"Regency" America Series continues

Often when we read about Jane Austen or delve into one of her books, there is little to no mention about what is happening on the either side of the pond. To better understand the time in which Jane Austen counts as her formative years (she was born late 1775), our own country was in a sense seeing a rebirth as a daughter of Revolution rather than a daughter of Mother England. As an ongoing effort to help American Janeites understand culturally the history of our two nations, your humble webmistress will continue to share items of interest happening in "Regency" NJ and "Regency" America, aka Colonial NJ and America.




Colonial Williamsburg’s Costume Design Center opens its door for behind-the-scenes tours on Thursdays through June 10. Guests can meet staff members and explore the building where most of Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area costumes are designed and maintained.


There are about 144 types of garments from underwear to outerwear issued dressing both genders and all strata of colonial society. For women, the design center produces gowns, petticoats, stays, shifts, women jackets and bed gowns, caps, hats, kerchiefs, aprons, pockets, hoops, jewelry, mitts, gloves, cloaks and riding habits. For men, the design center makes shirts, stocks, cravats, breeches, trousers, waistcoat, sleeved and sleeveless jackets, coats, great coats, cloaks, kerchiefs, caps, spats and hats. Read illustrated story.


[Photo: ©The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation]

Coaches of Colonial Williamsburg

Sometimes we need to look in our own backyard to see examples of the world in which Jane Austen lived and included in her novels. So we be look at a version of England's influence on some American history.

Families can enjoy a tour of the Historic Area in one of Colonial Williamsburg’s carriages, such as the Lord Dunmore Town Coach. In 2003, the Foundation began to build a town coach that could be used as Lord Dunmore’s coach. A fine example of an 18th-century coach was found in Piacenza, Italy, belonging to the Museum of the Palazzo Farnese. The coach builder Florian Staudner of Vienna, Austria, built an exact replica of this vehicle for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The body is a chocolate brown color with upper parts black. The undercarriage is red, “picked out” in gold.

Williamsburg is located in Virginia’s Tidewater region, 20 minutes from Newport News, within an hour’s drive of Richmond and Norfolk, and 150 miles south of Washington, D.C., off Interstate 64. For more information about Colonial Williamsburg, call 1-800-HISTORY or visit Colonial Williamsburg’s Website.