JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
There do not exist an overwhelming number of photographs of Mary Todd Lincoln. Why? Do not know. You could guess based on several things. If you think about it, all those years as the wife of a successful attorney then President Lincoln's wife, well, there should be more. If vile legend were true there would be. ' Vile legend ' would be a giveaway I hold Mary Lincoln in great regard- with reason, ' vile legend ' being just that. Please no one take that for a challenge.
This is the photograph someone cropped to use in the " Lincoln wedding photo " nonsense
I do love this of her, you can see what a man with Lincoln's sense of humor found to attract him so strongly. She'd been terribly hurt as a child, bewildered by loss,- still, described as a very bright, sometimes bubbly girl, extraordinarily loyal.
My guess would be Mary Todd did not like having her photograph taken. Certainly, her lovely ball gowns are much in evidence, lucky us, in a scant handful we have from the Washington era. She is missing from all other photographs where one might expect to find her- the sitting, casual poses, the husband and wife poses, the mother and children or group dignitary shots where one occasionally finds the wife of highly placed officialdom. Because it was her dress maker's bill which caused so much shame and turmoil, these photographs are pointed to as proof of Mary's egotism and greed. No one notices perhaps, these are some of the only moments Mary Todd dared to be photographed. A true egotist leaves a legacy full of photographs, Dan Sickles I'm looking at you.
She was shy. Her regular visits to the wounded in Washington hospitals were unknown. She forbid it. While the press made much of societal darlings making occasional, dutiful calls on soldiers at area hospitals Mary had soldiers she visited like proverbial clockwork in huge secrecy. Knowing she was watched for any, slight faux pas, criticized for a foot wrong Mary dreaded bringing publicity in her wake to the wounded. She just did. So it was a rare moment to herself when Just Mary Todd visited these men, now sadly lost to Time.
You hear descriptions all about Mary's finery, what she wore, how finicky she could be. Little unfair- if you read descriptions of any, single female who attended the same social function described, the ' toilette' was identical.
Not positive, this is a very early photo but looks a lot like an Elizabeth Keckley creation. I ' think ' quite a few Keckley dresses have not been positively identified? Her lines were so incredibly simple, much advanced from American mode ( in my opinion ), looked Parisian. When frills, froth, too many ruffles and bows adorned a dress you just knew it was not created by Elizabeth Keckley- like if Vera Wang was around in 1863.
This may have been Elizabeth's. Mary again posing in a ball gown, only a handful of photos spanning all these years. We have a few photos of my grgrgrandmother from the era. Dressmakers fell over themselves to work for the President's wife. Many implied to her the work would be gratis, as was common, a public figure would wear the work of a company in return for mention. Bills arriving later did come as a shock. No one would listen to this.
Love her in this photograph. Mary thought Washington society would be welcoming to the new President's family. It was quite a blow, being met with hostility and ridicule by the various queens of society. Looked down on because she was Southern ( and flatly refused to give up her Southern family ) and thought a kind of hayseed ( which must have been deliberate as an insult- her family was a ' good ' one ), her reception really hurt Mary. Very, very lonely in a large city, thankfully had Elizabeth Keckley as a friend but only one friend. Crazy situation, must have been awful.
This is the photograph someone cropped to use in the " Lincoln wedding photo " nonsense
I do love this of her, you can see what a man with Lincoln's sense of humor found to attract him so strongly. She'd been terribly hurt as a child, bewildered by loss,- still, described as a very bright, sometimes bubbly girl, extraordinarily loyal.
My guess would be Mary Todd did not like having her photograph taken. Certainly, her lovely ball gowns are much in evidence, lucky us, in a scant handful we have from the Washington era. She is missing from all other photographs where one might expect to find her- the sitting, casual poses, the husband and wife poses, the mother and children or group dignitary shots where one occasionally finds the wife of highly placed officialdom. Because it was her dress maker's bill which caused so much shame and turmoil, these photographs are pointed to as proof of Mary's egotism and greed. No one notices perhaps, these are some of the only moments Mary Todd dared to be photographed. A true egotist leaves a legacy full of photographs, Dan Sickles I'm looking at you.
She was shy. Her regular visits to the wounded in Washington hospitals were unknown. She forbid it. While the press made much of societal darlings making occasional, dutiful calls on soldiers at area hospitals Mary had soldiers she visited like proverbial clockwork in huge secrecy. Knowing she was watched for any, slight faux pas, criticized for a foot wrong Mary dreaded bringing publicity in her wake to the wounded. She just did. So it was a rare moment to herself when Just Mary Todd visited these men, now sadly lost to Time.
You hear descriptions all about Mary's finery, what she wore, how finicky she could be. Little unfair- if you read descriptions of any, single female who attended the same social function described, the ' toilette' was identical.
Not positive, this is a very early photo but looks a lot like an Elizabeth Keckley creation. I ' think ' quite a few Keckley dresses have not been positively identified? Her lines were so incredibly simple, much advanced from American mode ( in my opinion ), looked Parisian. When frills, froth, too many ruffles and bows adorned a dress you just knew it was not created by Elizabeth Keckley- like if Vera Wang was around in 1863.
This may have been Elizabeth's. Mary again posing in a ball gown, only a handful of photos spanning all these years. We have a few photos of my grgrgrandmother from the era. Dressmakers fell over themselves to work for the President's wife. Many implied to her the work would be gratis, as was common, a public figure would wear the work of a company in return for mention. Bills arriving later did come as a shock. No one would listen to this.
Love her in this photograph. Mary thought Washington society would be welcoming to the new President's family. It was quite a blow, being met with hostility and ridicule by the various queens of society. Looked down on because she was Southern ( and flatly refused to give up her Southern family ) and thought a kind of hayseed ( which must have been deliberate as an insult- her family was a ' good ' one ), her reception really hurt Mary. Very, very lonely in a large city, thankfully had Elizabeth Keckley as a friend but only one friend. Crazy situation, must have been awful.
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