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(Sold Out) 2 p.m. Victorian Fads Trolley Tour
October 18, 2014, 2:00pm–4:00pm
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History is littered with random enthusiasms that sweep the culture, flare for a few months or years, and then recede into the ocean of our past. The idle rich of the Victorian Era were among the first to truly embrace the notion of pop culture faddishness, and Green-Wood is home to many of the key characters in these strange and fascinating trends. From arsenic complexion cream and electric corsets, to séances and spirit photography, the Victorians missed no opportunity to jump on the latest bandwagon of wacky and sometimes outrageously dangerous medical, fashionable and spiritual fads.
Join tour guide Lia Niskanen in examining such complex and compelling figures as Washington Irving Bishop, one of the great showmen and mentalists; Anne Leah Fox, the stage mother behind the most successful psychic hoax of the era; William Wilson, the proprietor of a company that purported to cure ailments with electric and magnetic corsets, and many more. You will also explore the curious lengths to which Victorian women went to achieve ultra-white skin, and the strange and dangerous obsession with green dye in the fashions of the day.
$20 for members of Green-Wood and BHS / $25 for non-members
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Click the “Enter promotional code here (members, use your ID#)” link in the bottom right corner of the ticket box and enter your ID number to apply your ticket discount. Please note that the Senior, Individual and Student membership levels are limited to only one Member Ticket per event (for additional tickets, please purchase at the regular price).
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