Christmas in the 1920s

Christmas as a holiday has continuously evolved over the centuries and decades, but many modern traditions have deeply seated historic roots.  Many Christmas traditions in England and America began during the reign of Queen Victoria who led the British empire from 1837-1901.  After she married Albert of Germany, many German traditions such as decorated Christmas trees became increasingly common in England and soon spread across the ocean to the United States.  Several years ago we wrote about many of the traditions that became stalwarts of Christmas during the Gilded Age (see previous Christmas essays here), but this essay looks forward to the 1920s.  The post WWI world was changing, and new technology brought a new dimension to Christmas celebrations.  But while the United States embraced the new, there was still the tendency to look backward and dream of wholesome Christmases past before the world was torn apart by war.  Christmas was a comfort and communal celebrations of the holiday served as a balm to families (Christian ones, at least) finding their place in a new decade.

Radium, Perms & Painted Knees: Beauty Fads of the 1920s

 With the generous support of the Friends of Mills at Staatsburgh, our site has hosted a research intern from Bard College this summer. Celka Rice, a literature major at Bard, has researched various aspects of 1920s fashion, helping Staatsburgh explore the possibility of presenting accurate costumed interpretation during the 100th anniversary of the Roaring ‘20s. Although Celka’s interdisciplinary studies cover a broad background which include history, anthropology, art history, classics, and photography, the internship called upon another of her diverse interests: her expertise in vintage clothing and fashion history. For her summer project, Celka has researched retail sources for reproduction and vintage clothing, and has written three blogs on fascinating 1920s fashion topics.  This essay, the third, explores a variety of unique beauty fads popularized in the 1920s.

Illustrated by Georges Lepape, Vogue, February 1, 1925

1920s Sporting Attire

 With the generous support of the Friends of Mills at Staatsburgh, our site has hosted a research intern from Bard College this summer. Celka Rice, a literature major at Bard, has researched various aspects of 1920s fashion, helping Staatsburgh explore the possibility of presenting accurate costumed interpretation during the 100th anniversary of the Roaring ‘20s. Although Celka’s interdisciplinary studies cover a broad background which include history, anthropology, art history, classics, and photography, the internship called upon another of her diverse interests: her expertise in vintage clothing and fashion history. For her summer project, Celka has researched retail sources for reproduction and vintage clothing, and has written three blogs on fascinating 1920s fashion topics.  This essay, the second, explores sporting attire in the 1920s.

Gladys Mills Phipps, daughter of Ruth & Ogden Mills, frequently played golf and even won tournaments!
Photo: International News Service, circa 1910s

When (Neo)Classicism Met Modernism: The Ancient Influences that Shaped 1920s Fashion

With the generous support of the Friends of Mills at Staatsburgh, our site has hosted a research intern from Bard College this summer. Celka Rice, a literature major at Bard, has researched various aspects of 1920s fashion, helping Staatsburgh explore the possibility of presenting accurate costumed interpretation during the 100th anniversary of the Roaring ‘20s. Although Celka’s interdisciplinary studies cover a broad background which include history, anthropology, art history, classics, and photography, the internship called upon another of her diverse interests: her expertise in vintage clothing and fashion history. For her summer project, Celka has researched retail sources for reproduction and vintage clothing, and has written three blogs on fascinating 1920s fashion topics.

Blog Author, Celka Rice

Behind the Scenes at Staatsburgh: Recent Conservation Work

Historic sites like Staatsburgh are always a work in progress. For every piece that is conserved, there are several more waiting for treatment! We are consistently striving to conserve and restore the building and the collections.  The New York State Bureau of Historic Sites at Peebles Island oversees the conservation and restoration work of all state historic sites.  They employ a skilled group of experienced conservators who complete this transformative work!  In addition to the conservators, Staatsburgh is very lucky to be supported by the Friends of Mills at Staatsburgh, the site's non-profit friends group, which has raised funds for many of the projects included in this post.

During the month of August, we celebrated some of the recent conservation work done at Staatsburgh by creating #TransformationTuesday posts for Facebook.  This essay will highlight the transformation of five different items in Staatsburgh's collections.  

Little Purple Flowers

From Ruth Mills' dinner parties and Broadway murder trials to French battlefields and President Roosevelt's inaugurations, Marie Louise was fashionable everywhere.

Meet Marie Louise ... no, not her - the flower!
Courtesy of HVNY.

Named for the second wife of Napoleon, the fragrant double Parma "Marie Louise" violet was at the height of fashion for generations during the Gilded Age. From the late-1800s to the mid-1900s, violets were among the world's most popular flowers and the mecca for the little purple flowers was none other than Dutchess County! The stretch of the Hudson Valley from Red Hook down to Poughkeepsie was known as the Violet Belt in the United States, with Rhinebeck - just 10 minutes north of Staatsburgh - the Violet Capital of the World.

Black Iron Under a White Gilding

As part of the site's commemoration of Juneteenth, Staatsburgh's historic interpreter, Zachary Veith, is sharing his ongoing research into the people enslaved by Morgan Lewis. 

Mary. Stephen. Caesar. Belinda. Pompey. Plato. Peter Williams. 

"Anyone who calls themselves an explorer is an invader to someone else - someone is always paying for the gilding" - Alice Proctor [1]

Morgan Lewis, enslaver.

"Ruth's great-grandfather, Morgan Lewis, built Staatsburgh in 1795. He is remembered as the third Governor of New York, a general during the Revolutionary War, and an aide to George Washington. When the original house burnt in 1832, it was rebuilt." 

Edith Wharton's Re-imagining of Staatsburgh

Just as Staatsburgh is a time-capsule of the Gilded Age, the literature from the era provides a lasting insight into the period. In fact, the term 'Gilded Age' comes from the title of an 1873 Mark Twain novel of the same name. Beyond this literary association, the decades following the Civil War produced some of the most famous American authors, including Henry James, W.E.B. Du Bois, Hellen Keller, and Upton Sinclair. Works still widely read today, such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), White Fang (1906), Tarzan of the Apes (1912), and O Pioneers! (1913) were all written during the height of the Gilded Age. However, one author over all others truly captures of the essence of Gilded Age American society: Edith Wharton.

Indomitable Irish Survivors of the Titanic

April’s blog post commemorates the anniversary month of the loss of the Titanic, and also looks back at March, Irish Heritage month, with stories of plucky Irish women who survived the sinking.

 

The Titanic departing from Queenstown, Ireland

Staatsburgh Quiz Night: Titanic-sized Edition

For over a century, the sinking of the RMS Titanic has captured the imagination of the public - but how much do you actually know about the disaster?

The histories of Staatsburgh and the Titanic intersect in several interesting ways, and the ship's story offers many insights into the Gilded Age. Each year, Staatsburgh commemorates the tragedy of the ship's sinking through various programs, informing people about different aspects of the ship and the period in our history so marked by the disaster. On April 9th and 15th, 2021, Staatsburgh staff hosted the newest installment of their long-running quiz series; Staatsburgh Quiz Night: Titanic-sized Edition! Covering three rounds of questions - "The Unsinkable Ship," "The Last Word in Luxury" and "The Most Famous Ship in the World" - guests learned about Titanic, its parallels with Staatsburgh and Hudson Valley connections, and why it still fascinates us today. 

If you missed this month's contest, or want to re-play, the questions and answers are below. For those who want to play along at home, a custom answer sheet can be downloaded, below:

Groundbreaking Gilded Age Women in Politics

The passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 gave some women the right to vote on a federal level, but certainly not all.  As two examples: Native Americans were not allowed to be citizens in 1920, so indigenous women did not gain suffrage as a result. Despite their very active role in fighting for women's suffrage, Black women's right to vote was less clearly secured by the passage of the Amendment, but that did not deter them from advocating consistently for their right and engaging in electoral politics. In some parts of the country, some women had been allowed to vote in local elections long before 1920, and many women ran for office!  Exactly 100 years after the 19th Amendment was ratified, the United States elected the first female vice-president.  Because of this groundbreaking election, and amidst the backdrop of much controversy regarding voting rights in our current day, we want to highlight other women who also achieved political firsts.

Women's Political Union Votes for Women Sash
Photo Credit: Smithsonian Institution

This essay will explore the groundbreaking political campaigns of five different women during this era.  We will explore the first female to legitimately run for president as well as first woman elected to various offices including administrator of a statewide office, mayor, state senator, and US representative.

A Passing Fancy: Gilded Age Crushes

During the month of February, in honor of Valentine's Day, we celebrated some of the many swoon-worthy men and women of the Gilded Age.  These short profiles take a look at four men and four women who captured the attention of Staatsburgh staff.  Originally posted on Staatsburgh's facebook page, we compiled all the posts here to share in a single essay.  

Who is your Gilded Age crush? Without further ado, here are our selections descending by age...

When Ice Came from the River: Ice Harvesting in Staatsburg

Before the invention of electric refrigeration, how did food and perishables keep cold, especially during the warm summer months?  The answer is ice.  Large blocks of ice cut from a river or lake during the winter would keep food items cool all summer.  But how did the ice move from the river into the home?  To answer that question, we must take a look at the ice harvesting industry, which was active throughout much of the north-east coast of the country (as well as inland, in northern states) between the 1830s and 1920s, and which was dominated for several decades by production on the Hudson River and nearby lakes.

Ice harvesting on the Hudson, 1912
Photo: New York State Archives, NYSA_A3045-78_830