Mill Ads - The Islander newspaper, Sept. 16, 1864

     My friend Carter posted this information on his Blog (www.peiheritagebuildings.blogspot.com) and offered it to me to publish in this Blog - here it is...
     When reading through the newspaper pages there's interesting information which tell a lot about the importance of the local mill and who their agents were. Here are the details of the newspaper, etc...

THE ISLANDER, Or Prince Edward Island Weekly Intelligence and Advertiser,

Vol. XXII, Charlottetown, Friday, September 16, 1864. No. 1126

 Carter transcribed the ads for easier reading...

     Below is an image from page 129 of Meacham's 1880 Atlas of Prince Edward Island. The world famous Stanfield's Underwear had it's beginnings here on Prince Edward Island at this mill in Tryon.

     For more information about Stanfields go to: http://www.stanfields.com/ . The following is from their website:

     Charles E. Stanfield had no idea when he immigrated to Canada in 1855 that he would found the firm that is a leader in its field today. Charles, along with his brother-in-law, Samuel E. Dawson, founded the Tryon Woolen Mills in Tryon, P.E.I. in 1856. Ten years later he sold his interests to Samuel and moved to Nova Scotia where he founded the Truro Woolen Mills in 1870. It was believed to be the first factory of its kind in Canada.

Portrayal of Alexander McDonald, Dalvay-by-the-Sea 100th Anniversary - 1999

     In the fall of 1999 I portrayed Alexander McDonald, builder of Dalvay-by-the-Sea, at a special event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the building of this magnificent summer home on Prince Edward Island's north shore. 
     Below:  here I am in costume beside one of the grand fireplaces in the large sitting room off the main entrance.

Photo by Carter Jeffery

Fore more information about Dalvay-by-the-Sea refer to their website:

http://www.dalvaybythesea.com/history-of-dalvay

Above/Below: photos at Dalvay - note the clothing (cf. website above)

Below image from: http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=1859

     We were fortunate to be at a special event at Dalvay-by-the-Sea when Prince William and Kate visited in July 2011.  Below are photos taken by Carter Jeffery at at Dalvay.



Ladies' Fashion Magazines from early 20th century

     I have quite a few ladies' fashion magazines dating from 1903-1918.  They are a great resource when creating costumes from that period. 
     Here are a few pages from the March 1909 issue of The Ladies' Home Journal.

I scanned a few pages to illustrate some of the content in the journals.

Below:  A closer look at the page above.

Christmas in Pleasant Valley

Here's a few photos from our Christmas this year.

Below: snowman scene on top of the Table Top Grand Piano.

Sorting Through the Costumes

I spent some time the past few days sorting through some of the costumes in my collection.  The following are a few photos from the collection of costumes and fabrics.

Below: experimenting with colours and fabric.

Below: a closer look at the waist stitching.

We've been having a pretty good winter so far - a dusting of snow last evening and the forcast of alot of snow tomorrow night.

Below:  Our country kitchen.  On these cool winter days the house is filled with the warmth of a wood stove - sometimes a bit too warm!

Below: the spare bedroom upstairs where I have displayed a man's costume complete with accessories of a top hat and cane.

Sewing Classes at Smith Home today

Today we held the first class in a series of five classes in Industrial Sewing Techniques, instructed by A.B. White.   We started at 1pm for three hours.

Below is the large family room in our walk-out basement where I'm shown here getting ready for the class last evening.  The area is spacious with lots of room for eleven sewing machine stations and the instruction.  On these wintery days it's a beautiful place to be as the room is south facing overlooking the countryside of Pleasant Valley.