Promenade and carriage dress, July 1842

© National Portrait Gallery, London

 Like voting
is closed

Thanks for Liking

Please Like other favourites!
If they inspire you please support our work.

Buy a print Buy a greetings card Make a donation Close

Promenade and carriage dress, July 1842

published by Dobbs & Co, published in The Court Magazine and Monthly Critic and Lady's Magazine and Museum, first published in Le Follet, Courrier des Salons, Journal des Modes
hand-coloured etching, line and stipple engraving, published July 1842
8 1/8 in. x 5 5/8 in. (205 mm x 144 mm) paper size
Acquired, 1930
Reference Collection
NPG D47899

Artistsback to top

This portraitback to top

Described in the magazine:
Dress of lilac barège; the skirt unusually long, and almost forming a train at the back. Corsage à coulisses, made square at the top of the bust, and a piece put in to form the shoulder. Short sleeves of barège made with fullness to match the body, and a long sleeve of white organdi, pretty full and confined with a band at the wrist complete this dress. A narrow lace goes round the corsage at top and finishes the short sleeve: A ruffle of the same falls over the hand. A bow of lilac ribbon with two long ends, is placed in the centre of the waist in front. Capote of primrose-coloured crape, trimmed with green ribbon, a ruche of narrow ribbon, the colour of the capotte, finishes the outer edge. Black silk gloves en filet.
Figure 2 - Redingote of pékin-striped blue and a light shade of brown: the corsage tight and nearly reaching to the throat. Tight sleeves finished at top by a pointed epaulette, which is trimmed with two bias folds of the same material as the dress. The chemisette of lace comes up all round the top of the dress, and ruffles of the same fall over the hand. Hat of apricot colour, poult de soie, with a ruche of the same colour ribbon inside and outside the edge. The trimming consists of a row of bows en échelle, and finished by two ends on the left side. A Voilette of Tulle illusion falls negligently over the crown of the bonnet. Yellow kid gloves. Parasol of Donairière pattern: botteries to match the dress.

Events of 1842back to top

Current affairs

Edwin Chadwick publishes his damning report, Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Poor, which details the shocking living conditions of the urban poor and prompts government to take a new interest in public health issues.
A year-long depression and the rejection of the Chartist petition leads to riots, with workers striking in the Midlands, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and parts of Scotland.

Art and science

Mudie's Lending Library opens, becoming one of the largest circulating libraries in the period. Made popular by the otherwise high cost of books, it exerts a great influence over literature; both by maintaining the more costly 'three decker' novel structure, and acting as moral censor.
Richard Owen, the English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist, coins the term 'dinosaur', combining the Greek words for 'formidable' and 'reptile'.

International

Treaty of Nanjing, which allows China to trade with Britain and lends Hong Kong to the British crown for 150 years. In Afghanistan, the Anglo-Afghan war ends as the British abandon Kabul, withdrawing to India and losing most of their garrison force in the operation with only one member, Dr William Brydon, surviving.

Comments back to top

We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.

If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.