'Morning dress', September 1842

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Described in the magazine:
Muslin robe: the corsage is made en peignoir, moderately full, high on the back and shoulders, but descending a little in the demi coeur style on the bosom, and encircled with a narrow festooned trimming standing up round the bust. The sleeve is tight at the lower part, but very full at the upper, where it is confined by bouillonné; a lace ruffle finishes it at the hand. The skirt is trimmed with three flounces set on with moderate fulness, and festooned at the edges. Rice-straw bonnet; an oval brim, a little turned up at the edge: the exterior trimmed with rose-coloured feathers and ribbons; the interior with flowers of the same hue. Ceinture of rose ribbon, with long floating ends.

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.

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