School Headmaster and/or Professor Impression

[dixieflyer]

Dear Forumites,
I was once heavily involved in 19th c. and CW from '81 to '97, and have decided to come back to the field on a limited basis to explore some old haunts, but to forge ahead with some new experiences as well.
I am currently on the board of directors of a preservation group involved with a 19th c. girl's academy:

http://greenriveracademy.com/

I have been given the green light to go forward with any/all living history programs I feel appropriate, and I'm pretty excited about the possibilities. At present, and most obviously, I would like to work up an impression as the school's headmaster and/or professors. My first inclination is to acquire a decent mid-century frock coat of wool broadcloth along with trousers, vest, shirts, etc. (Please understand, I spent my whole time in the 19th c. in the lower to middling classes, so this is new ground for me. :wink_smil )
I am pondering gentlemen's hat styles of the pre-war period. A top hat seems obvious, but on the other hand strikes me as possibly being too formal. Obviously, a gentleman of that station would have had a variety of things to wear upon his head, but I was wondering if y'all would offer up some opinions of what style of hat would be appropriate for everyday wear in the 50's.

Thanks in advance for your thoughtful advice.

Respectfully,

Warren Dickinson

Member of the original Pickett's Mill Interpretive Volunteer Staff & Co. D, 17th Ky Vol. Inf
Former Mudsill
Co-Creator of the States Rights Guard in '92

[ElizabethClark]

Re: School Headmaster and/or Professor Impression

Are there any historic photos of the school's staff and pupils? That would be a great place to start.

While we think of topper-styles as "formal" today, for mid-century, they're really not, not if you're in the professional classes. They're just... hats. Hats for men. Hats for professional men. There are nicer versions for evening wear, but a basic one for everyday would be just as normal as a professional-class wife having several silk bonnets to choose from on any given day.

A professor/headmaster might have more casual things to use in intimate settings (smoking cap, etc), but for his official duties, I think I would go with any of the popular mid-century tophat styles, from a good maker.

[Mississippian]

Re: School Headmaster and/or Professor Impression

Warren,

One of the pre-war professors at the University of Mississippi was a amateur photographer and left behind some photos of him working in his lab. These are now in the collection of the University museum and when I left Oxford last year, they were still being displayed along with a HUGE collection of antebellum scientific equipment that is absolutely amazing. If your going to do a professors impression you really have to go down there and look at all of it. I still have a friend in Oxford and I can ask him if he sees any hats in the pictures.

Will MacDonald

[dixieflyer]

Re: School Headmaster and/or Professor Impression

Will,
Thanks for the suggestion, if we get down that way this summer, I'll have to check it out. On the other hand, you certainly can't be implying that the ante-bellum female mind was capable of retaining and understanding the complexities of 19th c. scientific theory are you? ;)

Seriously though, this school advertised itself as a place for newly made men of the middle class in the Deep South to send their daughters so that they would not sicken themselves on the pervasive miasmatic vapors associated with that area. The education/curriculum offered here was in the vein of trying to put these young ladies on footing with the daughters of the truly rich and landed, and consisted of the usual suspects of languages, literature, art, etc.

Interestingly, the third floor is a 19th c. time-capsule, being more or less untouched since the mid-19th c., complete with student graffiti, etc. With grants, etc. there is a lot of potential with this place.

Thanks for your help and suggestions.

Warren Dickinson

PS: I tried to reply earlier, and don't know if my post is in approval limbo, or if I hit the wrong button.

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: School Headmaster and/or Professor Impression

Sir- Congratulations on your undertaking. :-)
I shall address the head-wear question as best I might. Remember that top hats were "just another hat choice" in mid-century and not indicative of the formality with which we associate them today. A gentleman of such position as you propose would most likely have a fine top hat for "every day," a mortar board to go with his academic robes, a smaller felt or straw hat (such as a derby, pork pie, padre, straw top hat) to go with his sack suit (which he finds the appropriate thing to squire his charges on their "scientific expeditions" (nature walks) or constitutionals), a fancy cap to go with his lounge attire which he wears in his private quarters after hours, an oiled cap or rubberized hat cover for inclimate weather, and etc. ....so you may see that you have many choices of head-wear, each with their appropriate use.

As to the nature of female education in period... it varies with the institution. Some did indeed include advanced academic subjects such as science, mathematics, classical languages (heavily edited to include only "morally appropriate" examples). Many included only advanced courses in literature and religious teachings and made the bulk of the curriculum of fine and domestic arts. It will depend on the school itself and their chosen focus.

[dixieflyer]

Re: School Headmaster and/or Professor Impression

Miss Kessinger,
Thank you so much for your reply. You confirmed several suspicions I had regarding this as well as clearing some things up. A fine top hat instantly came to mind, but I do confess to thinking it a bit formal. My thinking was that, while a gentleman in this station would most certainly have had one, he surely possessed some other styles to meet the needs of different occasions.
I would like to as you, and the other board members a related question though. You mentioned a sack suit. Now, if memory serves, everything I learned 20-30 years ago regarding men's clothing styles of this period indicated that the sack suit was still a relatively up and coming style in the mid to late 50's. Then, as well as now, men in their 30's and older are oftentimes hesitant to embrace "new" styles of clothing. (We just don't like change . . . ok, . . we're lazy.) When fly front trousers finally became the norm, you still found a number of older men wandering around with fall-fronts, etc. Most of the images I have looked at lately all show frocks. (Then again, having your image made was a dress occasion.)

In any event, thanks so much for your advice, it has helped get me excited about putting this together.

Respectfully,

Warren Dickinson
Elkton, KY

PS: I'd appreciate any links to good websites for 19th c. civilian, etc.

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: School Headmaster and/or Professor Impression

You are correct in thinking that a gentleman who needed to appear a solid, moral, conservative, sedate gentleman of society... would choose a frock coat for most occasions. In the 1850s and 60s the sack suit was making it's downward spiral from sportswear for the wealthy and fashionable into the every day wear of the less wealthy. So as a gentleman of some position in society, entrusted to be a worthy example of how gentlemen of society should behave... social dressing would be important to you, as it would be to the fathers and guardians of your students. Unless you are particularly mature, you could still consider a linen sack suit, well tailored and of quality materials, suitable attire for summer outings, sports with gentleman peers, and similar some-what casual occasions. He could choose a frock coat or paletot for those same situations, and still be considered appropriately dressed.

It comes down to the psychology of your persona. You need to be the one to say what manner of man he is and what choices that leads him to make.

[dixieflyer]

Re: School Headmaster and/or Professor Impression

Elaine, unfortunately I am particularly mature. :( Better than the alternative I suppose though.

Again, thanks for the well thought out, logical replies.

Warren

[dixieflyer]

Re: School Headmaster and/or Professor Impression

Elizabeth, sorry to be late in replying to your post, but I did not see it earlier, and I just now got the notification. Weird! Anyway, I want to say there are some images somewhere of the headmaster, but I am not positive. Hope springs eternal though as so much has come this way in the last year. A state legislator from Massachusetts contacted us as she found out one of her ancestors was a graduate, and she gave us a digital copy of her ancestor's autograph book from her graduation year. (She also wrote a check to fix the roof.) She and some others are really digging for us, and it seems more and more seems to be popping up here and there. I think it is a very unique site. Thanks for your advice.

Warren Dickinson