Dancing and evening costumes, February 1843

This portraitback to top

Described in Le Follet, Courrier des Salons, Journal des Modes, Court Magazine and Museum on 1 February:
First or standing figure. Dress of blue satin ornamented with montants en chenille; the corsage is décolleté; the sleeves are short at the shoulder and à la religieuse at the elbow. Black cashmere turban with a deep rich torsade fringe.
Second or standing [sitting] figure. Dress of rose satin, corsage low in the neck, half high sleeves; kid gloves; satin shoes.

Events of 1843back to top

Current affairs

Sir Henry Cole commissions 1,000 copies of the first Christmas card, designed by John Callcott Horsley. Cole would later be instrumental in staging the Great Exhibition, and in developing science and art education in Britain.
Nelson's statue, by E.H. Bailey, is placed on top of its column in Trafalgar Square.

Art and science

The Theatre Regulations Act is passed, abolishing the privileged position of the 'major' theatres which held letters patent from the crown, allowing all theatres to perform 'legitimate' theatre.
First volume of Ruskin's Modern Painters published, praising Turner and demanding that artists should demonstrate 'truth to nature' in their work. Ruskin is a great inspiration to the Pre-Raphaelites.

International

The first experimental telegraph wire is constructed between Baltimore and Washington, using Morse code to send a message. The code, in which pulses of current deflect an electromagnet, moving a marker and producing written codes on a strip of paper, had been invented by Samuel Morse in 1838. The line officially opens in 1844.

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