Lecture and Class Descriptions of Corsets & Cravats In Person Conference in Raleigh, NC August 4-6.
Registration opens 3/18/2023.
Registration opens 3/18/2023.
Lectures
Stories of Stagville Women: Researching the Lives of Enslaved Women
Vera Cecelski
Public historian Vera Cecelski, site manager at Historic Stagville, will present research on the lives of enslaved women at Stagville. Stagville was once one of the largest plantations in North Carolina-- by 1860, hundreds of women were enslaved there. The stories of Mary Walker, Phoebe Bennehan, Emma Turner and others illuminate enslaved women's experiences of labor, freedom-seeking, family, and resistance across North Carolina.
Vera Cecelski
Public historian Vera Cecelski, site manager at Historic Stagville, will present research on the lives of enslaved women at Stagville. Stagville was once one of the largest plantations in North Carolina-- by 1860, hundreds of women were enslaved there. The stories of Mary Walker, Phoebe Bennehan, Emma Turner and others illuminate enslaved women's experiences of labor, freedom-seeking, family, and resistance across North Carolina.
Saving the 1860 Vegetable Building from the Detroit City Market
Jim Johnson
Join Jim Johnson, Director of Greenfield Village and Curator of Historic Structures and Landscape at The Henry Ford for a fascinating look at the history, and the journey of a rare surviving market building from the mid-19th century. Saved from the brink of demolition, this amazing structure has been in three different locations spanning three centuries. In 2022, it was added to the collection of historic buildings within Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. Hear also how the traditional art of timber framing came together with modern science and technology to allow over 80 percent of the original building materials to be used in the reconstruction and still meet today’s building codes.
Jim Johnson
Join Jim Johnson, Director of Greenfield Village and Curator of Historic Structures and Landscape at The Henry Ford for a fascinating look at the history, and the journey of a rare surviving market building from the mid-19th century. Saved from the brink of demolition, this amazing structure has been in three different locations spanning three centuries. In 2022, it was added to the collection of historic buildings within Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. Hear also how the traditional art of timber framing came together with modern science and technology to allow over 80 percent of the original building materials to be used in the reconstruction and still meet today’s building codes.
Gods, Gorgons, and Griffons. Oh My! Classical Mythology in the Mid-nineteenth Century
Mindy Crawford
Explore the influence of classical mythology in the mid-nineteenth century with author Mindy Crawford. Begin with an introduction to the myths and begin to understand the renewed interest especially after the discovery of Pompei. Look at mythology-themed art, architecture, and literature of the period.
Mindy Crawford
Explore the influence of classical mythology in the mid-nineteenth century with author Mindy Crawford. Begin with an introduction to the myths and begin to understand the renewed interest especially after the discovery of Pompei. Look at mythology-themed art, architecture, and literature of the period.
My Last to You, Writing Home for a Larger Audience
Elizabeth Stewart Clark
Just as we have blogs and Instagram influencers today, so too did our historical sisters and brothers who wrote home of their adventures with the expectation the letters would be published to a wider audience of family and friends, in church and civic serials. We’ll explore the nature of their personal narratives published “live streaming” in the era, the physical realities of sending, receiving, and publishing those narratives, and what we can learn about mid-century life from them. (Bonus content on the tools you need to incorporate letters into your impressions!)
Elizabeth Stewart Clark
Just as we have blogs and Instagram influencers today, so too did our historical sisters and brothers who wrote home of their adventures with the expectation the letters would be published to a wider audience of family and friends, in church and civic serials. We’ll explore the nature of their personal narratives published “live streaming” in the era, the physical realities of sending, receiving, and publishing those narratives, and what we can learn about mid-century life from them. (Bonus content on the tools you need to incorporate letters into your impressions!)
Short Breakout Sessions
Fanny's Room: A New Furnishing Plan for an Original Slave Dwelling
Vera Cecelski
Friday 10:30 City of Raleigh Museum
Public historian Vera Cecelski, site manager at Historic Stagville, will present on the research for the site's furnishing plan for the original slave quarters at Horton Grove. Inspired by the household of a matriarch named Fanny, this project traced Fanny's life, family, and community to contextualize her household. Despite the scarcity of sources about enslaved people's furnishings, careful research and comparative sources reveal the likely materials enslaved families used to furnish their home spaces.
Vera Cecelski
Friday 10:30 City of Raleigh Museum
Public historian Vera Cecelski, site manager at Historic Stagville, will present on the research for the site's furnishing plan for the original slave quarters at Horton Grove. Inspired by the household of a matriarch named Fanny, this project traced Fanny's life, family, and community to contextualize her household. Despite the scarcity of sources about enslaved people's furnishings, careful research and comparative sources reveal the likely materials enslaved families used to furnish their home spaces.
"I'm A Poor Farmer" Constructing the 19th Century Working Man
Ben Jenkins and Aaron Klass
Friday 10:30 Borden Building
Every 19th century living history has some well-meaning reenactor whose impression is of a “poor farmer”. While lower-class agriculturalists are certainly over-represented in the hobby, the real issue arises from the fact that these poverty-stricken field folks are almost always poorly represented materially. Indeed, the penniless plowman is often used as an excuse for an incomplete or “starter” kit. Using photographic evidence from private collections and surviving original working class garments in representatives of The Merchant Tailor Museum will lead a multifaceted discussion that covers fabric choices; considering climate and geography, clothing choices; considering home and readymade sourcing, wear patterns; how occupations and handling impact garments, and layering; constructing a realistic suit with silhouette and drape considerations. In addition to addressing the practicality of creating convincing lower-class looks, we intend to cover strategies for considering occupations other than the “poor farmer”, and how to integrate the costumed interpreter’s modern life into their historical one. Our intention would be to spark discussion around the construction and representation of working class Americans of the 19th
century and to offer a few strategies for experienced interpreters to bring new living historians into the fold.
Ben Jenkins and Aaron Klass
Friday 10:30 Borden Building
Every 19th century living history has some well-meaning reenactor whose impression is of a “poor farmer”. While lower-class agriculturalists are certainly over-represented in the hobby, the real issue arises from the fact that these poverty-stricken field folks are almost always poorly represented materially. Indeed, the penniless plowman is often used as an excuse for an incomplete or “starter” kit. Using photographic evidence from private collections and surviving original working class garments in representatives of The Merchant Tailor Museum will lead a multifaceted discussion that covers fabric choices; considering climate and geography, clothing choices; considering home and readymade sourcing, wear patterns; how occupations and handling impact garments, and layering; constructing a realistic suit with silhouette and drape considerations. In addition to addressing the practicality of creating convincing lower-class looks, we intend to cover strategies for considering occupations other than the “poor farmer”, and how to integrate the costumed interpreter’s modern life into their historical one. Our intention would be to spark discussion around the construction and representation of working class Americans of the 19th
century and to offer a few strategies for experienced interpreters to bring new living historians into the fold.
The Indispensable Housewife-Sold Out
Colleen Formby
$15 kit fee
Friday 10:30 Borden Building
Whether known by earlier terms of “huswif” or “hussif”, the later “housewife”, or the generic “sewing roll”, this humble sewing kit has been a staple item for both men and women, civilians and soldiers, for several centuries. In this class we will look at how its appearance has changed from the late 18th to general 19th century, talk about the various materials used in their creation, and create a period correct housewife. There will be a kit available with threads, fabric, and patterns, although participants are encouraged to bring small scraps of fabric and threads of their own as well.
Colleen Formby
$15 kit fee
Friday 10:30 Borden Building
Whether known by earlier terms of “huswif” or “hussif”, the later “housewife”, or the generic “sewing roll”, this humble sewing kit has been a staple item for both men and women, civilians and soldiers, for several centuries. In this class we will look at how its appearance has changed from the late 18th to general 19th century, talk about the various materials used in their creation, and create a period correct housewife. There will be a kit available with threads, fabric, and patterns, although participants are encouraged to bring small scraps of fabric and threads of their own as well.
Silk Purse from a Sow's Ear: Fashioning Homespun in the Mid-Nineteenth Century
Annette Jorgensen
Friday 10:30 Mordecai Historic Park
Homespun fabric was more than a needful item during the mid-19th century. Made of natural fibers and dyed with plants found in nature, homespun was used for everyday clothes, made up in fashionable garments, and worn as a sign of support for the South. This presentation will look at homespun fabric, how it was made, how it was used, and how it was fashioned.
Annette Jorgensen
Friday 10:30 Mordecai Historic Park
Homespun fabric was more than a needful item during the mid-19th century. Made of natural fibers and dyed with plants found in nature, homespun was used for everyday clothes, made up in fashionable garments, and worn as a sign of support for the South. This presentation will look at homespun fabric, how it was made, how it was used, and how it was fashioned.
Pope House Museum Tour
Friday 10:30 Pope House Museum
As the only African-American house museum in the state of North Carolina, the Pope House offers a glimpse into the life of one of Raleigh’s most intriguing citizens, Dr. Manassa Thomas Pope, who was the only African-American man to run for mayor of a Southern capital in the midst of the Jim Crow Era. The house features original furnishings to the family and many historical artifacts giving insight into a remarkable man and family.
Friday 10:30 Pope House Museum
As the only African-American house museum in the state of North Carolina, the Pope House offers a glimpse into the life of one of Raleigh’s most intriguing citizens, Dr. Manassa Thomas Pope, who was the only African-American man to run for mayor of a Southern capital in the midst of the Jim Crow Era. The house features original furnishings to the family and many historical artifacts giving insight into a remarkable man and family.
"Daughters of Mars": Women with the Frontier Army 1840-1870
Kimberlee Berezuk
Saturday 10:30am City of Raleigh Museum
Drums beat, bugles sound in the faint predawn of another day on a remote post on the American Frontier. Women awake from slumber, jump to their feet, fires needed to be stoked, coffee set to boiling, children roused from bed, blankets folded, tents collapsed, wagons packed, teams hitched, horses saddled, the Army needed to be on the move before sunup. These Daughters of Mars were from all classes and stations in life. Some had married officers, some worked for the officers and their wives, some worked for the army as laundresses or washerwomen, but for all of them life was hard. They risked illness and death at every turn. Yet they still come bearing their children along the way. Who were these women? Where did they come from? What perils and hardships did they endure? What brought them joy?
Kimberlee Berezuk
Saturday 10:30am City of Raleigh Museum
Drums beat, bugles sound in the faint predawn of another day on a remote post on the American Frontier. Women awake from slumber, jump to their feet, fires needed to be stoked, coffee set to boiling, children roused from bed, blankets folded, tents collapsed, wagons packed, teams hitched, horses saddled, the Army needed to be on the move before sunup. These Daughters of Mars were from all classes and stations in life. Some had married officers, some worked for the officers and their wives, some worked for the army as laundresses or washerwomen, but for all of them life was hard. They risked illness and death at every turn. Yet they still come bearing their children along the way. Who were these women? Where did they come from? What perils and hardships did they endure? What brought them joy?
A Dressmakers Eye
Maggie Koenig
Saturday 10:30am Borden Building
Look at how proportion and artful trims, design lines and styles can help flatter the figure and the wearer's personality. The class will use in person draped examples to examine how minor changes can affect how a garment looks. Examples are shifting the waistline up or down, changing the neckline slightly, placing trim and yoke lines in places pleasing to the eye.
Maggie Koenig
Saturday 10:30am Borden Building
Look at how proportion and artful trims, design lines and styles can help flatter the figure and the wearer's personality. The class will use in person draped examples to examine how minor changes can affect how a garment looks. Examples are shifting the waistline up or down, changing the neckline slightly, placing trim and yoke lines in places pleasing to the eye.
"Receptacles for the Fragrant Weed": Tobacco Pouches and Bags-Sold Out
Colleen Formby
$35 kit fee
Saturday 10:30am Borden Building
Listed as “suitable presents for gentlemen”, or “nice variety in contributions for bazaars, where gentlemen are expected to purchase largely”, the tobacco pouch is far more than just a simple bag. Patterns in ladies’ magazines and extant examples show embroidery, braidwork, applique, and various other techniques used to embellish them, as well as some in patriotic designs. We will look at the various techniques employed in creating and decorating these, and create a small tobacco bag. There will be a kit included with threads, fabric, and patterns, although participants are encouraged to bring small pieces fabric and threads or braids of their own as well.
Colleen Formby
$35 kit fee
Saturday 10:30am Borden Building
Listed as “suitable presents for gentlemen”, or “nice variety in contributions for bazaars, where gentlemen are expected to purchase largely”, the tobacco pouch is far more than just a simple bag. Patterns in ladies’ magazines and extant examples show embroidery, braidwork, applique, and various other techniques used to embellish them, as well as some in patriotic designs. We will look at the various techniques employed in creating and decorating these, and create a small tobacco bag. There will be a kit included with threads, fabric, and patterns, although participants are encouraged to bring small pieces fabric and threads or braids of their own as well.
Minding Your Money: Financial Details for Mid-Century
Elizabeth Stewart Clark
Saturday 10:30am Borden Building
Take a swift dive into the sensible money matters for our era: how are you paid? How do you pay bills and rent? How do you bank? What will you need financially to travel or relocate? What is there to worry about with bank failures, recessions, depressions, inflation, deflation, and a host of financial episodes in the era? What do you do if you have no money at all? What does money look like and feel like in different parts of the nation? We’ll take a financial tour, and help you decide what you need for your own impressions.
Elizabeth Stewart Clark
Saturday 10:30am Borden Building
Take a swift dive into the sensible money matters for our era: how are you paid? How do you pay bills and rent? How do you bank? What will you need financially to travel or relocate? What is there to worry about with bank failures, recessions, depressions, inflation, deflation, and a host of financial episodes in the era? What do you do if you have no money at all? What does money look like and feel like in different parts of the nation? We’ll take a financial tour, and help you decide what you need for your own impressions.
No One Bathed and Everyone Died
Lindsey Maymon
Saturday 10:30am Mordecai Historic Park
Working in full time living history, I had the unique experience to be dressed in historical clothing at least five days a week. There are so many myths and misconceptions that get shared around social media that center around how/why women wore corsets (and how tightly they were laced!), if/when they bathed, what life expectancy was, how menstruation was handled, and so on. I’d like to do a crash course in mythbusting through the lens of experimental archaeology. Working in first person means one must understand the world my historical figures inhabit- even the stuff that doesn’t get discussed in polite company. I want to talk about hygiene, medicine, and social mores in a way that is research based, lighthearted, and gives participants ample material with which to humanize historical figures. I envision this to be an upbeat class where we joyously bust myths, but enjoy the odd account and gross historical moment and medical misadventure along the way.
Lindsey Maymon
Saturday 10:30am Mordecai Historic Park
Working in full time living history, I had the unique experience to be dressed in historical clothing at least five days a week. There are so many myths and misconceptions that get shared around social media that center around how/why women wore corsets (and how tightly they were laced!), if/when they bathed, what life expectancy was, how menstruation was handled, and so on. I’d like to do a crash course in mythbusting through the lens of experimental archaeology. Working in first person means one must understand the world my historical figures inhabit- even the stuff that doesn’t get discussed in polite company. I want to talk about hygiene, medicine, and social mores in a way that is research based, lighthearted, and gives participants ample material with which to humanize historical figures. I envision this to be an upbeat class where we joyously bust myths, but enjoy the odd account and gross historical moment and medical misadventure along the way.
Long Breakout Sessions
Can't Touch This. The Etiquette and Excitement of Studying Original Garments
Maggie Koenig
Friday 2pm City of Raleigh Museum
The etiquette, the tools, the methods, the handling. A crash course of what to do when you have the opportunity to study original garments or items and how to get the most out of what time you have with them. In all settings from museum exhibits to private collections.
Maggie Koenig
Friday 2pm City of Raleigh Museum
The etiquette, the tools, the methods, the handling. A crash course of what to do when you have the opportunity to study original garments or items and how to get the most out of what time you have with them. In all settings from museum exhibits to private collections.
"TROWSERS... the most important part of the art of cutting."
Ben Jenkins
$10
Friday 2pm Borden Building
The humble trouser is often misrepresented in costumed interpretation of the mid-19th century. The few patterns that are available require significant tweaking to be presentable. The most common choices for fabric and cut are out of context for their intended portrayal. Careful study of original trousers reveals much about the wear and utility of the garment that is missing from civilian living history. The Merchant Tailor Museum would like to present an hour long program for 15 attendees on pattern drafting men’s trousers. Our resident tailor would walk participants through the steps of creating an authentic men’s trouser
pattern while we show and discuss original examples. The Merchant Tailor Museum’s holdings will serve as guideposts and study pieces to paint a more complete picture of the variety found within this particular garment. The originals will also be used to demonstrate variation from one decade to another. In addition to each participant walking through the process of drafting, we would also touch on stylistic options, fabric choices, construction methods, and cultural context. Our aim would be to provide a comprehensive introduction to the art of drafting using historic techniques, to see that every participant leaves with a brand new, correctly executed trouser pattern, and to scratch the surface of the fascinating and complex study of men’s pants. Learning to draft trousers with the "common rule" An in person course presented by Ben Jenkins, as a representative for The Merchant Tailor Museum.
Ben Jenkins
$10
Friday 2pm Borden Building
The humble trouser is often misrepresented in costumed interpretation of the mid-19th century. The few patterns that are available require significant tweaking to be presentable. The most common choices for fabric and cut are out of context for their intended portrayal. Careful study of original trousers reveals much about the wear and utility of the garment that is missing from civilian living history. The Merchant Tailor Museum would like to present an hour long program for 15 attendees on pattern drafting men’s trousers. Our resident tailor would walk participants through the steps of creating an authentic men’s trouser
pattern while we show and discuss original examples. The Merchant Tailor Museum’s holdings will serve as guideposts and study pieces to paint a more complete picture of the variety found within this particular garment. The originals will also be used to demonstrate variation from one decade to another. In addition to each participant walking through the process of drafting, we would also touch on stylistic options, fabric choices, construction methods, and cultural context. Our aim would be to provide a comprehensive introduction to the art of drafting using historic techniques, to see that every participant leaves with a brand new, correctly executed trouser pattern, and to scratch the surface of the fascinating and complex study of men’s pants. Learning to draft trousers with the "common rule" An in person course presented by Ben Jenkins, as a representative for The Merchant Tailor Museum.
Finish-work Sampler with Elizabeth Stewart Clark
Elizabeth Stewart Clark
$10 kit fee
Friday 2pm Borden Building
Make a sampler of finishing techniques, including fine piping, applied/felled linings and facings, hooks and eyes or eyelets, and dressmaker’s buttonholes without tears. You’ll use these techniques often in dressing women, children, and even some menswear. Learn the refinements and simplifications that take your finish work to a fine historical level. Full kit included.
Elizabeth Stewart Clark
$10 kit fee
Friday 2pm Borden Building
Make a sampler of finishing techniques, including fine piping, applied/felled linings and facings, hooks and eyes or eyelets, and dressmaker’s buttonholes without tears. You’ll use these techniques often in dressing women, children, and even some menswear. Learn the refinements and simplifications that take your finish work to a fine historical level. Full kit included.
Weighted Pincushion or Sewing Brick
Annette Jorgensen
Kit Fee $10
Saturday 2pm Borden Building
Weighted pincushions, also known as a sewing bricks or a brick pincushions, were suggested by many mid-19th century home magazines as an alternative to sewing birds. Rather than fastening onto a table, these weighted pincushions could be used almost anywhere without worrying about a ledge or lip on which it must adhere. Bricks, lead, and even wood could be used to produce these pincushions. If participants wish, they may bring their own base material to cover.
This workshop will go through the techniques of constructing the pincushion using small wood blocks as the base. The techniques learned can be transferred to making a larger pincushion using a different base material. Workshop kits will include wood block, bran, completed bran bag, fabrics need to complete the project including silks for the cover. Participants are welcome to bring their own silks for covers.
Annette Jorgensen
Kit Fee $10
Saturday 2pm Borden Building
Weighted pincushions, also known as a sewing bricks or a brick pincushions, were suggested by many mid-19th century home magazines as an alternative to sewing birds. Rather than fastening onto a table, these weighted pincushions could be used almost anywhere without worrying about a ledge or lip on which it must adhere. Bricks, lead, and even wood could be used to produce these pincushions. If participants wish, they may bring their own base material to cover.
This workshop will go through the techniques of constructing the pincushion using small wood blocks as the base. The techniques learned can be transferred to making a larger pincushion using a different base material. Workshop kits will include wood block, bran, completed bran bag, fabrics need to complete the project including silks for the cover. Participants are welcome to bring their own silks for covers.
1860s Pelerine and Ribbon Sash
Mackenzie Anderson Sholtz
$15 pattern fee
Saturday 2pm Mordecai Historic Park
1860s pelerine will involve a muslin for the size needed for individual. Students will bring their own fashion fabrics. List of supplies will be furnished.
Mackenzie Anderson Sholtz
$15 pattern fee
Saturday 2pm Mordecai Historic Park
1860s pelerine will involve a muslin for the size needed for individual. Students will bring their own fashion fabrics. List of supplies will be furnished.
Gentlemen, Shall We Retire to the Smoking Room
Jackie Jacobs
$40 Kit Fee
Saturday 2pm City of Raleigh Museum
Examine men’s personal accessories used in the “Smoking Room”, and make a Gentleman’s Smoking Cap. Learn a variety of stich types and to how to best put these together by hand. (Pre-embroidered parts available for purchase.)
Jackie Jacobs
$40 Kit Fee
Saturday 2pm City of Raleigh Museum
Examine men’s personal accessories used in the “Smoking Room”, and make a Gentleman’s Smoking Cap. Learn a variety of stich types and to how to best put these together by hand. (Pre-embroidered parts available for purchase.)
Whist, Its Variations, and Paraphernalia for Playing
Matt DiPalma
Saturday 2pm Borden Building
From its origins in 1529, its codified rules in 1728, and its transformation into Bridge by the turn of the 20th century, learn the history of Whist, a popular game during the 18th and 19th centuries. Learn the rules and even try a few hands.
Matt DiPalma
Saturday 2pm Borden Building
From its origins in 1529, its codified rules in 1728, and its transformation into Bridge by the turn of the 20th century, learn the history of Whist, a popular game during the 18th and 19th centuries. Learn the rules and even try a few hands.
A Tale of Two Chemisettes
Mackenzie Anderson Sholtz
$15 pattern fee
Friday 2pm Mordecai Historic Park
Choose from two mid-19th century chemisettes to recreate in your size. List of fabrics and supplies needed for the class will be sent to attendees before the event.
Mackenzie Anderson Sholtz
$15 pattern fee
Friday 2pm Mordecai Historic Park
Choose from two mid-19th century chemisettes to recreate in your size. List of fabrics and supplies needed for the class will be sent to attendees before the event.
Behind the Seams: Exploring the NC Museum of History Permanent Collection-Sold Out
Paige Myers
Friday and Saturday 2pm NCMOH Textile Lab
Join Paige Myers, textile conservator at the NC Museum of History for a behind the scenes tour of the textile conservation lab and textile storage areas. The lab will be laid out with some goodies of men’s and women’s clothing and accessories from the 1830’s through the 1860’s. Here you will get a chance to examine up close these gorgeous items that are part of the museum’s permanent collection. Feel free to ask questions, they love answering them!
Paige Myers
Friday and Saturday 2pm NCMOH Textile Lab
Join Paige Myers, textile conservator at the NC Museum of History for a behind the scenes tour of the textile conservation lab and textile storage areas. The lab will be laid out with some goodies of men’s and women’s clothing and accessories from the 1830’s through the 1860’s. Here you will get a chance to examine up close these gorgeous items that are part of the museum’s permanent collection. Feel free to ask questions, they love answering them!