1870, Philadelphia, USA.
Martha Whitcomb, the wild child of Philadelphia society, is now a grown woman, independent in wealth and in personality. At twenty-three, still unmarried and childless, she is exposed to constant rumors and ridicule, crushed...
I decided to make some boards of the various images I've collected for story inspiration.
Gowns--the crinoline of the 1860s was beginning to be replaced by the bustle gown, which moved the volume to the back instead of a full hoop. In the early 1870s, gowns took on a more conal shape which will inevitably lead to the full back bustle we tend to associate with the Victorian Era (the peak of this style is the 1880s into the 1890s)
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Hair--Ladies had fun with their hair in this decade, choosing opulent curls, ringlets, braids, and twisting volume rather than the tight, low chignon of the 1860s (note the many black ribbon chokers, which were in fashion at the time both among high society ladies and prostitutes)
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Hats--With fun, fancy hair comes fun, fancy hats!
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The Pima County/Sonoran Desert area--definitely not a dust bowl of endless sand.
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Towns/Saloons/Ladies--some of these are replicas and some are authentic but remodeled, but I try to blend them together with my imagination. And, of course, we can't forget the women who worked in these towns!
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And this picture, I just enjoy. Not sure exactly where it is, but I get a kick out of imagining the people all "we don't have a hoosegow (jail)...should we build one? Nah, we've got a tree!"
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