Featured What kind of costume in this photo?

I thought I had posted this somewhere and somebody came up with a very interesting idea as to what kind of costume this man was wearing in the 1890s. But I can't find it in these forums through a search. I also searched the Archived Antiques board in eBay and couldn't find it. Also looked in the Victorian Images group on Facebook, where I've posted a lot.

Anyway, this is a cabinet card photo from my collection. I bought it as part of my collection of people wearing costumes, not thinking it might be a particular type of costume. I just thought it was a funny masquerade or Halloween costume. Well, somebody suggested a very specific meaning that I did not write down! Seems it might have had something to do with a religious or fraternal group? Mind you, this was taken in Nora Springs, Iowa, in the middle of the rural part of the United States.

Any ideas? Or do any of you remember a previous discussion about this? Thanks for any help!

 

Medieval Renaissance Knight? With a flimsy helmet?

 

It does look theatrical. Russia perhaps?

Debora

 

Knights of Pythias perhaps?

 

Ah, that's interesting. They seem to like to dress up.

Debora

 

I wish I could remember, but all of these thoughts are interesting. So I'll start from scratch with this.

 

I keep trying to answer this from my phone, which is acting up. I think it was both the helmet and the robe. Maybe even the beard, too! It was a while ago. I couldn't find a scan of the photo and had to redo it today. That means the old scan was a long time ago.

 

Great pic BTW, forgot to mention that!

 

Nora Springs a tiny, tiny town in the Victorian era with population below 1,000. Can't find reference to opera house or theatre. Nor a photographer named House (which is, of course, a name hard to research.) There did appear to be a Knights of Pythias "castle" according to this 1899 quote. And the Tribe of Ben Hur liked to dress up too.

"Dr. Blythe began the practice of medicine in 1867, at Vinton, Iowa, removing to Rudd, Iowa, in 1869 and to Nora Springs in 1873, where he has remained ever since, enjoying a good practice. He belongs to the following secret orders: Knights of Pythias, A. O. U. W., Modern Woodmen, and Tribe of Ben Hur."

Debora

 

Here are two local resources that should be able to help. (He's gotta be someone's great-grandfather.)

https://www.citynorasprings.com/library.html

https://floydcountymuseum.org

Debora

 

You know, I just suggested the Pythian order as a kind of joke - ironic if it really is that!

Reason it came to mind is that a few years ago I found a pair of Knights of Pythias number plate surrounds in a junk shop and thought it would be cool to fit them (something different) to my car .

I'm not a member of the order of course, but found out later some of my neighbors referred to my car as "pythias's Jag"

 

nice Jag...but shouldn't U block out the plate number ???

 

For what reason? Can it be linked to me for some kind of nefarious endeavor?

Please explain!

[edit] ok, I changed it

 

Thanks to @Debora , @blooey , and @flipper for your suggestions. Yes, I could try contacting somebody in Nora Springs. The public library is closed because of the coronavirus, and who knows about the historical museum? But I'm hopeful they could be monitoring email accounts.

 

I don't recall seeing this posted before, maybe on the Ebay boards?

Wow, what a great cabinet card! Great suggestions and tips here, do follow up on those.

My only observations... almost looks like he has eyeliner on?? Am I seeing this correctly? If yes, would this have been common for a photo of that era, or does that imply he was in some kind of theatrical production, rather than something along the lines of the Pythian Order. Also has anyone suggested that his beard/mustache might be fake?

The outfit is really fantastic. Looks like a fair amount of work went into it.

Can see why you keep this card in your collection. Great!

 

This guy sort of reminds me of Xerxes 1 of Persia.

 

Given what appears to be a false beard, I would suspect theatrical rather than fraternal.

Debora

 

My hubby needs a costume for the next Renaissance fair....this photo is inspiration!

 

One of my graduate school topics was fancy dress costume. It was very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to costume up for a variety of annual holiday, community or theatrical events. Buttterick and other pattern books put out special editions of fancy dress ideas for men, women and children. The details were only vaguely reminiscent of actual ethnic or historic dress, heavily influenced by stereotypes and always modified into the current fashionable silhouette. You will find countless Cleopatras and Marie Antoinettes with an 1880s hour-glass figure. Others were plain flights of fancy, or based on fictional or literary figures. I would venture to guess that your cabinet card commemorates either a local theatrical performance or a fancy dress ball. The ball venue owners would often sell tickets to the public to stand in front of a their hall so the average townsfolk could watch the guests arrive in their finery. Local newspapers always listed the attendees names and what character they were portraying. Lots of links on-line under fancy dress, such as https://www.loc.gov/collections/dan...33.0/|language:english&sb=shelf-id&st=gallery