12 OF 16

Evening dresses, September 1846

12 of 16 portraits matching these criteria:

- subject matching 'Fashion Plates: Hair - Head-dresses of hair'

published by Elizabeth Henderson, published in The Ladies' Cabinet of Fashion, Music and Romance
hand-coloured etching, published September 1846
7 3/4 in. x 5 in. (198 mm x 128 mm) paper size
acquired unknown source, 1930
Reference Collection
NPG D47979

Artistsback to top

Elizabeth Henderson (active 1839-1847), Publisher. Artist associated with 18 portraits.
The Ladies' Cabinet of Fashion, Music and Romance, Periodical. Artist associated with 70 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Described in the magazine:
No. 7. Oiseau taffeta robe; a very low corsage, trimmed with a pointed berthe of point d'Angleterre; the lace descends en tablier down the front of the skirt, the centre is ornamented with full coques of ribbon. Short sleeve, formed of three lace volants. Cap composed of folds of tulle, put very far back on the head; it is trimmed behind with two falls of lace; the garniture is a double wreath of foliage, with long gerbes of roses mignonnes.
No. 8. India muslin robe; a low corsage. A round berthe composed of three falls of Mechlin lace. Short sleeve, terminated by a single fall. The skirt is decorated with two very deep flounces, beautifully embroidered. Very full breast knot of ruby velvet ribbon. Head-dress of hair arranged in ringlets, and decorated with knots of ruby velvet.

Portrait setback to top

Fashion plates, 1770-1869

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1846back to top

Current affairs

The Conservative Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel divides his own party by repealing the unpopular Corn Laws, which prohibited the import of cheap grain from overseas, viewed by many as causing the famines in Ireland (which peaked in this year), as well as domestic hardships following a bad harvest. Peel, defeated on a separate issue, resigns. The Whig Earl Russell becomes Prime Minister.

Art and science

Ether is used for the first time as anaesthetic in an operation by the dentist William Morton, while surgeon John Collins Warren removes a tumor on a patient's neck.
Edward Lear, the popular humourist and artist, and author of illustrated nonsense verse (including 'The Owl and the Pussycat'), publishes his Book of Nonsense.

International

The first Anglo-Sikh war ends with the Treaty of Lahore, by which Jammu and Kashmir are ceded to the British. The war had been fought between the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab and the British East India Company, with conflict escalating after internal disorder in the Punjab led the East India Company to increase their military presence on the border.

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