Does Hollywood ever get it right?

[Heide Presse]

Mike....I'm no expert, but I've been reading a lot of journals over the last two years. I'm doing  research and painting a series of works depicting the trail emigrants. I've not kept note of passages about being dirty, but from what I've read, I'd say it was an individual thing and varied quite a bit depending on the nature of that person.

There are many mentions of very deep dust...one diary said several inches deep and suffocating. One mentioned folks wearing scarves and goggles. Along the Platte River was one place that had lots of deep dust and sand.. The prairie areas could be very muddy, since some years there was much rain in the spring when they started out.

There are a lot of entries about doing laundry and even some doing ironing. Also mending. They definitely did quite a bit of laundry, especially on days that they "laid by" so their livestock could eat good grass and rest up. I just read the diary of Sarah Raymond and she described her trail outfit as a short dress made of brown denim with thick soled leather boots and sun bonnet. When they stopped at one place, she went into town and the other young ladies refused to leave the train in such clothing. Sarah didn't care because she said that they were surely used to seeing emigrant dress. Sarah also described how laundry was not that bad because there were no fussy things to wash since they wore no collars and cuffs. She did mention that the girls sometimes wore little collars made of black and white beads that didn't show dirt. I remember someone writing about washing stockings.

Also, i would think the routes were very worn down and dirty because thousands of folks and livestock were tramping along the same path. Many journals say that the covered wagons were so thick on the trail that they were as far as the eye could see before and behind.

But anyhow, I think they certainly got very dirty...but many washed. Probably were many that didn't wash too. As for me....I think that most of them would have washed and brushed their hair and confined it to keep it out of their faces. It's windy out there in Wyoming, for instance. When you're hot and tired, hair flying into your face and sticking to your neck is something easy to control. Why let it hang all over...makes no sense to me. But again...I'm sure that's up to each individual. After traveling through a rough day, or rough stretch with no water, I would imagine they'd freshen up once they did get to a water source.

Janet...I see that you posted while I was writing...yay!  You're the voice of experience....I'm the newby who knows nothing! I was just in Wyoming with Janet and she took me to several spots on the trail...it was great! But, I can tell you that the wind drove me nuts with my hair...I would have pullled it back as tightly as possible!     Janet will be in my paintings....

[Muriel Carbiener]

Well. my post on dirt on the trail got lost somewhere, but Janet, Paula and Heidi said the same thing.  Much of the trails are on today's federal lands - US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management as well as farming land that today is under cultivation.  I have traveled over a lot of this in car caravans in NB, WY, ID, NV, OR & CA.  If you aren't the first car you are eating dust.  I recently heard a talk (for the second time) from a retired National Park Service employee,  She was part of the 1999 Gold Rush reenactment wagon train.  She kept a diary and compared her experiences with dirt and dust to other women's diaries from the 1840s, 50s and 60s. In some areas she and they were saying the same thing.  At the High Desert Museum in Bend, OR I interpret the Applegate Trail which is one of the cutoffs into Oregon on the southern edge of Oregon.  The first part of this is on BLM land in NW Nevada and then into NE California just below the Oregon border.  I have traveled this area several times.  Today it looks pretty much the way it looked 150 years ago.  In many sections you need a 4-wheel drive, high clearance vehicle.

Muriel

[Muriel Carbiener]

Oooops - In my last post I left out two states where I have done car caravans on the trails - Utah and Arizona.  The trail through UT was of course opened by the Donner Party and several other parties in 1846, followed by the Mormon emigration in 1847.  There is also a trail in southern UT used by 49ers into southern CA.  And yes - Arizona.  During the gold rush if you left from one of the southern states you moved across the southern U. S. into southern CA.  The only place to cross the Colorado River was at today's Yuma, AZ.  And again - a lot of this trail is still near but off today's highways, and there is still dust and dirt.

Muriel

[Janet Wragge]

Check out Amelia Knight's diary.  Shortly after they leave Ft. Laramie (page 50), she begins to talk about the dust (before that it's mud).  In that time, she mentions washing only 3 times after that I noticed in my skimming, and one of those times she mentions that the water is hard and not fit to wash with.  Her diary is fairly typical, and is a good one because she tends to be a tad wordy (more details).   

http://books.google.com/books?id=xzbiP5M2MAYC&pg=PA33&dq=Amelia+Knight+diary&hl=en&ei=H-xXTvvrKoyqsAKVxZCkDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Amelia%20Knight%20diary&f=false

[Gillian]

Is it just me or does this look horribly wrong?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2070028/Dakota-Fanning-transforms-young-Victorian-beauty-shoots-new-period-film-Effie.html

[NanciG]

Gillian,

I think that you're right - the costuming is horribly wrong.  I was having trouble determining what period was being depicted, the closest I could guess was bad 1890s with a horrible 1840s bonnet flashback.  After looking up some basic information on the main character, it seems that the movie is supposed to be set c.1848-1854. 

Nanci Gasiel

[Joanna Jones]

Wow - she looks like she raided Mom's closet to dress up "old fashioned" for Halloween.  It's not even close 

[MrsPeebles]

Wow, that looks really terrible for period clothes, like they shopped a discount mainstream sutler

[Maggie Koenig]

I've said it once and I'll say it again. That costume designer needs to find another line of work.

[Miss Costello]

it makes 'Dr Quinn' look better! 

Dire.

[Gillian]

Wow, that looks really terrible for period clothes, like they shopped a discount mainstream sutler

Or a school play.

The hair caught my eye first, but it all just get getting worse the more I looked!!! What a shame.

[Victoria Pann]

They are making a movie about Mary Baker Eddy, an influential religious leader of the 19th century, founder of Christian Science and The Christian Science Monitor newspaper.  Currently they have a screenwriter and have not yet cast it.  I think most of the action takes place in the latter part of the 1800's, although she was born in the 1820's and lived until 1910.

I wrote them a letter and urged them to pay attention to costuming and hair styles, and strive for accuracy in that department.  Hope they pay attention.

Here's the link:
http://marybakereddythemovie.com/

 

[Donna Rowan]

  Well bother. I wrote a whole post that disappeared into thin air.. Ok I know it's not our period..I also know if everone found out I had this and didn't share,I'd get ceremonially snooded ..So enjoy.Even though I haven't got to see it yet, and wont till our library gets it. http://fragilidad.ucoz.com/photo/103-0-3508   I think its in Russian...no I cant translate,sorry. Some fellows are as handsome in any language. 

[KatelynH]

Thanks for that, Donna.  I speak Russian, so I will definately be getting my hands on this one.

[Elaine Kessinger]

Media even jokes about itself not getting things accurate. A friend came across this website and we've been having a blast surfing through and laughing.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GorgeousPeriodDress
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OfCorsetsSexy
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeterminedHomesteadersWife

[rblocker]

Well bother. I wrote a whole post that disappeared into thin air.. Ok I know it's not our period..I also know if everone found out I had this and didn't share,I'd get ceremonially snooded ..So enjoy.Even though I haven't got to see it yet, and wont till our library gets it. http://fragilidad.ucoz.com/photo/103-0-3508   I think its in Russian...no I cant translate,sorry. Some fellows are as handsome in any language. 

This is from my favorite PBS series Downton Abbey! Sigh....such gorgeous clothing! You can catch up on both seasons at:  http://www.sidereel.com/downton_abbey

If you were a fan of "upstairs/downstairs" you'll love this series!

Ryan Blocker

[Muriel Carbiener]

This is from my favorite PBS series Downton Abbey! Sigh....such gorgeous clothing! You can catch up on both seasons at:  http://www.sidereel.com/downton_abbey

If you were a fan of "upstairs/downstairs" you'll love this series!

Ryan Blocker
[/quote]

Part II of Downton Abbey starts here in Oregon on PBS on Sunday, January 8.  World War I has started.  I noticed that Maggie Smith has been nominated for a Grammy Best Supporting Actress for her role in Part I.

Muriel

[Donna Rowan]

Oh, I will get to see Downton Abby eventually...Our library gets most every British show that ever was. At least 1 of our librarian's has good taste. She does some of the picking and choosing. Upstairs Downstairs...I have the whole 1st season on tape. I got it for like 5cents when the library sold it at a book sale after they got the DVD. That was cool I had never seen the 1st season. It will seam odd to see Maggie Smith with out Gordon though. Now I hope you have seen Maggie and Gordon in my fave Maggie Smith movie "The Prime Of Jean Brodie". If not run, don't walk, to the video store and get a copy. As forHugh Boneville,I'm not all that impressed with his acting...but oh my he's SO goodlooking. Oh and totally off track,but do any of you know if they made a 2ND season of Stephen Fry's newest [?], show "kingdom"?

[Maggie Koenig]

On netflix they have Kingdom listed as three seasons.  Look online to find a episode list because sometimes whats listed as separate seasons in the UK is bunched into fewer seasons in the US.

[MrsPeebles]

Part II of Downton Abbey starts here in Oregon on PBS on Sunday, January 8.  World War I has started.  I noticed that Maggie Smith has been nominated for a Grammy Best Supporting Actress for her role in Part I.

Muriel

Wow! That will thrill my husband, he loved that series! Thank you for sharing the news. <I don't live far from Oregon>