Tutorial — Period Hairstyles from Evidence

Augmented Traveler local tutorial. Back to Grooms — Tutorials · process: Grooms for MetaHuman — Considerations · photographs as evidence: ZBrush — Likeness and Age Research · next: Tutorial — XGen Period Hair for MetaHuman

Before anyone opens Maya, the groom artist and the historian agree what the hair looked like on the date we show. This tutorial covers reading photographs for hair, a decade guide for 1830s–1880s, and the hair evidence sheet that the historian signs.

Draft. Written from the FIT Fashion History Timeline, Victorian Web (Nunn), NHA and Library of Congress collection pages, and our likeness research. The historian of record validates every decision. Period statements here are general; each figure needs their own images.

1. Reading a photograph for hair

Use the rules in ZBrush — Likeness and Age Research and add these hair checks.

Check What to look for Why it matters
Orientation Daguerreotypes are mirror images: rings appear on the right hand, signs read backwards A side parting on a reversed plate is on the wrong side. Record reversed / corrected / unknown
Colour Early plates see mostly blue and violet light Blond and red hair record dark. Never read hair colour from the grey value
Hand-colouring Tints added by the studio Not evidence of colour
Parting Line position, straightness, width of scalp showing Drives the scalp density map and guide flow
Volume Silhouette against the background, width at the ears Period hair was flat on top in many decades; modern volume reads wrong
Ears Covered, half-covered, or shown Changes by decade (see section 2)
Back of head Rarely visible in portraits Bun size and position are often interpreted; say so
Caps and bonnets Cap edge, lappets, strings Hair under a cap is hidden, not evidence. Record only what shows
Greying Lighter strands at the temples or parting Grey records light, but so does fair hair; cross-check with age and text
Oil and shine Bright highlights along the parting Hair oils or pomade, or just the skylight. Note it; don't over-shine

Exposure. Early Nantucket sittings took from five to seventy minutes, with a headrest. Stray hairs may blur or vanish. Don't read "no flyaways" as "perfectly smooth hair".

2. Decade guide (general, Anglo-American fashion)

Use it as a starting point only. Nantucket Quakers dressed plainer than fashion plates (section 3).

Women

Decade Typical daytime hair Headwear
1830s High chignons of loops, braids or curls; front in sausage curls or ringlets. By the late 1830s: centre part, brushed smooth over the ears into a chignon at the back Married women wore white frilled day caps indoors; bonnets grew narrower and hid the face
1840s Centre part, looped smoothly over the ears, drawn back into a chignon or bun. Alternative: ringlets either side, rest drawn back White cotton or linen day caps indoors at the back of the head; close-fitting bonnets outdoors
1850s Centre part, brushed down and heavy on the sides, covering the ears; late decade heavy and low at the back Bonnets worn further back, showing more hair
1860s Centre part, smooth back into a chignon, sometimes small curls or braids above the ears; hair net (snood) around the chignon; false hair common late in the decade Small bonnets tipped back; hats appear
1870s Early: centre part, waved, piled up with curls down the back (false hair usual). Late: high, tight chignons; sometimes a short curly fringe Bonnets for older women and Sunday best by the 1880s
1880s Tight chignons; bun on top of the head; fringe reduced to small tendrils Indoor caps only for elderly women by the 1870s

False hair. Mark Campbell's 1867 manual teaches readers to make their own "Switches, Braids, Curls, Waterfalls". A large 1860s–70s coil may be partly bought hair. Model it as a separate groom group.

Men

Decade Hair Face
1840s Ear-length, parted to one side Usually clean-shaven; some facial hair by the end of the decade
1850s Oiled, long on top with a wave or puff at the forehead (WVU example) Clean-shaven common; side-whiskers appear
1860s Ear level, neatly parted to the side, a soft wave Trim beards, moustaches, long side-whiskers ("muttonchops")
1870s Shorter, neatly parted Clean-shaven rare; full muttonchops or trim moustaches

Facial hair detail: Tutorial — Period Facial Hair Grooms.

3. Quaker plainness

4. The hair evidence sheet

One sheet per figure per date. Store it beside the likeness log.

Figure / date shown:        Maria Mitchell, 1 Oct 1847 (age 29)
Images used:                [ID, source, date, format, orientation, rights]
Parting:                    centre / side (L or R, orientation-checked) / none visible
Front and sides:            smooth bands / loops over ears / ringlets / covered
Ears:                       covered / half / shown
Back:                       bun / coil / net / not visible (interpreted)
Headwear on date:           none / indoor cap / bonnet / hat
Length (estimate):          to shoulder / waist / unknown
Colour:                     from [written source] / INTERPRETED
Grey:                       none / temples / salt and pepper (%)
Texture:                    straight / wavy / curly (from image)
Facial hair (men):          style, extent, grey
Plainness notes:            Quaker / fashionable / working
Open questions:
Historian decision + date:

5. Colour and age

  1. Hair colour comes from words. Letters, passports, biographies, painted portraits. Plates are unreliable.
  2. If no written source exists, choose a plausible colour with the historian and label it: "Hair colour is an interpretation."
  3. Age greying. Work from the nearest-dated image. For a younger date than the photographs (Mitchell at 29 from portraits c.1851 onward), reduce grey, don't add it. Record the reasoning.
  4. In MetaHuman, set colour with the Hair Overrides (Melanin, Redness, Whiteness for salt and pepper). Record the values on the sheet.

6. Historian sign-off

  1. Groom artist fills the sheet and marks every interpreted field.
  2. Costume designer adds headwear and pins/combs.
  3. Historian of record approves, amends or vetoes. Sign and date.
  4. After the groom exists, the historian checks a turntable render against the sheet, not against taste.
  5. Interpreted items go into the out-of-character segment and the label.

7. Practice exercise

  1. Pick two NHA cased photographs of women from different decades (one 1840s, one 1860s).
  2. Fill an evidence sheet for each. Decide orientation first.
  3. List what you cannot see (usually the back and the colour).
  4. Compare with the decade table. Note any Nantucket differences.

8. Check before grooming starts

Sources