, chubbie ebonies, bad chillun, and coons.
It is likely that Bannerman did not intentionally write Little Black Sambo to offend any group; after all, the story was conceived as a private fantasy tale to share with her children. It is also likely that she did not understand the racist overtones of the book. She tried to write an "exotic" tale. The book reflects, but does not exceed, the prevailing anti-black imaging of her time. Nevertheless, illustrations in Little Black Sambo are caricatures. She also depicted dark-skinned people in caricature form in her other books, including, Little Black Mingo (1902) and Little Black Quibba (1902). She used realistic, non-caricatured drawings of white characters in her books such as Pat and the Spider (1904), and Little White Squibba (1966).
The exhibition is comprised of a video projection and a series of drawings that explore politics and social history. One suite of drawings depicts women's heads turned away from the viewer, revealing only their hairstyles and the most peripheral glance at their faces. They are simultaneously stylized and free form, floating alone on the page and open to interpretation, as the hairstyles verge on abstraction.
THE DEAD, 1904 is an immersive theater adaptation of James Joyce's THE DEAD, co-produced by The Irish Repertory Theater and Dot Dot Productions. It ran for 50 performances at the American Irish Historical Society in late 2016, and will return for a second run in the fall of 2017.
Last year, Irish Repertory Theatre immersed audiences in the high-spirited yet haunting world of James Joyce's story The Dead in the elegant rooms of the American Irish Historical Society. It has done so again this year, perhaps with an eye to making the production an annual tradition. We can only hope that this is the case, since The Dead, 1904 makes a welcome and decidedly grown-up addition to the holiday season's usual roster of theatrical fare. Ciarán O'Reilly once again directs a superb cast featuring Melissa Gilbert in the central role of Gretta in a production that includes a satisfyingly plentiful supper (catered by Great Performances) reminiscent of the meal Joyce describes in his story.
The feeling of being Julia and Kate's guests is the real charm here. It's not necessary to come dressed in the fashion of the time; it would be hard to compete anyway with Leon Dobkowski's exquisite period-inspired costumes and the precise hairstyles and wigs of Robert-Charles Vallance. But along with the scrumptious holiday meal and the careful details woven into this production, The Dead, 1904 gives the uncanny sense of entering a beautifully wrought literary world that conjures the misty mood of the holiday season as present joys mingle gently with wistful memories of the past.
An article published by scholar Jean-Pierre Sirois-Trahan brings to our attention rare film footage showing family members and guests leaving the 1904 wedding of Elaine Greffulhe and the Duc de Guiche. Among those descending the staircase is a man of approximately 35 who bears a striking resemblance to Marcel Proust. Proust's presence at the wedding is well documented. Unfortunately, we cannot see the man's eyes and hair but many prominent Proustian are now convinced that he is indeed Marcel Proust.
We will post additional information about the film and responses to is as they become available. Here are some photos of Proust that were taken in the years just preceding or following the 1904 wedding. The pictures of Proust on board the yacht were taken 3 months before the wedding.
I agree! They are looking more modern from the front. There is a hint of the marcel waves of the 1920s evolving here. The back part of the hairstyles is still rather Edwardian or Gibson Girl in feeling.
The Kohn family came from a large city in the southwestern region of the Pale of Settlement: Kishinev [Кишинёв], then capital of the Russian Empire's Bessarabian Governorate (today's Chișinău, Moldova). At the turn of the century, Kishinev had one of the highest number of Jews as a percentage of the total population of any city in Europe; more than 40% of Kishinev's citizens were Jewish. But by 1903, the already uneasy relations between Kishinev's Eastern Orthodox Christian and Jewish citizens was about to take an ominous turn, and a number of documents confirm that the family's departure was precipitated by the very real threat of violence. Although the Kohn family entered Ellis Island in July 1904 as immigrants, today they would have been considered refugees or refugee-adjacent. 2ff7e9595c
Comments