VICTORIAN and TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY  LADIES

their fashions and their jewelry


 

   An enchanting look at Victorian fashions, jewelry and hairstyles is found in carte de vistas. These wonderful old photos illustrate how jewelry was worn and how it coordinated with the styles of the time.

Click on each picture for a larger view.
 

   A starburst brooch centers the high neckline of her costume. Note her wonderful "specs"!

      VICTORIAN lady wearing a broad brimmed hat with sailor style outfit. Size 3-1/3" by 5-1/2" marked "Kopke, 479 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY, established 1880" and hand written date 1902.

      VICTORIAN lady in lovely feathered hat. The the face of the north wind ornaments the chair in which she poses. Photo is 6" by 8", deckled edge and mounted behind tissue in an embossed folder from "F. A. Webster, Oakland, Cal.". Signed in pencil "Webster, 1902". 

    Black lace and many feathers make this a dressy look in fashion. Her sentimental locket completes the ensemble.

Seed pearl starburst brooch, circa 1900.  #Q22923

  CAMEOS are such classic beauties. This one has tiny pink enameled butterflies on the corners of the filigree frame.  View   #U14728    

SEARS Catalogue 1897
Ladies Hats,  Page 301

  VICTORIAN locket with acorn and leaf motif, 1-1/2" long. (The acorn is a symbol of fertility and immortality). Note one small "beads" of gold has broken off the bottom of the acorn, hard to see without a loupe.   View  #V23363

  VICTORIAN lady wearing a hat decorated with ostrich feathers.   Dressed all in black, the feathers curl attractively around her face. Cabinet card with no markings.

  VICTORIAN lady wearing a hat with feathers and a rhinestone buckle, as well as artificial flowers on her bodice. Note the tiny bird pin on the underside of her hat.  Photo mounted on heavy cardboard with embossed frame design, 4-1/2" by 9-1/4".

   VICTORIAN lady with fancy feathered hate and gold bar pin.  Bar pins came in many styles and sizes, and were a staple of the jewelry wardrobe. Carte de viste marked "Peterson & Co., Tracy, Minn.". 

   Heat-curled feathers decorate this elegant hat.

VICTORIAN TIFFANY black ostrich feather fan with tortoise ribs.   #V14626

    EAGLES SASH PIN leaves and eagles decorate this 3-1/8" by 2-1/2" oval in gold tone sash pin …  now this *is* unusual!   VIEW    #i17160

 VICTORIAN  bar pin, gold tone with black enameling, 2-1/2", watch loop.   View   #V23225 

   FEATHER heat curled hat ornament.    View

   Brooches in the crescent moon motif sustained their popularity from the late 1800's into the early 1900's.

     VICTORIAN lady wearing a portrait brooch and a watch chain with a ring as an ornament. Cabinet card size 4-1/4" by 6-1/2" marked on the front "Younge, Over Glenn's, Franklin Square, Utica, NY".   View

    VICTORIAN lady wearing a portrait brooch and watch chain. Cabinet Card size 4-1/4" by 6-1/2" marked "Jacoby, Minneapolis" on the front.

  VICTORIAN lady wearing a portrait brooch, cut steel buttons and diamond earrings. Cabinet card size 4-1/4" by 6-1/2", marked "J. O. Herbert, Grand Rapids, Wis."

  Enameled SHAMROCK and seed pearls pin.   #Q12737

      WATCH chain. men's 11" with slide.  #V23375

   PORTRAIT 2-1/8" brooch hand painted on porcelain in a twisted gold tone setting. This is the same portrait brooch worn by the lady in the photo shown above.    View   #V23717

  VICTORIAN portrait brooch, 2-1/2". This lady dressed in plum is delicately hand painted on a porcelain disk set into a twisted gold filled setting. Notice the detail of the feather in her hat.   View   #V22943  

   VICTORIAN lady wearing a long chain with an ornamented slide and a brooch at her neck.

  VICTORIAN lady wearing a slide necklace, earrings and a lace pin.

   VICTORIAN lady wearing a hair chain with an engraved gold fob as an ornament, both of which are suspended from a watch pin at her neckline.

     VICTORIAN lady wearing her gold cross pendant and jet earbobs.

  VICTORIAN ENGLISH  "Souvenir from John O Groats" seashells  2-inch oval brooch. This is a delight, with each tiny seashell pronged in place.   View    #V18652

SLIDE CHAIN gold filled watch slide with opal on one side and engraved initials on the other, maker's mark Y&S on hook, 48".   View   View   #Q29747  

  VICTORIAN 375 (9 ct) hair 14" watch chain with fob engraved with initials and marked "WA .375".  View   #V21554

   14k VICTORIAN crucifix 2" by 1-1/3" on a new 14k 14" chain.   View   #V6606

  VICTORIAN lady in white blouse with tiny tucks and wearing a watch on a slide chain. Cabinet card 4-1/8" by 6-1/2".  

  VICTORIAN lady wearing a portrait brooch and pendant watch. Cabinet card in folder marked, "Miller, Union Block, Mt. Vernon, O." and hand written in red ink on front, "Alta Woodruff Houk, age 18".   View

 Closer View

A horseshoe stick pin adorns her high collar, and her slide chain connects to a tiny brooch from which her watch is suspended.

  ELGIN lady's open face 14 karat gold pocket watch engraved with the initials "AJK", my grandmother's.  View   #w20423

CINER  Deco black enamel and marcasite lapel watch, which would be worn upside-down from how it is shown in the picture. It is hinged, so that the wearer could tip it up to read the time.   View   View    #w16430

  LADY'S 14 karat gold pocket watch with wonderful floral and ribbon enameling on the case.  View    View    #w18611

   VICTORIAN 9 carat flip fob of agate and carnelian.  View  #V23421

       VICTORIAN lady wearing an insect hair pick, a gold filled bar brooch, a watch chain and an elegant suit. Cabinet card marked "Gillmore & McIntyre, 1887, Successors to Wright, Putnam, Conn., Landscape & Portrait Artists".

   Glass beads outline the collar of this jacket and underblouse. A miser's purse would have made a nice accent to this lovely outfit.

 Lockets were and are a sentimental favorite that never go out of style.

   A lace jabot is the perfect background for jewelry.

   VICTORIAN 14k bar pin, 2". It looks like a "nanny" pin, but does not open that I can see.   View   #V22953

   BEADED miser's purse, knitted ivory color cut steel bead work and fringe. The different fringes on each end made it easier to determine which end of the bag held which items.  #P20958

    LOCKET FNC heavier round 1-5/8" locket engraved "EHJ", with 17" chain.  #Y8663

   VICTORIAN  gold filled watch pin initials "GA" engraved on the back, 1-1/4".  View   #V22942

    VICTORIAN lady wearing pearl necklace and watch chain with coin fob. Cabinet card marked, "Hamlin, Casselton, N. Dak.".   View  

 The fob is probably engraved with sentimental initials.

     VICTORIAN girl wearing a pendant watch. Cabinet card marked, "Cronyn & Co., Tracy, Minn.", 4-1/2" by 6-1/2".   View

  An elegant outfit is completed with a matching umbrella.  

VICTORIAN sterling coins charm bracelet. The 1880's coins were etched and decorated by hand to create floral motifs and initials. Pieces like this are often called "sweetheart jewelry", the idea being that sailors did these on board their ships to bring back to their sweethearts. They were used as charms for bracelets, as well as ornaments for watch fobs.  View   View    View   View    View    View    #V20197 

   VICTORIAN watch chain and button engraved "JL",  8" long.  #V10934

   ELGIN lady's open face 14 karat gold pocket watch engraved with the initials "AJK", my grandmother's.  View   #w20423

   VICTORIAN black lace parasol with hand carved wooden handle and crochet covered decorative tassels.  The black floral LACE is delicate and in excellent condition.   TASSELS are crochet-covered, and the wooden handle is all hand carved with a foliate design.  View   View

    High necked blouses and upswept hairdos were a feminine look for the early 1900's.

  Dainty lavalieres are seen in many photographs of the early 1900's.

  Sentimental hair locket may have contained the hair of a sweetheart.

  Her Czech style necklace was typical of the early 1900's.

     EDWARDIAN 10K and seed pearl delicate Edwardian 16" necklace. This has been treasured for many years and is in magnificent condition, and is so flattering to wear.   View   View   #Q20325

    LAVALIERE ruby and pearl.  #Q22924
LAVALIERE sapphire, diamond and pearl.   #Q22925
LAVALIERE diamond and seed pearl.  #Q22926

  VICTORIAN  gold filled hair 3/4" pendant on 17-1/2" chain.    #V15460

     CZECH red opaque glass bead necklace.  View  #Q19788  

  A bustle exaggerates the back line of this wonderful dress. She might have worn a chatelaine at her waist. Circa 1885.

  Corset stays made this wasp-waisted dress possible, and the draping watch chain highlights her small waist, circa 1880.

   In addition to her decorative belt buckle, this lady wears a long chain and hair earrings made in the shape of acorns.

   A lovely small waist is ornamented with a striped belt and fancy buckle or sash pin.

   CHATELAINE    the mirror is hallmarked Birmingham 1904-05, maker's mark C&N; the pencil holder is marked Chester 1902-3; the match safe is engraved with the initials "HHA"; the envelope-shaped stamp holder is hallmarked Birmingham 1977. The length from top to bottom is 9".   View   View   View    View    #V20954

   VICTORIAN 18k hair brooch/pendant, oval with braided hair in two blonde colors, hair back, 2" wide.  View   #V18982

   BUCKLE 3" by 2-1/3" clear rhinestones circa 1900.  View   #i14737

   SASH pin with a serpent curling around an amethyst-colored rhinestone. It is 3" wide and has the older style c-clasp.   VIEW    #i16557

  Could she wear more jewelry? Multiple bracelets and rings are shown to their best advantage by her pose.   View

    Reclining ladies pose at an outdoor picnic wear simple jewelry, including the often seen bar pins.

  A lovely flowing hand appliquéd and beaded dress accented with a simple strand of pearls and a gold bangle on her wrist.

  The gentleman prominently wears his draped watch chains with fobs.

 VICTORIAN agate bracelet with an engraved plaque that says, "AR Clothier. 111 London. Rd. Chippenham. WRCD 47/2". Perhaps an advertising piece?  View   View   View   View   #23382

    VICTORIAN carved ivory name brooch "Jane".   View   #V23463

   14 and 18 KARAT gold BANGLES with diamonds, rubies, amethysts, and garnets.

   BRACELET made up of smaller watch fobs, 7-1/2" long.   #Q22940 

  Wedding pictures are always so solemn! Dressed in their very best, the clothing was often practical so that it could be worn again.

  My husband's grandparents wedding picture. Note the lovely wicker chair.

  Wedding clothing was often hand-made for the occasion.

    Flower bedecked family standing in a beautifully decorated room.

  10k GOLD wedding band size 8-1/2.  #G23204

  VICTORIAN  14k gold ring with three gypsy-set diamonds, size 9-3/4.   View    #G21499

  10k diamond yellow gold filigree ring, size 6-1/4. This ring is 3/4" from top to bottom across the front face of the ring, and about 5-8" wide.  #G17545

   VICTORIAN 14k ring with hair woven inside, size 7-1/4.  View   #V15458

     Wedding pictures are a wonderful remembrance of a special day.

  VICTORIAN cabinet card of two lovely ladies wearing watches on slide chains, 4-1/8" by 6-1/2".   View

 This solemn couple wear watch chains and fobs. Her watch chain sports a tiny slide.  His fob is a typical barrel shape.

     Her long chain probably held a lorgnette at the end.

 VICTORIAN HAIR RING   14k with seed pearls surrounding woven hair under a crystal, size 4, circa 1880.  View    View    View   #V17771

   UNGER sterling lady face lorgnette, 4-3/4" by 1-1/2".   View    View    #L14745

  Lovely long hair pulled back by a huge satin bow.

    Children's pictures of the era were often very sentimental.

  The sisters playing with their dolls in this picture are the same sisters shown in the photo brooch below, my maternal grandmother and her sister.

  Loving flowers girls carry softly shurred purses that match their dresses.

  My favorite Aunt Sissie, circa 1910.   View

  My very bearded great great grandfather, circa 1870.   View 

  Great Aunt Mary and my Grandmother Agnes as young girls, circa 1890.   View

  Photo brooch of three of my Victorian-era uncles.   View

   This is is a picture of jewelers working in an old jewelry factory. It makes me want to walk right into the picture and see what pieces of jewelry they are making!
View