The Edwardian decade marked the last of corset-wearing fashions, a sleeker silhouette and the start of great social change.
If I was having my photo taken in wet woolen swimwear I think I’d close my eyes too… I know we all reminisce about the gorgeousness of vintage swimwear, and how it’s all more stylish and more lovely than lycra, but I think even a pair of tiny budgie-smugglers would be more flattering than these(…)
George Washington’s teeth which, contrary to popular myth, weren’t made of wood. He had various pairs, and the pair he had when he became president were made from hippo and elephant ivory with gold springs. I’m not sure whether the pair above are those, but they certainly look about right don’t they? Washington suffered from problems(…)
I love so many things about this photo. I love the swinging deckchairs, those huge and cumbersome hats (on the beach!) and the fact that you seem to be able to see bits of these ladies which would have been frowned upon in those days (I can see their ankles, their wrists and their petticoats(…)
Singer Stella Carol photographed in 1915. It’s a shame this photo is so damaged, I think I might use my PhotoShop skills to try and repair it… Stella Carol, age 17, a well-known soprano, and her husband, Albert Leblond, were passengers aboard the White Star Company Arabic when it was torpedoed without warning on August(…)
The lovely Evelyn Nesbit was a chorus girl, artists model and pin up girl in the early years of the 20th century. She was famous, not only as a Gibson Girl, but as one of the first cover girls for magazines including Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan and was known for a time as(…)
When you say that biscuits are from World War 1 they just don’t sound very appealing do they? These Anzac biscuits however are surprisingly delicious. My 7 year old wolfed them down. He didn’t complain that they weren’t covered in chocolate which is high-praise indeed! These biscuits were made by wives and families of ANZACs(…)
You know my feelings about real fur by now, and if you’ve somehow missed that you can read about it here. I have to remind myself though that the past was a very different place, where wearing fur was aspirational and fashionable and the ethics of it weren’t questioned at all. One thing I still(…)
The Eiffel Tower was built over a period of 2 years between 1887 and 1889. These photos show how it grew over the months and years during construction. It’s hard to imagine Paris before the Eiffel Tower existed isn’t it? [8 photos]
Dancers Vernon and Irene Castle with their pets ‘Wolf’ and ‘Waldo’ on board a ship c. 1910. It’s hard to make out the dog that Irene is holding, I’m not sure whether the tail is part of a fur wrap, or whether Waldo is actually a pet fox…? Can you make it out? You can(…)
I’m not sure quite what’s going on in this photo. Are they a lesbian couple (which I’m guessing would have been pretty scandalous at this time), or is the woman dressing as a man because her husband wasn’t around and a lady couldn’t sit on an ‘actual’ man’s lap without losing her reputation…? There’s no(…)
This is my first attempt at colorizing a vintage photo (below), what do you think? I love the original photo party because of the fabulous hairstyles of the two women. One of the women is wearing a “peysuföt” (a traditional Icelandic Costume) and the other a Danish dress. The photo was taken sometime between 1900-1920.(…)
A dancer in a fabulous Egyptian costume photographed in 1915. I love this costume, it reminds me of that scene from Cleopatra (the 1963 movie) when Elizabeth Taylor is brought into Rome at the end of that amazing procession. Some of the dancers in that are wearing Egyptian style wings similar these (although with much skimpier(…)
I assumed that women’s boxing was a fairly new sport, after all it was only included in the Olympics last year for the first time, but from these photos you can see it was going on (although with varying degrees of inappropriate outfits) since at least the late 1880s. I’m guessing it wasn’t a mainstream(…)
A photo of Wild West showman and buffalo hunter Buffalo Bill wearing a surprisingly flowery embroidered coat. This photo was taken in 1889 when he would have been 43 (I think). Apparently he had to have a kind of hunt-off against William Comstock to earn exclusive right to use the name ‘Buffalo Bill’. He won the buffalo-shooting(…)
I realise caricatures are generally quite unflattering, but this seems to be quite poisonous for no apparent reason! The artist was Georges Goursat (Sem) and the piece appeared in Le grand monde à l’envers in 1919. The caption reads: Mam’selle Coco j’voudrais un beau chapeau pour le Dimanche Which, if my schoolgirl French suffices, translates as(…)
Harley Davidson was a famous speed roller skater from 1912. Have you seen how many medals he has on his chest? That’s impressive in any sport! Harley Davidson motorcycles were supposedly named after this man, although I can’t confirm that… Does anyone know for sure?
The real Butch Cassidy (looking nothing like Paul Newman) photographed in 1894 in a mug shot from Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie. Cassidy’s real name was Robert Leroy Parker and he was a notorious American train and bank robber and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang.
A woman with good shoes is never ugly – Coco Chanel Hmm, Coco Chanel had quite an acerbic way with words, most of her quotes are interesting but provoke strong opinions in everyone who hears them! The girl in this photo is Eveyln Nesbit, who was known as the ‘Most Beautiful Girl in the World’(…)