The Language of the Victorian Fan




Hand painted from France. Ivory frame.

 

Hand painted French, Mother of pearl with feather trim.



Hand painted Italian, Ivory frame.



A collection of three framed fans in my dining room.

    Long ago fans were used to communicate a Ladys thoughts graciously. They were used for more than just  accessories to the womans attire. A fan became a popular way to coyly hide and reveal the face.A dictionary of  Ladies Fan Languages was published in the 1800's in the popular fashion magazine of the day, The Ladies Home and Goodie Fashion Magazine. Ladies of merrit would study this dictionary and know the meanings and apply them to her  social functions. Men of notablity would also be required to learn these fan movements, if they were to be recieved in a social setting.If one would not know these meaning, it could be very sad or dangerous.

Battenburg hand made silk lace on Mother of pearl frame.

Detail of the painting

Detail of the Battenburg lace

French  Ladies and Gentlemen.

   The art of fan making goes back to the Egyptians. Those made in that period were mosty for  moving the air and cooling  the subject, using it. Fancy ladies fans have often been found in the tombs of Royals in Egypts valley of the kings.  In 16th and 17th  century England, fan art was raised to a higher plain. Many were imported from China, Japan, France and Italy. The Victorian era, both in Europe and America, brought the art of fan making to it's highest art form. Fans were made of ivory, mother of pearl and rare sandlewood. They were covered in silk and hand painted. They were covered in hand made battenburg silk lace, hand tated,beaded and carved. The quality of a ladies fan reflected her weath and position. Really wealthly  ladies had a vast collection of them and order new ones to match each outfit.  They made fans for day time, night time and when one was in mourning. All white fans for weddings and Debs. Paper fans for out side garden parties. Fans that told a story or held a secret. Fans were perfect gifts for ladies and were highly  looked for when people went on the Grand Tours of Europe. To carry a new French creation, was the talk of society.

This Italian one has a beautiful hand painted background and scene. I love Italian things. They are so bold.



At the right is a tiny mirror. These mirrors were used to look over ones shoulder and she who was behind you.



Another view of the mirror,

  Today these fans are loved  and collected by many. The prices have always held there own and seem to only go up and up. There is a bargin to be found once in awhile. Gold fan shaped frames were invented somewhere along the way. They are really wonderful to display and portect your valuable and fragile fans. They are very hand to come by these days and can run the price of the fan up considerably.
   I have listed a few of the fan meanings in case you would like to practice a few before your next public outing. Good luck, I hope you do not ask a married mans for his affection.
  A fan touched to the lips indicated the lady would like a kiss.
  A fan pressed to the heart shows passion.
  A tap on a gentleman shoulder with a closed fan  was a flirt.
  A wide open fan waving very furously ment some one said something off color.
  A closed fan laid across a ladies face ment she was not talking.
 A fan carried in the right hand ment you were willing.
  Closing the fan ment I wish to speak to you.
  Drawing across ones eyes ment- I'm sorry.
  Drawing across the forehead- wicked
  Drawing through a ladies hands meant - I hate you!
  Dropping a fan ment - we will be friends.
  Fanning slow ment I'm married.
  Letting a fan rest on the ladies  left cheek ment- NO!
  Letting a fan rest on the ladies right cheek ment-YES!
  Twirling on the left hand-I love another.

Mother of pearl frame.

Hand  painted on silk with mother of peral frame and feather trim.

I love these fthree beside my Italian Lady.

     Sometimes I wish I had a fan and I would make up a few of my own meanings.
   When some one tells me at my store everything there grandmother had, a open fan , covering
   my face would mean- the only one who cares what your grandmother had , was your grandfather.
   When some one tells me they are just wasting time till the shop next door opens, I would slap them across
   the face with it, and that ment, waste time somewhere else.
   When some one tells me that Sissy Dog is getting fat, I would fold it tight and hold it high up in  the air and 





Sissy Dog is not FAT!






 

I don't care what Grandma had!

Waste time somewhere else.

Sometimes this says it all! It ain't always easy having a Retail business!

 that would mean, "UP YOURS." Since I can not do that, I usually just tell them they are getting fat also.
   I guess it is a good thing I can not use fan language, I might be in trouble, But It does not keep me from collecting and loving the old ones. I am sharing my small collection with you today. I sometimes wonder what the world would be like if ladies where still using fans today, would be a little hand to manage with a cell phone, I Pad, Blackberry, and what ever other  things that  are out there. I guess the closest thing we have to fan language today is a ,"TEX. "

The lace work is very beautiful in this one and was hand made.

The Jewels in the Crown

  A few years back I had a very big,10,00 sq. ft., antique shop in St Louis.. It was located in an old Florist building, that was built during the Worlds Fair in St.Louis,1904. It had several floors and in the middle was a large greenhouse. It was the first free standing greenhouse west of the Mississippi and the ceilings were 40 feet tall. Years before I opened this shop, on a visit to New York, I had dinner at the Tavern On The Green in Central Park. Well sadly, it is no longer, but if you were  ever there, you would know, that there was a  large greenhouse and it was full of beautiful colored chandeliers. When I went back ,I would always make reservations for a table  under the Cranberry chandelier. The last time I was there, was Easter Brunch ,a few months before it closed and all was sold off. So to make a long story short, I wanted to fill my new shop's greenhouse with crystal chandelers. I did and I had the shop for over 6 years and in that time, I sold many, many chandeliers. I had about 300 at all times. I was always on the look out for them and everywhere I went I asked if they had any chandeliers.I bought them and shipped them for everywhere.
    I have a friend ,CEO, in  the fabric business and she has a office in the Design Building in New York. She had a friend that was a buyer for the Hemsley Hotels. Hemsley and his wife, Leona,the Queen of Mean, bought a old Mansion  in New York and built a 55 story hotel around and on top of it. It was called the Hemsley Palace Hotel.Susan and I stayed there a couple of times, free, because of her friend. When
Mr.. Hemsley died and poor Leona had to go to prison, she sold off her hotels.The New owner renamed it the New York Palace.  Most of the hotels  were bought by The Sultan of Brunei, once the richest man in the world. Well Susan's friend stayed on with the new owner as a buyer. The Sultan liked a chandelier that he saw in the Dolmabahee Palace in Istanbul Turkey. It was one of the largest chandliers known in the world and it was made of French Baccarat Crystal. The Sultan,  with his influence, had this chandelier copied in various sizes and had them made in Istanbul for his hotels. When I told Susan I was looking for just the right chandliers for my new,old,house, she told her fiend ,the hotel buyer, who called me and told me to take a look at these Turkish chandeliers. I did and I was sold at first glance. I ordered them and months and months went by before I ever heard a world. I was begining to thank, I had been taken by the Sultan. But one day, out of the clear, a big truck pulled up and put three huge wooden  crates on my side walk and pulled off. They were to big to bring inside so I had to take them apart and carry Millions  of pieces inside. There was no directions, just that picture that I had first seen. They were in storage for a long time before I got the house and was ready to hang them. I was afraid they were broken or half missing. I had a man in St.Louis that repaired my chandeliers, re- wired them and hung them for people ,after I sold them. Donnie came to Clarksville with his big truck and all the millions of pieces and together we put those three chandeliers together. Took 2 days of long hours and many  bad words.








Close up of Dining Room Chandelier.



Notice the heavy gold and white flowers. The bottom piece is a series of  3 glass bellfowers.

The shade are very beautiful.



The Dinning room chandelier has 24 lights and is 5 foot tall.

 



    They have been hanging there every since. I take great pride in them and feel they are the Jewels in the Crown of My Old Historic House.I know they are the most beautiful in Pike County and maybe in Missouri. When I give tours they are what people comment on the most.  The dining room one is clear glass with heavy gold trim and tiny white flowers. It has 25 lights and 5 foot tall.. The two parlor ones are almost 4 feet  tall and are cranberry with gold trim and white flowers. They each have 18 lights. They have been there about 4 years now. Last fall when the people from Victorian Homes magazine came to take pictures my sister,niece and sister in law and I ,cleaned them for the first time and probably the last.

A view of the double parlors with the 2 cranberry chanderiers.

The beautiful cranberry color with all the white enamel trim.

A view looking up in the Up River parlor

Gentlemans parlor looking into the Ladies parlor with the pair of cranberry chandeliers.




A great view of the Up River parlor.

 

Down River parlor with 4 foot cranberry, 18 light chandelier, one of a pair.

Another picture of the giant dining room chandelier. 5 foot tall.

    And speaking of Victorian Home Magazine, I got a call from the editor about something and she said it would be soon. When I get the exact date, I will pass it on.
   Come by any time for a visit and see the chandeliers. I will leave them on and Sissy Dog will meet you with a jump and a kiss.    

One of the largest chandeliers know, in the Dolmabahee Palace in Istanbul Turkey made in Baccarat ,France in the 1800's. My chandeliers are small copies of this one made for the Sultan of Brunei.

The Sultans house in Brunei. 1900 rooms. He now owns all the Hemsley Hotels including the New York Palace.

The Sultan of Brunei and his Royal Family.

Kettle Stand






Atlanta Stove Company hand Forged and Cast iron Kettle Stand.



 

Stark Brothers Nursery, Louisiana, Mo.

Lloyd Stark original owner of the Kettle Stand

  Many years ago, when I was first starting out  as an antique collector, I  lived across the street from a old mansion, that was owned by the 39th Governor of Missouri, Lloyd C. Stark.After his death, there was an estate sale and I have a few treasures from that old historic house. I was just out of college and  had a brand new job, teaching art, in Louisiana, Mo.I think I was making a grand $12,000.00 a year, so you can see there was not a lot of money for antiques. I did find one thing that I have loved and held onto ever since that sale. A hand forged with cast iron pieces, kettle stand. I have seen two others since that day. I bought one of the others and resold it. The other was in a book about iron furniture.
    Lloyd C Stark was born in 1886 and died in 1972. He  was elected the 39th Governor of the Great State of Missouri in 1939. Stark was part of a family ,rather prominent, in Missouri and was active with his brother,Paul,in the family owned business-Stark Brothers Nursery,in Louisiana,Mo. At one time the nursery was the oldest in America  and the largest in the world. The nursery claims to have developed the Stark Golden Delious Apple. They also made great discovers in other fruit developement. Mr. Stark lived in a grand old house that was known as Aberdean. It still stands today and is owned by a good friend of mine.

My Kettle Stand with English original copper tea kettle.

Detail of the feet, hand forged with cast detail.




A found this candle snuffer many years ago and added it to the side holder where there had been one originally. I have never found and oil burner for it that is just right,



   Cast Iron furniture was introduced to the American public around 1835-1850. The earlist cast iron furniture was made by foundries specializing in architectural elements  and made the furniture as a side line. Cast Iron is made by pouring molten metal into a mold, a process that makes it easier to create flued and intericate designs. Hand forged furniture was made by a Blacksmith and each piece was heated and hammered and bent into shape. Latter the two processes, hand forges and cast were married up and it made the work go faster and the Smith could do things that were not possible without the casts. My Kettle Stand is a combination of the two.

    Atlanta Stove Company in Atlanta, Georgia, made lots of cast and forged iron pieces, along with there stoves. There stamp is on my Kettle Stand. Some of the most beautiful fences, furniture and fountains came from this company.

The Kettle Stand would be carried into the dining room or where ever tea was to be served.

See how beautiful the copper kettle is.

The missing burner would go below the kettle

   I keep the kettle Stand on the screen porch in the summer. In the winter it lives in the corner of my country kitchen. There would have been a burner under the kettle to keep the coffee, tea or water hot. The stand would be placed by the table so the hostess could reach it and serve. My stand has a wonderful copper kettle. It was on the stand when I bought it from the Stark Estate. It was so green that I had it cleaned up.The kettle is marked England. The stand was black when I got it and it stayed black for years. Last summer I painted it white for its new home ,on my screen porch, that also is home to a lot of Victorian Wicker, and that will be  another post latter this spring.
   I hope you enjoy my Little Stand and it's story. Come by any time for a tour. I will leave the lights on and Sissy Dog will meet  you with a jump and a kiss.