A Look at 18th Century Jewelry

Second Post of the Day

Last week I posted this picture of the jewelry I wear to enhance my period clothing and help give the impression that I am a woman living in the 18th century (the 1700s.)

Not only is it all period correct, I also have strong personal and sentimental connections to it.

The true, actually made in the 1700s, piece is this strand of feather beads.

They are made of Venetian glass and are strung on rawhide. Feather beads get their name from the design on them that makes them look a bit like feathers. These were my mother's and my first piece of 18th century jewelry, real or reproduction. My son Cole, has strong memories of this strand of beads connected to his grandmother, and I have a note in their box that they are to go to him when I am gone.

Feather beads are under the umbrella name of "trade beads" which is what they were used for. European traders took them around the globe. A short history about them can be found here.

I have another necklace that is chock full of a variety of trade beads. Made by a Native American friend of my mother's as a gift for me, this necklace is made of deerskin and decorated in trade beads. (Thimbles and bells were highly popular trade items and often used as decorations.)

All the beads are glass and are real - none are reproductions. My mother asked that the horse be an Appaloosa as a tribute to my first horse, Amy, so seed beads were added on the hips to represent spots. 

I added an arrow to show my favorite bead - the watermelon bead. Each end of that bead has a tiny red bit and the body is striped and long like many heritage varieties of watermelon are. A jingle cone is on the far left. It is made of trade silver and filled with horsehair.

Isn't it cool? Needless to saw, I treasure this necklace.

Next, let's look at more trade silver.

First is a medallion made by Leslie's husband, Rick. A silversmith, he made this for our mother. (The chain is a modern one.) She sewed and sold period clothes herself and she wore this at events as a way of identifying her trade. 

In the 18th century, many if not most people could not read. Signs might be put up identifying businesses, but if customers couldn't read them, you would lose out on sales. 

So, traders wore medallions like this one. Can you see the thimble and the scissors? By looking at this medallion, people would know that she could mend that rip in their coat, sew them a shirt, and more.

I wear it because my 18th century persona can do the same. (And it makes me feel close to my mom.)

This next is also a treasure and connects me very much to things that mean a lot to me - the Ouiatenon Cross.

Another piece of trade silver, it was made by Rick and I think Leslie strung the trade beads for it.

The real Ouiatenon Cross

The Ouiatenon Cross was found when archeologists were doing excavations at the site of Ouiatenon and is considered a true treasure from the era. Most likely it belonged to a French Catholic priest who ministered to the people living there. I am not Catholic, but my faith is very important to me. Connect that to Ouiatenon, a place that I love, to my mother, sister, and brother-in-law, and this piece has significant meaning to me.

Me wearing the Ouiatenon Cross and Leslie in her 19th century riding habit.

Here's more trade silver in the form of earbobs! 

Triangles and jingle cones. Jingle cones were prized by the Native Americans as well as the Europeans. Both groups adorned their clothing and other things with jingle cones. 

Watch this Women's Jingle from the 2019 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow. What energy and such beautiful dancing!

Amethysts and sterling silver. Made by Rick. (Need to use some silver polish on those!) I wore these on Sunday as they look nice with the Ouiatenon Cross.

More trade silver from Rick - a recent addition to my 18th century jewelry and suitable for the woman I portray.

Finally, the chatelaine. 

This is mine but I have several that I inherited from my mother, one of which is truly stunning and was made for her as a gift. They get a whole blog post to  themselves.

Stay 'tooned!

Touring, Pleating, Singing, & Jingling

Want to get a scope of just how large the grounds of The Feast of the Hunters' Moon are and how big the event will be? Check out this video that was taken yesterday. And then imagine all that open space filled in with tents and tens of thousands of people. (Usually 40,000 to 60,000 over the two days of the event.)

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Today is the first day that event participants can start setting up their tents and camps. I'm heading out mid morning with Mr. Friday Night Lights and Local Son Curt to put my tent up. Leslie and Rick will be setting theirs up as well.

Because I'm using a walker much of the time, I am going to unpack my tubs in stages with lots of breaks in between. (I have until the Feast begins Saturday morning.) Lisa has offered to come out after school and help, and I'm sure Leslie will drop by. 

Despite calling it done (and it was), I did just a little more work on the robe a l'Anglaise yesterday. I decided the pleats needed to be pressed again. 

It took me almost two hours, about 175 fabric clips, and four or five steam burns before I was finished, but they look much neater and flatter.

I've said it before but I will say it again - this is the most difficult thing I have ever sewn, and I've been sewing since I started making doll dresses when I was 8!

When I finished ironing those pleats and put the gown back on the dress form, the clips jingled like the jingle cones the Miami, Wea, and Potawatomi people at the Feast sometimes wear when they dance - made me smile.

You can't hear them jingle very much in this video because of the singing and drums, but trust me, it is a beautiful and happy sound. (Each of those dresses has 365 jingle cones hand stitched to them.)

Jingle cones on a pair of my trade silver earrings. (Rick made these.)

Although the Feast hasn't begun yet, I've already sold one bed gown and possibly a second. And, a woman contacted Leslie and asked if she knew anyone who sold panniers (pocket hoops.)

Leslie knew I'd made two sets and asked me to send her pictures to pass on to the woman. 

The woman, Audrey Johnson, is an opera singer from the East Coast who tells 18th century history in song and she will be performing at Feast this weekend. I got a chance to hear her perform last year and it was engaging for kids as well as adults. (And can she ever sing!!) I hope to sneak away from my tent this year and at least hear a song or two.

You can see the pocket opening - some female re-enactors stash Hershey Bars in their pocket hoops. Not naming any names, but all three of them are mentioned frequently here on the blog...

Panniers can take a lot of room in your closet - they have plastic or reed strips in them to give them their shape. (Originally it was whalebone.)

Luckily they "deflate" and collapse down into a fairly flat bundle

that can then be flipped one side onto the other and stored on a shelf, taking up much less space.

Time is getting away from me and I need to get some things loaded into the car, the dogs walked, and run to the grocery before I head out to Fort Ouiatenon.

I did get some horses in the mail yesterday - Horatio, Outlaw, and Felix all arrived! I'll share those tomorrow if I can.

Wish me luck today - the Feast becomes very real whenever I do set up, and I can't wait!

Stay 'tooned!

Kalamazoo Week: Can You Use This?

First Post of the Day

Two years ago, Leslie gave me all her bead working supplies. This included millions of beads. (I kid you not.) She had BOXES of beads.

The plan was to let my grands have them for crafting, but when I saw Just. How. Many. Beads. there were, I moved to plan B.

Send some of the beads to grands (with a note of apology to their parents if need be) and then figure out what to do with the rest. That box above is what I sent Pony Pals Cambria and Titan.

I kept the skeins of beads, thinking I might let kids bead at my booth during the Feast, but I am too busy selling to supervise that activity.

I will contact Brooke and see if the person who runs the bead-working booth for kids at the Feast can use them. Fingers crossed; I'd like to pass them on and see them used.

See that plastic bag on top of the bead case? Those are special beads that I found mixed in among those millions of beads, beads that I knew were valuable. I decided to contact some friends who made and sold beaded items at living history events.

Jessie and Brandon of Eagle Talon Traders. 

I sent pictures of what I wanted to give them, and they were happy to take it all.

 

Real glass wampum, not an imitation. That is a 1980s price tag. In 2026 money, that glass wampum would be priced at $6.83/ounce. Or $109.28/pound. (I triple checked my math on that price - I could not believe how valuable glass wampum is.)

These are an unusual bead called "greasy yellows." I think that's a nickname, and they certainly are not greasy. They are from the 1980s and my understanding is that now they can be hard to find.

Shells drilled for stringing, bells, flat shell discs, and tube beads probably made from bone or horn. 

Jingle cones and some ear wires. All sterling silver.

Of course, I have to post the Women's Jingle from the 2019 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow.

An assortment of beading needles.

Brandon and Jessie are dropping by during Friday night's set up to say hello, and I'll pass these things on to them then.

Glad to see that someone can use them.

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Time Traveling - Ouiatenon's Thought Provoking Artifacts

Leslie and Rick recently taught a seminar for the Tippecanoe County Historical Association on beads and other artifacts found during excavations at Fort Ouiatenon. 

A bone bead (possibly for an ear bob) in the photo behind her.

Lisa and I attended as did our friend Gretchen (who drove me to and from KZoo this year.)

I had no idea just how much TCHA had in their collection of beads and other artifacts. It was jaw dropping. 

These unusual beads (I thought they were shark teeth; they are not) have only been found at Ouiatenon and one other place. 

Leslie also showed us some green beads that have never been found at any other historical site in the country.

Sewing thimbles which were often turned into jewelry like jingle cones.

Part of a bit.

The top of a chess piece, with the original paint still present in spots.

Some pottery that is mostly intact.

Lots of iconographic rings.

It was a real learning experience for me to hear about these artifacts that have been found at Ouiatenon. But there were two things that gave me the shivers when I saw them.

The Ouiatenon cross. There are two in the collection, and the replica that I wear at events is of the smaller cross.

Mine means a lot to me on several fronts - it was my mother's, it represents Ouiatenon and its history, and my own faith means a great deal to me.

To see the real Ouiatenon cross was sobering and I felt a connection to those who had worn theirs at Ouiatenon, just as I do.

The other artifact that was shiver-worthy was also one that made me very sad. To understand, you need a little history first.

Post Ouiatenton was occupied by the French, then the British, then by the Native tribes who used it as a base to resist further European settlement. As a result of that resistance, George Washington ordered the fort to be destroyed in 1791.

Ouiatenon was burned to the ground and never used again as a fort or settlement.

These beads melted together during the burning of Ouiatenon.

I looked at those and was sad for the loss of the fort but even more so for those who were there and had lost their lives. This mass of beads was witness to a terrible tragedy, and I could almost hear and feel the echos of that horrific day as I looked at them.

Those beads will haunt me the rest of my life.

I attended that seminar to learn more about beads but I came away with a different, broader perspective. I can't change history, but I can work harder to honor it. 

The people of Ouiatenon, be they Wea, Miami, British, or French, deserve it.