Isabella Warnham
About
Throughout my studies, I have been able to explore numerous different pathways that have allowed me to dip my feet into various interests. Having previously earned a bachelor’s degree in photography, my passion lies within using photography as an object to investigate the history of its material culture. This is reflected in my dissertation, Bessie Bonehill: Victorian Male Impersonation, where I combined my interest in performance with photography by conducting a case study into celebrity crossdresser, Bessie Bonehill. Primarily utilising carte-de-visites and cabinet cards in conjunction with music sheets, costumes, and posters to analyse portrayals of gender. Analyses of gender has been a key component of much of my work, formerly also conducting research into Surrealist photographers’ depiction of the female body. Influenced by my own experiences, I often consider effects or perspectives of women in whatever I am studying.
As I continuously work with collection objects, I find my enthusiasm to be eclectic. For example, my essay on an eighteenth-century gold snuffbox drew me into an unexplored area of interest by examining the social rules of tobacco and how these accessories were disseminated.
As a member of the National Portrait Gallery and Leighton and Sambourne House volunteers, I thrive in museum and heritage sites where I hope to grow the foundations of my career. This has expanded throughout my time at RCA by working closely with the Victoria and Albert Museum curators and collections.
Image: Gold Snuffbox, Paul Barbot and George Michael Moser, 1774 (Victoria and Albert Museum).
Statement
I aim to establish a career in the museum field where I may continuously cultivate my skills through creativity and critical thinking. Being able to work with the extensive collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum has given me an insight into bigger organisations and be able to expand my thinking and expertise. With a bachelor’s degree in photography and experience in art and design institutions I am confident in my ability to adapt and develop within different environments and bring new knowledge to every project. I look forward to taking my work in new directions and expanding on my specialisms through research within different institutions.
Image: Visit to The National Archives, Kew 2022.
Dissertation
Abstract
Bessie Bonehill (b.1855 - d.1902) was arguably the most influential male impersonator of her time, earning the highest salaries to perform across the globe every night, and yet we see very little of her in historical research.
Examining her career within the frame of design history my research utilises contemporary material culture in the form of carte-de-visites and music sheets to produce an analysis on gender and audience. To explore how typical a representation of the male impersonation profession Bonehill is, I considered how she navigated these facets within three different contexts; the music hall as a portrayal of ‘reality’, pantomime as a portrayal of ‘fantasy’, and offstage as a portrayal of ‘self’. The ways in which this compares with other performers and societal ideologies of the nineteenth century produces questions on the signifiers of gender within clothing, the ways in which performance may or may not alleviate societal responsibility on the performer, and the changes of expectations and execution within different environments.
Two of Bonehill’s surviving costume ensembles that have never been researched before provided me with a unique insight into the material identity of her as a cross-dressed performer and how she established a gradient of gender through visual identity design.
Object Study
Object Study 'A Gold Snuffbox: Culture and Consumption in the Eighteenth Century'
Shortly before the creation of this snuffbox, the culture surrounding consumption was beginning to change. When considering the increased accessibility to materials and tobacco itself, eighteenth century England was importing more tobacco than ever. Accessible to upper, middle, and lower classes, snuff became ubiquitous in the possessions of man, woman, and even child. Snuff, a pulverised form of tobacco meant to be chewed or inhaled through the nose, originally established itself in England during the reign of Charles II becoming the favoured form by the nobility. Some users carried snuff loose in their pockets, while others preferred to take their snuff from a bottle or a jar. This quickly adapted with the introduction of ornate boxes designed to keep the snuff dry. This essay explores an eighteenth century snuffbox created by Paul Barbot with reference to the sociability, materiality, and consumption that surrounds its production.
Considered an important fashionable accessory to own, occasionally taking on the forms of animals or human figures, the oval shape was most common for snuffboxes made in the eighteenth century. Gold was considered the principal material of which was always indicative as ‘an essential part of the personal equipment of the distinguished’. This alone reveals information about this box’s owner, of which there is no evidence. The type of consumer that would have owned this box is explored in this essay, in conjunction with the ritualistic nature of snuff-taking and the ‘proper’ etiquette rules required.