Ball and evening dresses, March 1847

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Ball and evening dresses, March 1847

by Sangar, published by Elizabeth Henderson, published in The Ladies' Cabinet of Fashion, Music and Romance
hand-coloured etching, published March 1847
7 7/8 in. x 4 7/8 in. (199 mm x 123 mm) paper size
Acquired, 1930
Reference Collection
NPG D47966

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Described in the magazine:
No. 1. Ball Dress. Spotted tulle robe over white satin; a very low, round corsage and berthe of the same, cleft in the centre and on the shoulders; it is encircled by a broad hem, through which pink ribbon is run, and the openings are ornamented with flowers. There are three skirts, each cleft in front to correspond with the berthe, and similarly decorated. Head-dress of hair, ornamented with flowers corresponding with those on the dress.
No. 2. Evening Dress. Black lace robe, over red lilac satin; a low, tight corsage, and short sleeves. Groseille velvet coin de Feu, lined and trimmed with ermine; the corsage is high at the back, but very open in front, and the skirt very short; it is trimmed all round with a broad band of ermine. Long, and rather wide sleeve, with an ermine cuff. Head-dress of hair, decorated à la Marie Stuart with pearls.

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Current affairs

The 10 Hours Factory Act passed, regulating working hours for women and children under the age of eighteen to a maximum of ten hours a day.
The Communist League is founded in London, and drew up a set of rules and aims, including overthrowing the bourgeoisie and empowering the Proleteriat, and ending class division, forming the basis of Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto (1848).}
Death and emigration resulting from starvation, plague and disease during worst year of the Great Famine in Ireland, known as Black 47.

Art and science

A good year for novels: Emily Bronte's passionate, rebellious and gothic Wuthering Heightsis published, followed shortly by her sister Charlotte's 'Jane Eyre, a story of a governess's struggle for liberty from social and gender constrictions. Drawing on a similar vein of revolution and rebellious women, William Thackeray's satirical novel Vanity Fair is serialised.

International


The Don Pacifico affair sparks an international incident, when the Jewish trader's business was burned in an anti-semitic attack in Athens. When the Greek government refused to compensate him, Gibraltar-born Pacifico appealed to the British government. Foreign Minister Palmerston sent a squadron into the Aegean in 1850 to seize goods of the equivalent value, leading to strained relations with Turkey and Russia, and heated debates in Parliament.

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