The Gowns of Goodwood

Gowns of Goodwood

The Art of Dressing

Fashions from 1830-1930

Julia Stevens Croom (born 1815), sister-in-law of the first
family of Goodwood, Bryan & Eveline Croom.

Goodwood Museum & Gardens is fortunate to be the repository of over 150 years of fashionable gowns.  From 1837 to 1990, five families have lived at Goodwood and their gowns are represented in this exhibition.  The exhibition traces fashion styles that span important eras in American History:  the Romantic Era, the Civil War Era, the Gilded Age, the Edwardian Era, the Civil War Era, the Gilded Age, the Edwardian Era, the Great War Period, the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression Era.  

Like all art, fashion represents time and place.  The social and political changes in our country's past are reflected in the evolution of the gowns and accessories shown in the exhibition.  The viewer will note that fashion styles changed radically over these 100 years.

In the late 19th century, industrialization brought profound changes to the fashion industry.  Mass production of garments became the norm and department stores sprang up across America, giving access to lower-priced garments for ladies.

As you view the exhibit, note the influence of industrialization on style and design.  Buttons are replaced by zippers; cotton and silk are replaced by rayon.  Designers fashioned free flowing unencumbered gowns, freeing ladies of corsets and hoop skirts.  

Additional Resources:
Vintage Fashion Guild's "Fashion Time Line" from 1810-1970
Glamour Daze's Short History of Women's Fashion--1900 to 1969
American Textile History Museum

Chicago History Museum:  Costumes & Textiles

Jergens Royal Perfume Violet

In our collection is a perfume bottle that once contained Jergens Royal Perfume Violet.  This bottle may have belonged to either Eva Hodges or Margaret Hodges.

J.J. Hodges, Eva Hodges, and William Cabot Hodges, early 1900s

Jergens founded in 1882 by Andrew Jergens of Cincinnati, Ohio. The company bought out Eastman Royal Perfumes in 1901. The company was purchased by American Brands in 1970.  Today the parent company of Jergens is Kao, founded in 1887 in Japan.  For a history of the company...

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Jergens.  I bet she smelled sweet.

To see an 1918 advertisement for Royal Perfumes...

The Royal Perfume line was launched in 1910.  The company specialized in unique perfume names.  Other Jergens Perfumes from that year were Ponce de Leon, Pretty Pink Perfume, Queen of Hearts, Rose of Killarney, Scotch Thistle, St. Regis, Wild Grape Blossom, and Yutopia.

The Violet scent featured in a number of Jergens products:  Chloris Violet (1904), Panama Violet (1908), Normandy Violette (1918), Violet (1925), Violet Mt. Blanc (1925), Violette d'Orleans (1925), Violette de Lorme (1925, Violette de Saville (1925) and Violette Petals (1925).

Mellier's Honeysuckle

Eva M. (Parker) Hodges was born in Garden Plain, IL, 1853.
She was the mother of Sen. William Cabot Hodge.
She lived at Goodwood with her son and daughter-in-law
from 1925 until her death in 1939.

From the perfume bottle collection:  Mellier's Honeysuckle, New York, St. Louis.  This perfume probably belonged to Eva Hodges.

Mellier's was a pharmacy.  Very little information is available regarding the founder.  The pharmacy was bought out in 1892 by Maurice W. Alexander, who already had a highly successful pharmacy in St. Louis. Alexander's pharmacy had a line of colognes in the 1870s and it is possible that the line continued on under the Mellier name. The Honeysuckle fragrance was launched in 1899. For more on the use of Honeysuckle in perfumes...

Mellier's had a number of interesting perfumes including Dewey Bouquet (1898, named after Admiral Dewey), Florita (1899), Espanita (1900), Essence of Jamaica Ginger (1900), Tongaline (1900), American Beauty (1908), and Ping Pong (1910).  

Mellier's "High Class" Perfumes postcard

Old English Lavender by Yardley

Among the perfume bottles in our collection is Yardley's Old English Lavender.  This perfume likely belonged to either Margaret Hodges Hood or her mother-in-law, Eva Hodges.

Lavandula Augustifolia

Yardley is the world's oldest cosmetics company.  It was begun in 1770 and was a major producer of soap and cosmetics by the 20th century.  The perfume Old English Lavender was launched in 1813 and seems to have been discontinued by 1934.  Yardley is still known for their lavender fragrances.  The newer line, English Lavender, has been in production since 1873. While I can find no description of the Old English Lavender, other than "sweet and discrete", today's English Lavender line, considered Yardley's signature scent, combines "lavender leaves, neroli and clary sage with a heart of lavender oil and geranium, enhanced with deeper notes of tonka bean and sandalwood."  According to Yardley, the lavender they have used since the 1930s is Lavandula Augustifolia.  

1924

1931 French ad
"Partout avec l'Elegance"
Everywhere with Elegance

Bellogia Caron

Countdown for the Gowns of Goodwood exhibit (April 4-June 5).  This begins a series on the scents which graced the ladies who wore the gowns:

Based on the number of bottles in our collection, Bellodgia Caron appears to have been a favorite perfume of Margaret Hodges.  Formulated by the perfumer Ernest Daltroff, it first appeared on the market in 1927.  The inspiration for this perfume was the quaint Italian town of Bellagio, "The Pearl of Lake Como."  It is described as having top notes of carnation and rose; middle notes of jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and violet; base notes of musk, clove, vanilla and sandalwood.  Caron is now owned by the Ales Group and a reformulated version is still available for purchase (the bottle is unchanged after all these years).  The scent is described by Caron as "warm and lively... evocative of a field of carnations drenched in sunlight, punctuated here and there with roses, jasmine, violet, and lily of the valley... a shard of light stolen from the simmering Italian sun..."  Interestingly, this oriental perfume, inspired by an Italian town, was created by a Russian perfumer for a Parisian company and marketed to American women.

1926 advertisement for Bellodgia Caron perfume:
"latest creation of Caron of Paris"

1947 advertisement:  "Fleurs de Rocaille:
Bellodgia Parfume de Caron"

1960 advertisement, "subtly distinctive"

1961 Advertisement, "The Greatest Name in Perfume"
Caron Bellodgia

More Remedies & Recipes

More remedies* & recipes from the scrapbook.  This book appears to date from the late 1800s to the early 1900s and may have belonged to Clara Wilson, Margaret Hodges Hood's mother.  The Home Circle Magazine that many of the articles appear to have been clipped from was in circulation from about the 1850s until at least the 1930s.

*I do not recommend that anyone try these at home.

For Hoarseness

A flannel dipped in boiling water and sprinkled with turpentine and placed on the chest at beginning of cold or hoarseness will give relief.

For Disinfectant

Iodine is a poison and for external use only.  Diluted with an equal quantity of alcohol it makes an excellent disinfectant for wounds and sores.

For Cramps

For cramps in leg, wring a cloth out of hot water and rub well with toilet or laundry soap.  Tie around leg at knee and cover with another cloth.  Texas Girl, Brownfield, Texas.

For Tonsillitis

Dissolve two teaspoons of table salt in one glass of vinegar and use as a gargle for throat.  If vinegar is too strong, dilute with a little water. Use every fifteen or twenty minutes and gargle at least twice each time.  Sulphur is also very good to put in the throat after gargling.  A Sister, Lansing, Mich.

For Head Aches, Deafness, etc...

Will the sister who is troubled with head aches and others who are beginning to get deaf try this.  Five drops of tincture of iodine in a glass of lukewarm water to which one-half teaspoon of salt has been added.  Use as a gargle and to inhale through nostrils.  This is a cure for all nasal troubles, sore throats and colds.  For sore throats use as a gargle only.  If it causes a smarting sensation, too much salt has been used.  Edna O. Baker, Wales, Mass.

Sores on Mouth

Use polk berries as a wash.  Mrs. T.B McClure, Neola, Mo.

For Tired Eyes

Lay on eyes a cloth that has been wet in hot solution of boric acid water.

For Kidney Troubles

Make a strong tea of button willow and drink several times during the day.

For Bruise or Insect Bite

Mix clay with egg and vinegar to a paste, place on thin cloth and apply to injured part.  When poultice gets dry, moisten with vinegar.

For Ear-Ache

 Fill a medicine dropper with fresh warm milk and drop into affected ear.  Hold head to one side a minute, then throw back to opposite side.  Wrap head or put cotton in ear and lie down a few minutes.  Soon the buzzing sound and ear-ache will be gone.  Mrs. Harry Torrenga, Hebron, Ill.

How to Remove Ink from Woollens

Mrs. S.J., Guilford Co., N.C.--Please tell me how to remove ink from woolens.  Diluted acids do not injure the fiber so lemon juice, dilute oxalic or dilute hydrochloric acids may be used for ink and iron rusts.  

Furniture Polish

G.F., Putnam Co., Tenn.--Please give me a tried and true recipe for home-made furniture polish.  A very simple polish is made by mixing 1 part raw linseed oil with two parts turpentine and adding a little melted beeswax if desired.

To Remove Cataract of Eye*

Take fresh unsalted butter, melt and use just warm.  Lie on one side, the affected eye downward, let some one drop the melted butter into the upper most ear.  Lie still a few minutes until the oil has a chance to sink in. Begin with 3 drops first nigh, 4 drops second night, 5 drops the third night then miss 3 nights and continue for the next three nights, with 6-7-8 drops, again miss 3 nights, then go on with 9-10-11 drops.  If necessary to repeat performance, wait a week and then begin again.  It should be a sure cure.  In severe cases, it requires longer.

Red-Pepper Hash

15 medium-size onions; 24 sweet red peppers; 3 hot peppers; 2 small heads cabbage; 3 tablespoons salt; 2 tablespoons celery seed; 2 tablespoons white mustard seed; 1 1/2 cups sugar; 2 1/2 pints vinegar.  Remove seeds from peppers, and chop or run through grinder along with onions and cabbage.  Add other ingredients, mix well together, and heat until mixture boils.  Seal in sterile jars.  Miss L.H.

*This cataract remedy appears at least twice in the scrapbook.  I wonder if she ever tried it?  It sounds messy.  In another clipping, a reader asks:  "I am very anxious and have several friends who also wish to see repeated that old-time remedy for eye-film or cataract--the one containing unsalted butter I mean, especially, but shall be most grateful for any aid in overcoming this complaint.  Will you not do this?  I shall be most grateful, and will be careful not to lose the precious paper containing the reproduction as I did this one.  Sister Helena.  Altoona, Pennsylvania."

Remedies & Recipes

We have in our collection a fabulous scrapbook with all kinds of newspaper clippings mostly pertaining to remedies and recipies.  This could have belonged Margaret Hodges' mother, Clara Idella Wilson (1832-1945).   Some of the clippings come from Home Circle Magazine, which was in print from the 1850s until at least the 1930s.   A few eno means do I endorse trying them out.  Brace yourself for a few posts on this scrapbook.  I am completely fascinated!  A few examples* follow, all from the first two pages of the book.  

*I share these remedies out of historical interest and by no means do I endorse trying them out.  

For Diptheria

Roast an onion with sulphur in it, squeeze out juice, give the juice, bind onion on the throat and give sage tea made into syrup with honey and give honey and salts often.  I would like letters as I am lonely, my husband died three years ago and I live with my two boys on a small farm.  I wish those who are successful with chickens would write:  Mrs. Rettie Garman, Cork, KY

For Cataract of the Eye & Asthma

Dear Mrs. Helm:  Here are two simple and harmless remedies for cataract of the eye.  The Mexican remedy is put a drop of the milk from the cocoanut in the eye.  It cuts the cataract.  The other is 1 drop of honey three times a day, and that also cuts the cataract.  Will you please publish these, as I see by the magazine some one is looking for a remedy.  Wild plum bark, made into a tea and drinking three cups a day will cure asthma.  Take it for 6 weeks.  Mrs. H. Heide, San Francisco, Cal.

Seed Beer

One-half cupful of pearl barley and one-half cup of molasses or dark brown sugar to each part water.  Put these into a jar and cork tightly.  Set in a warm place for twenty-four hours and it will be ready for use.  The seed multiply rapidly.  After the seed are formed you need only the syrup and water to make a new supply.  It should be strained before drinking.

For Tonsillitis

Here is a sure cure for tonsillitis.  I was given up and went to an Herb Doctor who gave me a handful of Sage and some Sumach Berries.  I made a strong tea of these and gargled the throat with it, making two teas and using one an hour after the other.  After using this 10 hours, bathe the throat with Sassafrass Oil to take the swelling down.  I have told several about it, and they laughed and through it foolish but it did work.  Writes J.E.G., Redlands, Calif.

For Hair-Restorer

Here is a formula for hair-restorer which has been used for more than fifty years.  Three ounces each of glycerine and bay-rum, one-half ounce of lac sulphur, five drops of bergamot and one quart of boiled water.  Use as a hair-dressing every day until the hair is restored to former color, and then about twice a week.  This is not a dye, but restores the hair to the original color, and used as directed will keep it that way.  Mrs. L.N., Maiden, Missouri.

For Warts

To Sister Mollie, who asked about those willow-ashes for warts, let me offer another simple remedy which I have proved good.  I had a wart the size of a dime on my thumb and every time I bumped it against something, or played the piano, or did typing it hurt so that I wanted to cry.  I tried everything I could learn of to no avail.  I tried every doctor who put nitric acid on it, and all used the electric needle, but it just wouldn't go away.  Finally, in accordance with my aunt's suggestion, I cut a hole in a lemon and would put my thumb in every few minutes for a few days.  In a week the wart disappeared and has never returned:  this was nearly two years ago.  If the wart is where you cannot treat it in just this way, cut a piece of lemon, apply to the wart and tie up for two or three nights, or until the cure is effected.  Mrs. E.H.B., Omaha, Neb.

For Corns

Have any of you ever suffered with corns on, or between toes, a good relief for that is to make a grease with salicylic acid, and apply twice a day on the corn until you kill it, then it will come off when you soak your feet.  Miss Amelia Vidrine, Ville Platte, Louisiana.

For Rheumatism of the Bone

Dear Mrs. Helm:  I have read Home Circle for years and find the Homemakers Club the best ever.  I want to pass on a tried and true remedy for rheumatism of the bone.  My husband suffered for years with his right arm and is as free of pain now as ever, due to this remedy alone.  Dig a large polk root and wash, put in the stove and bake till soft.  Cut it open down one side and mash the inside until it is smooth and soft.  Then bind to the palm (inside) of the hand where the pain is in the arm; this will draw very hard and soon relieve the most severe case of rheumatism in a short time.  If the pain is in the leg apply the same poultice to the bottom of the foot.  Mrs. Melvina Presnell, Matney, North Carolina.

Grandmother's Ginger Cookies

One-half cup shortening; 1 cup brown sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cup molasses; 1 teaspoon ginger; 1 egg, 1 teaspoon soda; 1 cup sour milk; 4 1/2 cups pastry flour.  Cream shortening, sugar and salt.  Add other ingredients in order given with soda dissolved in sour milk.  Mix thoroughly; drop by spoonfuls on baking pan and bake in a medium oven. (50 cookies). 

Crisps Butter Cookies

1 cup butter; 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 eggs; 1 teaspoon Watkins Cream of Tartar; 2 1/4 cups flour; 1/2 teaspoon soda; 1/2 teaspoon Watkins Vanilla; 1/2 teaspoon Watkins Lemon Extract