A Note Recommending The Hat Works in Stockport, The Fashion Museum, The Assembly Rooms, Bath, 28/04/15.

Tags

bath, Fashion Museum, Fashion Museum Bath, hand writing, Hat Works, Hat Works Stockport, hats, love heart, Museums, note, Stockport, vintage fashion

The Behind the scenes section of The Fashion Museum in Bath has a notice board that visitors can use to recommend other fashionable places of interest. Amongst the numerous notes I found one with a distinctive, Northern, feel to it. In my youth I often found myself sat on the Transpennine Express, calling at Manchester Piccadilly, which passed through Stockport. From the train you use to be able to see a tall factory chimney with hat museum writing down the length of it in white capital letters and this always intrigued me and I often pointed it out to anyone I was travelling with; mainly my mother and younger sister. My sister and I finally visited the Hat Works about seven years now and I didn’t regret the expense. Our visit to Stockport coincided with an exhibition of swimming caps, I seem to remember. If you’re a hat lover, as I am, the Hat Works is a must.

Tea Time on The Sea Shore.

Tags

Beach, black and white, dechchairs, Ephemera, hats, old photographs, pebbles, Photography, Seaside., seaweed, stones, tea., teapot, vintage fashion

I don’t know where this photograph was taken, I can’t even remember where I bought it, but I love of the idea of taking the teapot and the best teacups down to the seashore for a brew in the fresh air!

The lady on the left seems to be enjoying her tea the most or is she smiling at the sea view or the gentleman wearing the peaked cap? She is certainly not looking at the camera, unlike the lady in the stripy hat on the left, next to the young lady pouring the tea. The lady in the middle appears to be being annoyed by some sort of flying inspect.

The beach doesn’t look that exciting, with its stones and seaweed, but that could be because I’m use to the sandy beaches of the East coast. Can you make out the three chaps walking along what must be a promenade or seawall in the background? I wonder where they’re going? So many questions!

Does anybody have any answers?

An Anlaby Road Portrait.

Tags

1920s, Anlaby Road Hull, bows, Ephemera, Hull, Hull City of Culture 2017, J J Payne, old photographs, Photography, portrait photography, short trousers, studio portrait., vintage fashion, wrap around coat

Here is another portrait from J. J. Payne’s photographic studio at 106 Anlaby Road in Hull [my first portrait by Payne featured a young lady in highland dress and can be seen here]. The lady’s wrap around coat, with its distinctive single button fastening it at the waist, was considered the height of fashion in the 1920s, so I would date this portrait to the inter-war period. The photograph is full of interesting details, but I think it was the bows on the little girl’s shoes that caught my attention in the shop. There is nothing written on the back of the photograph to indicate who the sitters are, apart from their connection to the Anlaby Road area of Hull, which is suggested by their choice of photographer.

I did wonder where the father was in what otherwise looks like a happy family portrait; at sea perhaps.

Waistcoat.

Tags

Anlaby Road Hull, Ephemera, F J Seaman, Fredrick Joseph Seaman, Granny's Parlour Antiques Hull, Hull, Hull City of Culture 2017, old photographs, Photography, portrait photography, studio portrait., vintage fashion, waistcoat

A three-piece suit was obviously deemed essential attire for a formal portrait by the gentleman in this photograph, even if the three pieces did not originally belong together. Isn’t the waistcoat striking? Note the chain running across this chap’s chest and through the button hole of his waistcoat. Perhaps the chain or the item on the end of it was regarded as such a prized procession, meriting inclusion in the portrait, that any waistcoat would do in order to show it off? Perhaps the waistcoat was an old favourite. We’ll never know.

The photograph was taken by F J Seaman of “Hull, York, Scarborough, Bridlington, Beverley, Blackpool“ and according to the Photo-Slauth, the F J stands for Fredrick Joseph. It seems that professional photography was the family business, but I won’t quote from Mr. Paynes’ blog word for word; follow the link if you are interested. I’m assuming that this photograph was taken at the Hull branch of the business, because I found the portrait in Hull; another find from Granny’s Parlour antiques on Anlaby Road.

Photo Archive: Inclement Weather Over Battersea Power Station, King’s Road, London, September 2013.

Tags

Battersea Power station, clouds, dark, design, inclement weather, King's Road London, light, London, London landmarks, scale model, shoes, vintage fashion, Weather, window, window dressing, window shopping.

Striking A Pose, Margate.

Tags

Edward Cox, Ephemera, Footlight Notes, Margate, Margate Civic Society, old photographs, Photography, studio portrait., vintage fashion

What is going on here then? Presumably this photograph was taken in order to show the detailing on the back of the dress. Is it particularly remarkable? I thought it had a rather theatrical look about it.

I have only found two references to Margate based photographers called Edward Cox (note the name embossed into the bottom right hand corner of the photograph). The “Footlight Notes” blog features a photograph of the Chase Me theatrical review, taken by a Edward Cox. The theatrical company are shown outside their boarding house in Margate in 1914.

The other reference was on the Margate Roll of Honour, published by the Margate Civic Society. A Aircraftman 2nd Class, Eric Edgar Cox, RAF was called up for military service during the Second World War and died after ten days service having suffered from ill health for some time. He is listed as a partner in a photographic studio on Sweyn Road, founded by his father, Edward Cox. It also mentions that Edward Cox was the official photographer for the Dardanelles Commission, founded in 1916 to investigate the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign during the First World War.

Vertical & Horizontal stripes, July 1953.

Tags

1950s, 1953, handbags, horizontal stripes, old photographs, street photography, vertical stripes, vintage fashion

Number 1475.

What a striking combination of vertical and horizontal stripes. The date, on the reverse of the photograph, is July 1953 and I suspect the location is Skegness (the nearest seaside resort to the market town of Louth where I purchased this photograph).

Photograph 338 and Enolin Tooth Paste.

Tags

A E Wrate, Enolin Tooth Paste, Ephemera, Hair and Beauty, Skegness, street photography, vintage fashion

Walking the walk.

I was in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth this morning and managed to acquire some more photographs for my collection; this was my favourite. It was the hair of the chap on the left that caught my attention; what volume! I also like the pointed collar, cricket jumper and double breasted jacket look he’s sporting. His companion also seems to be sporting a cricket jumper under his suit jacket, but he seems to be affecting a smarter look with his slicked back hair, buttoned up collar and tie.

The photographers were kind enough to put their full address on the back of the postcard: A. E. Wrate. 17 Lumley Road and The Beach Studio, Skegness. Also High St. and The Kiosk, Mablethorpe. My last visit to Skegness was over three years ago, but my vague memories and a bit of map work, lead me to believe that this photograph was taken in Skegness, on the corner of Lumley Road and Lumley Avenue (the building on the right is still recognisable today as the HSBC bank).

The only thing written on the reverse is “Enolin Tooth Paste”.

“Chiffon Evening Dress 1927”, Castle Howard Costume Museum postcard.

Tags

1920s, 1927, Castle Howard, Castle Howard Costume Museum, Fashion, Postcard, vintage fashion

When I found this postcard I couldn’t recall seeing a Costume Museum at Castle Howard when I visited in 2004 and this afternoon “The Telegraph” on-line informs me that the costume collection was sold off in 2003 to help fund the restoration of the house, so I wouldn’t have seen it. What a shame! If this postcard is anything to go by, the collection must have been quite something.

Knitted Tie Portrait.

Tags

Ephemera, Knitted tie, Knitting, Leeds, old photographs, Photography, Retro, Studio Photograph, studio portrait., Vintage, vintage fashion, Woodhouse Street Leeds

For at least the last five years I have favoured the knitted tie above all other styles, although I can’t recall exactly when I purchased my first, but I think I might have discovered it in a vintage shop in the Grand Arcade, Leeds. The trend doesn’t seen to have caught on however, because I’ve never met anyone else wearing one; not that I consider myself a trend setter! Hence my surprise at finding this portrait of a proud knitted tie wearer.

The photographers name and the address of his studio is printed on the back, “F. Scrimshaw, 46 Woodhouse Lane, Leeds”. The Leeds Museum and Galleries website informs me that F. Scrimshaw appears in the city’s trade directories between 1906 and 1914 at the afore mentioned address and they have a photograph of his as part of their on-line archive and the Leodis “photographic archive of Leeds” has a photograph of “Francis” Scrimshaw’s studio at 46 Woodhouse lane in the mid-1960’s.

Purchased: Haworth, May 2014.

Other photographs from my collection can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121480122@N04/sets/72157643085991143/