And sew on, and sew forth......

I have begun watching a new lecture series on Henry VIII. Extremely interesting. In setting up a background of Henry, the lecturer remarks that of all the English kings, in fact of all the kings throughout history, Henry VIII always jumps to mind, if not first among them all, at least among the top ten. A towering figure, physically and historically, Henry looms large!

In fact, from an 18th Century perspective, Henry was one of the most popular figures to emulate at the Masquerades, costume parties/masqued balls, that the nobles at court enjoyed in the 1700's.

The lecturer of the series made reference to a book of sewing patterns that courtiers could refer to when planning their "get up!" Called the "Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Ancient to Modern (1757-1772)", it was compiled by Thomas Jefferys, who was originally the cartographer to King George III.  Jefferys lived from 1719 to about 1772, and was quite a draftsman and artist. His maps are very well known, but his drawings of all kinds of native dress are truly beautiful. He captures different walks of life from many parts of the globe, including noblemen and common men alike. The complete work is in four volumes! 

At that time, there was quite an interest in the Middle East and things "Turkish". Remember Mozart's opera, Abduction from the Seralio", the seralio another name for harem. The story takes place in Turkey, or at least, in far off exotic lands of the Ottoman Empire.  

With Mardi Gras here, it begs the question, who will have a costume party?              And what will one wear?