Photograph: Portrait of Miss Polly Dailey, ca. 1871-1874

From Barnum Museum

1871 – 1874 (Date manufactured/created)

Cabinet card photograph of a young woman, probably in her twenties, identified on the back of the card as Miss Polly Dailey.  She is posed sideways in order to feature the silhouette of her bustle gown and its sweeping, ruffled train.  Her gown exemplifies fashions of the early to mid-1870s, when virtually every inch was covered with pleated or gathered ruffles and trims, and a "puffy" overskirt formed a prominent bustle, also ornamented with fabric fashioned into bows and ribbon tails.  The sewing machine had become common in households by the 1870s; ironically, the sewing machine was intended to be a time-saver, yet the new fashion for "excess" in women's styles forced the opposite. (Prior to the invention of the sewing machine it would have been very difficult for an ordinary woman, busy with her household, to create such a lavishly trimmed gown.)  This young woman was undoubtedly proud to have her photograph taken in her best dress, which was certainly made of silk, though the hidden foundation fabrics would be cotton or possibly linen.  This gown is composed of at least three main pieces: the short-waisted, cap-sleeve bodice, the skirt, and a partial overskirt that appears purely ornamental with large leaf-shaped panels at the sides. Its light color contrasts with a dark velvet border, and the medium color skirt which is covered in no less than six rows of pleated ruffles.  The puff that forms the bustle appears to be part of the main skirt not the overskirt.  Much of the bodice is obscured, but it would certainly have been trimmed to coordinate with the skirt.  The wide neckline appears to feature a puffed fabric trimming that extends over the cap sleeves.  Miss Dailey's elaborate hairstyle also reflects fashions of the 1870s when the hair was arranged to feature both an updo on the crown, and long loose curls down the back or brought forward over the shoulders.  The updo portion was typically arranged in a fat braid or thick twist.  Short bangs were also popular and "new" at the time--bangs had not been in fashion for several decades.  Here, Miss Dailey's updo is not very clear in the photograph, and may be covered with a small, ribbon-trimmed cap.  A wisp of her bangs is visible.  Photographs of ordinary women from this time period reveal that "success" with such complex hairstyles was rarely achieved; they invariably look awkward, perhaps only having been attempted for the purpose of the portrait.  The photograph was taken in a studio in St. Louis, Missouri.  The architectural background is a painted backdrop.  The subject rests her arm on an upholstered chair with a scrolled back.  This cabinet card is part of a large group of photos exchanged by fellow performers with Fritz Smith and his wife Kitty Sharpe Smith, who were circus and vaudeville performers.  

Gift of Susan Crozier Fairchild

Accession/ID Number MS-0027-504-006