MIDDLETOWN – "Women are armed with fans as men with swords, and sometimes do more execution with them," wrote the famous 18th-century journal of manners, the Spectator.
But Wesleyan student Emma Rothberg says she can't imagine wielding a weapon like the Victorian ostrich feather fan she picked as the centerpiece of a new exhibit at the Middlesex County Historical Society.
"I know there was a whole language of the fan," says Rothberg, a history major who said she feels most comfortable in jeans and sneakers. "I don't think I would have been very good at it."
Rothberg does have a curator's eye for apt selection and telling displays – which is the charm of her exhibit, "Juxtaposing Likeness: Fashion Accessories from the Collection of the Middlesex County Historical Society."
The show presents some two dozen items from the late 18th century to the early 20th century, including ladies' fans, jewelry, hats, spectacles, a silk parasol and a man's leather billfold from just after the American Revolution.
Rothberg said she sought striking contrasts in her arrangements to play up each object's unique story. For instance, the wire-rimmed spectacles of the wealthy 18th-century Hartford merchant and ship owner, Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth, are seen beside one of the first pairs of modern sunglasses, made in 1930, a year after they were introduced by Sam Foster on the boardwalk of Atlantic City.
"The objects are placed next to what I saw as their direct opposite," Rothberg said, "but there are other connections as well. I hope each object can tell a small story – whether one that the object has already, or one that the viewer conjures up themselves."
Standing before a display case with a black beaver top hat and an elegant lady's chapeau — both from the 1880s – the society's Executive Director Debby Shapiro says she has no trouble imaging an elegant Victorian lady and her beau wearing these items as they promenade along New York's Fifth Avenue. "I can just see it, can't you?" she exclaimed.
Rothberg, a junior from New York City, has been working at the Middlesex Historical Society since she was a freshman. A volunteer researcher at the New York Historical Society while still in high school, Rothberg said she was looking for a similar experience in Middletown. She met Shapiro during a freshmen orientation tour.
Shapiro put Rothberg to work organizing the society's extensive clothing collection – a roomful of period garments and accessories worthy of Masterpiece Theater. The task involved cataloging the objects and carefully packing them in acid-free archival boxes. It took several years, but Rothberg got to know the collection, an experience she could draw upon later.
"There were many cool objects I was familiar with from working with the collection," Rothberg said. "I think that was my starting point for the show."
Among her favorite items was the white ostrich feather fan. Found in an unmarked box, the provenance of this lavish Victorian fashion accessory is a mystery.
"It was one of the first objects I thought of when I had the idea for the show," Rothberg said. "It's quite extraordinary. I wish we knew more about it."
"Juxtaposing Likeness: Fashion Accessories from the collection of the Middlesex County Historical Society" is up through the spring at the Middlesex County Historical Society, located in the Gen. Mansfield House at 151 Main St. The museum is open Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the first Saturday of the month, noon to 3 p.m. For more information call, 860-346-0746.
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