1880s CDV photograph Laroche Rock Studio Llandudno Wales woman national costume for Sale

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1880s CDV photograph Laroche Rock Studio Llandudno Wales woman national costume For Sale

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1880s CDV photograph Laroche Rock Studio Llandudno Wales woman national costume:
$25.00

A wonderful image, from the later 1800\'s and taken at the \"rock\" studio of William Sylvester Laroche in Llandudno Wales. Rock Studio was actually a quarry that was located outside of town. The image is very clear and shows a young lady posed in Welsh national dress. Measures about 4 1/4\" by 2 1/2\" and is in very good condition, as shown.From Wikipedia:The adoption of the costume coincided with the growth of Welsh Nationalism, where the industrialisation of much of south Glamorgan was seen as a threat to a traditional agricultural way of life.[2] The national costume made from Welsh wool was therefore seen as a visual declaration of a Welsh identity.[2] During an 1881 visit by the Prince of Wales to Swansea, the Welsh costume was worn by a number of young women including members of a choir.[8]From the 1880s both old and modern versions of the costume were worn by performers at concerts and eisteddfodau, by stall holders at fund raising events and for Royal visits. The numbers of women who wore Welsh costume in this way was always small but its use was remarkable enough to mention in reports of such events. Some of those who wore it may have been the younger members of the new middle-class families who could afford the money to buy the costumes and the time to attend such events. Although there was only a little encouragement to wear costumes at these events, those few who did were often spoken of with pride.[citation needed]For some,[who?] wearing Welsh costume after the 1880s was an attempt to maintain tradition; for others it was to do with Welsh identity and nationality and possibly an attempt to distinguish themselves from incomers both in what they sold at market and the fact that many of them probably spoke Welsh; for a few it was to do with marketing traditional businesses, especially weaving. There is little evidence to support the suggestion that the Welsh costume was worn just to please visitors, but it possible that this happened.[citation needed]The young women who adopted the costume for special events from the 1880s were seen as the spirit of the new Wales and the costume became associated with success, especially after the Welsh Ladies’ Choir, dressed in Welsh costume, won a prize at the Chicago World Fair Eisteddfod World\'s Columbian Exposition in 1893 and went on to sing for Queen Victoria and performed at concerts throughout Britain.[9]