Costuming information
Sent to us by Judith Peebles, via Louise Kirk (thanks!)
Lots of photos of extant garments.
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~ulrich/19cdress/50s-60s.htm
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Merchants provided not only provisions and necessities, but also news for miners. Many kept current by reading from their stock of newspapers, books and periodicals. Daily transactions familiarized them with neighborhood and domestic affairs, while travels or contacts with wholesalers made most proprietors aware of more distant events. California merchants were well informed and respected, although not always agreed with.
Going to the store to purchase groceries, supplies and other merchandise was not the quick procedure of today. It was commonly a social occasion. Individuals came to argue politics, exchange gossip, gamble and share each others company. Leisure hours were spent in stores as a form of recreation and most proprietors accommodated them although at times loafers could be a problem.
Some storekeepers served the community as postmasters or express agents. Alonzo Delano described the letter keepers importance to those individuals away from their families during the Gold Rush: "The trader is the general receptacle of news, either as an express agent, or from his position in seeing more of the wandering Esaus from the valley, and the miner sends through him to th epost office, his hopes, his fears, his love, the whole outpouring of his very soul, written in burning words, to those who are dearer to him than all the world, and for whose sake he exiles himself, or receives through the same channel, with a glistenting eye, the long, long, expected letter from HOME."
With American currency scarce in California, merchants had to be well informed on financial matters. They had to understand the exchange value of: gold, foreign coins, bank notes from other communities, and different commodities. This was especially true in the years before banks became well established.
Undoubtedly, a merchant's attire reflected his personal background and traditions, whether a Californio, from the Eastern Seaboard, France, Chile, or elsewhere. During the Gold Rush, Englishman J.D. Borthwick noted how different nationalities could be determined by their clothing: "The Mexicans were very numerous, and wore their national costume--the bright colored serape thrown gracefully over the left shoulder, with rows of silver buttons down the outside of their trousers, which were generally left open, so as to show the loose white drawers underneath, and the silver-handled bowie-knife in the stamped leather leggins. Englishmen seemed to adhere to the shooting-coat style of dress, and the down-east Yankees to their eternal black dress-coat, black pantaloons, and black satin waistcoat; while New Yorkers, Southerners, and Frenchmen, came out in the latest Paris fashions."
-- From The Old Town San Diego Retailer's reference and Historic Account Book or, Advice for Merchants Re-creating a c.1835-1872 Store
Going to the store to purchase groceries, supplies and other merchandise was not the quick procedure of today. It was commonly a social occasion. Individuals came to argue politics, exchange gossip, gamble and share each others company. Leisure hours were spent in stores as a form of recreation and most proprietors accommodated them although at times loafers could be a problem.
Some storekeepers served the community as postmasters or express agents. Alonzo Delano described the letter keepers importance to those individuals away from their families during the Gold Rush: "The trader is the general receptacle of news, either as an express agent, or from his position in seeing more of the wandering Esaus from the valley, and the miner sends through him to th epost office, his hopes, his fears, his love, the whole outpouring of his very soul, written in burning words, to those who are dearer to him than all the world, and for whose sake he exiles himself, or receives through the same channel, with a glistenting eye, the long, long, expected letter from HOME."
With American currency scarce in California, merchants had to be well informed on financial matters. They had to understand the exchange value of: gold, foreign coins, bank notes from other communities, and different commodities. This was especially true in the years before banks became well established.
Undoubtedly, a merchant's attire reflected his personal background and traditions, whether a Californio, from the Eastern Seaboard, France, Chile, or elsewhere. During the Gold Rush, Englishman J.D. Borthwick noted how different nationalities could be determined by their clothing: "The Mexicans were very numerous, and wore their national costume--the bright colored serape thrown gracefully over the left shoulder, with rows of silver buttons down the outside of their trousers, which were generally left open, so as to show the loose white drawers underneath, and the silver-handled bowie-knife in the stamped leather leggins. Englishmen seemed to adhere to the shooting-coat style of dress, and the down-east Yankees to their eternal black dress-coat, black pantaloons, and black satin waistcoat; while New Yorkers, Southerners, and Frenchmen, came out in the latest Paris fashions."
-- From The Old Town San Diego Retailer's reference and Historic Account Book or, Advice for Merchants Re-creating a c.1835-1872 Store
"The above illustration will be recognized as a correct Post-Office scene upon the arrival of mails from the Atlantic. An interval of two weeks elapsing from the arrival of one mail to another, creates an anxiety to hear from home that can scarcely be comprehended by other than residents of California. At an early hour of the morning on which it is announced the mails will be ready for delivery, anxious faces commence forming in the lines leading to the different deliveries, and by 8 o'clock the whole interior of the spacious building is completely jammed with persons, as well as the streets adjoining. The letters are generally delivered with all possible dispatch, yet evening will often find the different lines but little shortened; and the RUSH sometimes continues for three days.
Persons in the Atlantic States will readily understand the disappointment a friend here experiences at being told at the window, after undergoing for three or four hours the persecution of being jammed and jostled by an anxious crowd, exposed to a burning sun or the freezing and disagreeable winds which at seasons sweep round the corners of our streets carrying with them clouds of dust--yes, at being told by the clerk that there is nothing for him. The announcement falls harshly upon his ear, and with the speed of thought settles upon his countenance a shade of gloom and disappointment. On the other hand, should a letter be handed him, it is refreshing to note the gleam of joy that sparkles in his eyes, and the smile of thankfulness that beams upon his face, as he places the sacred epistle in his pocket, and walks hurredly away. Friends in the Atlantic States, could they but for a moment witness the scene so perfectly represented by the artist in the sketch above, and watch the anxiety depicted in the features of each figure slowly working his way to the delivery, we think they would be more punctual in their correspondence, for it would be no pleasing sight to notice the disappointment of a husband, a father, a brother or a friend, caused perhaps, by their negligence. "
Published by LELAND & McCOMBE. Post Office, Building, San Francisco Engraved expressly for the Publishers by Anthony & Baker. [1854]
From the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist10/postoffice.html
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