Yetholm History Society is extremely grateful to Lesley Abernethy who has given to the Society three original cartes-de-visite of Queen Esther, as well as an original glass-lantern slide of the Gipsy Palace.
The three cartes-de-visite are shown above. It is fascinating to hold these images in one's hand - and to see them in their original size: 2½ inches by 4 inches. Esther was an accomplished self-publicist and had many of these produced to give to visitors to the palace. No doubt she was duly rewarded. If she had been alive today she would no doubt have had her own TicTok, Facebook and Instagram accounts and have delighted in taking hundreds of selfies. She presents herself, usually, in two roles - either as a wandering gipsy, a latter-day 'Meg Merrilees', or as a Royal Gipsy Queen. The two outer examples in the photograph above show her in wandering gipsy mode. The central image can be seen in more detail below (left - click on image to see a larger version). We are very fortunate to have been given this image as it seems to be a unique survival. It was taken by the photographer Macintosh of Kelso and is unlabelled. However, it is quite clearly Esther - an identification which is confirmed by the fact that it shows her in the royal robes of the Gipsy Queen, in which she can also be seen in another more familiar self-publicising image - below (right). Note, in addition to the crown, the black band which can be seen on her sleeve in both pictures. Esther would, if you were fortunate, display her coronation robes to visitors to the palace. In the image on the right she is shown in her full regal splendour, with the royal sword propped against a nearby table. In the new image she looks slightly more bedraggled and some of her clothes are less impressive - more like, in fact, the kind of thing she wore when posing as a wandering gipsy. Her lower skirt is a more workaday item and note that, in contrast to the image on the right, she is not wearing the mocassins that were sent from America by a nephew, but a pair of sturdy walking boots. It is as if she is presenting herself as a cross between a Gipsy Queen and Meg Merrilees. Or maybe she was just getting old and some of the origal costume had become moth-eaten or lost when she moved to Kelso - ? It seems likely the new image was taken in the late 1870s or early 1880s - Esther died in Kelso in 1883 - see HERE. Many thanks - again - to Lesley for donating these items to Yetholm History Society.
1 Comment
Hywel James
25/9/2022 05:41:58 pm
Great pictures and a very helpful commentary.
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