Welcome the season in Victorian holiday fashion with our December events.
All event tickets can be purchased now at our Showpass site: https://www.showpass.com/o/dalnavert-museum-and-visitors-centre/
OR through our website on the event’s page.
If you are a member, check your inbox for you discount code or give us a call.
Call 204-943-2835 to purchase tickets as well or for more info
by Dr. Kathryn Ready
From award-winning film and literature to news headlines, t-shirts, coffee mugs, and breakfast cereal, the mad scientist and mad science are everywhere. While Mary Shelley is generally credited with the invention of this popular character type, the subtitle of her famous novel Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus (1818) gestures immediately to ancient sources of inspiration. Behind the tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein and his monster are in fact many old and familiar stories beyond that of the legendary Titan who stole fire from heaven on behalf of humanity. We find the stories of Satan, Adam, and Eve. Of powerful magicians such as Merlin and Prospero. Of notorious alchemists such as Faust, who reportedly traded his soul away to Mephistopheles in exchange for power and forbidden knowledge. The recognition of these ancient sources of inspiration has helped to fuel ongoing debate concerning the cultural significance of Victor Frankenstein and his many descendants. Is the story of mad science about anything new? Or is its appeal as a modernized retelling of old, familiar stories? As a modern rewriting of ancient warnings against human curiosity and pride? Or did the story of the mad scientist capture the imagination in speaking to the impact of modern science? To a world being newly transformed by science and technology? If so, does the story of mad science offer more than a broad and straightforward warning against the dangers of science? How much did Shelley know about science? What might she be saying about scientific debates in her own day? About the culture of science? What about her own literary descendants?
This lecture is part of our Exploring Victorians series. Admission is $15 or $12 for members. Reserve your spot at reserve@dalnavertmuseum.ca or call 204-943-2835
This October, Dracula returns with some new additions to this Halloween experience. Here to tell us about what’s so Victorian about Dracula is creator and director Kevin Klassen (Echo Theatre)
“Bram Stoker’s Dracula is, among many other things, a thoroughly Victorian novel: galvanized by the tension between the staid traditions and puritanical moral code of the era and its popular obsession with the lurid, and fascination with the technologically new. First published in 1897, it is very specifically of its time, with the inclusion of such recent inventions as the Kodak camera, the portable typewriter, and the recording phonograph. Built in 1895, Dalnavert is precisely the type of late Victorian mansion in which Dracula’s (largely affluent) characters would have resided. The venue is perfectly suited to the subject matter.”
To get your tickets and find out more, head to the event page for Dracula Unearthed! Revamped. Be there, or beware!
Come and hear about all of the weird stuff surrounding death that the Victorians invented or made extremely popular. They really were obsessed with the macabre, but maybe they’d think our obsession with denying our own mortality is weird!
Here’s a little teaser of the first in our October lectures. Sunday October 14th at 1:30pm, we’ll make the coffee.
MEMENTO MORI
by Vanessa Warne
Executed criminals; famous authors and artists; celebrated political leaders; beloved children: though made for different reasons, the death masks of a very wide range of people were created by Victorians who used plaster to preserve the faces of the recently dead. The morning after Charles Dickens died, a sketch was made of him on his death bed and, soon after, his face was covered with plaster that captured what his daughter Katey described in a letter as “the beauty and pathos of his dear face as it lay on that little bed in the dining-room.” The death masks that Victorians made and valued might be understood as morbid objects, but there were treasured objects and were often placed on display in homes, copies sometimes being produced and shared with absent relatives. This talk explores the making of death masks and asks how a pure white plaster cast of a deceased person’s face, cold to the touch, could comfort Victorians and retain the power to fascinate us a century after its creation.
William Wordsworth’s death mask
Popular Victorian Baby Names
by Emily Gartner
Having a baby? Wondering what names you could pick that would bring a little Victoriana into their little life? Then look no further than the names of the Macdonald family! The MacDonald’s lived at Dalnavert from 1895-1929 and had four family members, each of who had some of the most popular and classic in English speaking world, many which are still common today. Will you be having a little boy named Hugh? Or perhaps nicknaming you daughter Daisy, like a lovely
According to Victorian-era.org, when naming girls, Victorian parents often chose multiple first names, such as Mary Anna or Ellen May, as well as having names that reflected traits and characteristics that they wished for their daughters to emulate, such as Patience or Prudence. When it came to naming boys most names were kept traditional and simple, with classic names like Walter and Henry. They also commonly chose names shared with biblical figures, like Ruth and Joseph. Names shared with royalty were also normal, although funnily enough, in British society in the 1870’s-1900’s Victoria was incredibly popular in Britain. Literature and mythology also played a role, as people chose names based on their favourite characters in popular Victorian novels, plays, and tales.
The Macdonald family tended to follow these popular trends when naming their members. They often also chose family names, just like many people do today, so they have names that reflect their Scottish ancestry.
Alas, 'tis a lass, but not an illustration of a Macdonald family member.
Before Hugh John Macdonald was born in 1850, his parents Sir John A. and Isabella Macdonald had a son that died in infancy who that had named John Alexander after his father. John and Isabella had loved their first child dearly, so when Hugh was born they considered using his late brother’s names, but eventually the outcry of their relatives and Isabella’s apprehension led to them changing it, as many thought that it was inappropriate and unlucky to name Hugh for a dead sibling. They chose John A.’s father’s name Hugh and then added John as his second name, so he could also be named for his father and brother. Hugh was a relatively popular name at the time and means “mind” or “intellect” according to Nameberry.com, which fit the young Macdonald well, as he was an excellent student from a young age according to his father’s letters. Hugh’s second name, John, was later inherited by his son was born in 1885 to Hugh and his wife, Agnes Gertrude. Unlike his father, John Alexander “Jack” Macdonald was able to take his grandfather, Sir John A.’s, name. John was the top name for boys in the US, while in Britain it came in second only to William. Nameberry.com says that the name John means “God is gracious” in Hebrew and is the name of many significant Christian figures. It has been popular for centuries and is the root name for other popular monikers, such as Ian, Sean, and Evan, as well as Jack, which was the nickname that John Macdonald often went by. John’s second name Alexander was also in the top 100 names in the 1880’s and comes from Greek, meaning “defending men”. It was a popular name in Scottish families, like the Macdonald’s, as it had been common among Scottish royalty for many centuries.
Jack was not the only child in his family, nor the first to inherit a family moniker; in 1877 Hugh and his first wife, Jean, welcomed their daughter Isabella Mary, who they named after Hugh’s mother, Lady Isabella Macdonald. In the 1880’s the name Isabella was the 33rd most popular girls name in Britain according to British Baby Names.com. Meanwhile, her second name, Mary, was the most popular girls’ name both in Britain and the US all the way until the 1900’s. According to Nameberry.com the name Isabella is Italian/Spanish and is a version of the Hebrew name Elizabeth, which means “pledged to God”. Mary is also Hebrew and means “bitter”. Isabella Macdonald, however, was not generally known to friends and family as Isabella, with most calling her by her nickname Daisy. The nickname was supposedly given to her by a family friend who noticed that when she was playing in a meadow filled with daisies, her long blonde hair made her look like one of the flowers. The name Daisy was also a common legal first name for Victorian girls. The daisy flower is also symbolic of innocence and simplicity in the Victorian language of the flowers, which would have made the nickname great for a young girl.
There is nothing written about how Agnes Gertrude Macdonald got her names. However, we do know that Agnes means “pure” or “virginal” in Greek and was later latinised to being associated with “lamb” and holy purity. It was ranked 51st most popular in the 1880’s while Gertrude was more popular at 27th most common. Gertrude is Germanic and means “strength of a spear”. Both were fairly popular throughout Victorian times, but today aren’t still in the top 100 in the US or UK.
The history of surnames tends to centre more on things like a person’s occupation or family of the people who live in an area, particularly in England and Scotland. According to SurnamesDB, many Scottish surnames refer to the clan that the people who have them come from. The surname Macdonald is particularly popular as the Macdonald Clan was the biggest clan in Scotland and has had many notable members over the years, including the Macdonald family of Dalnavert. The name translates to “Son of Donald”, which indicates a chief of the clan from centuries ago. The name Donald itself means “Great Chieftain” in Gaelic according to Nameberry.com and in the 1880’s it was 122nd most popular in the UK too.
To learn more about Victorian names and to see just how popular your own name was one hundred and thirty years ago, go check out the American social security administration and British Baby Names.com. You can also use Nameberry.com and SurnameDB to learn what the history behind your name is and where it came from. Every name has a story to it, but it’s meaning is what you give it. To learn about the people that carried the Macdonald family name and the stories that their names told, drop by Dalnavert today.
A wee bairn and cat in a cradle.
September 22nd
With Ines Bonacossa
Learn about Asian influence on the British and Europe during the Victorian Era with Dalnavert’s collections registrar.
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October 6th
With Ines Bonacossa
Follow the history of dolls, from pretty, to creepy, and everything in between!
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October 20th
With Leif Norman
Join a local professional photographer through his lecture on the curious mourning practices of Victorians through pictures.
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November 10th
Revelations of Victorian Lady Detectives
With Arlene Young
Discover the Victorian fascination with mystery and learn about the history of the female role in detective work — in fiction and real life!
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December 8th
With Gerry Bowler
Follow Gerry Bowler, author of The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Santa Claus: A Biography and Christmas in the Crosshairs, through the reinvention of one of the world’s most celebrated holiday.
January 26th
With Kevin Klassen
In the spirit of RMTC’s Shakespeare Fest Jan/ Feb 2020, local actor, director, playwright and producer Kevin Klassen talks about why we keep returning to plays by Shakespeare, why we love to shake them up, and how Henry Irving revolutionized Shakespeare in the Victorian era!
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February 16th
With Matt Joudrey
Visit for a discussion and demonstration on the art of bookbinding with Matt Joudrey of At Bay Press.
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March 8th
With Susan Moffatt
Join us for International Women’s Day and celebrate the culture and creations of Manitoba’s female artists.
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April 5th
With Vanessa Warne & Sabrina Mark
Listen to an illustrated talk exploring the controversial history of the corset,
a celebrated but also much maligned garment. Join us to learn more about whalebone, waspish waists, and the foundations of what Victorians wore.
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May 10th
With Alexandra Kroeger
To celebrate Manitoba’s sesquicentennial, Curator Alexandra Kroeger explores the life of Sir Hugh John Macdonald through significant moments in Manitoba’s history.
Prices:
$15 General
$12 Members
BUNDLES:
Pick 3:
$13 each general ($39)
$10 member ($30)
All 10*:
$100 General
$80 Members
*All 10 offer valid until September 22nd, 2019
ALL lectures begin at 1:30pm and include coffee, tea and cookies.
It's the most wonderful time of the year at Dalnavert! We deck the house in Victorian tinsel and give it that seasonal flair. Visit us in December during one of our events and you'll get more than a warm and fuzzy feeling:
The return of A Dickens Christmas Carol marks the 2nd annual performance series since we re-opened in April 2015 (but long standing tradition here since way back.) This year, Ian Ross, Ron Robinson, and Charlene Van Buekenhout will each perform. read, interpret this classic tale throughout December. We will add some seasonal music by the Sparkle Sisters and more, and you might also get some early Christmas treats. Check out the Christmas event page for details, dates, and times.
This year, we have a new, exclusively for Children, Christmas program. A Victorian Child's Christmas Story is available for 3 Sundays in December. Children's stories such as Clement Clark Moore's 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, and Charles Dickens' A Cricket on The Hearth will be told beside the Christmas Tree in the parlour of Dalnavert. Check out the Christmas event page for details.
WHAT’S IN YOUR MEDICINE CABINET? - Nov 20th at 1:30pm
$15 Regular
$12 Student
$10 Member
– We take a peek at some of the Victorian cure-alls and wonder oils tucked away in the Macdonald Medicine Cabinet.
