Rapunzel, Rapunzel …

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Aline Vallandri, Hair care

Mademoiselle Aline Vallandri and her amazing hair

 When I first saw this picture in Every Woman’s Encylopaedia, I couldn’t quite believe it was real. I mean, nobody’s hair could possibly be that long without hair extensions, right? I was irresistibly reminded of Disney’s Tangled – although I don’t think this woman’s hair had any magical properties…

The lady in question is Mademoiselle Aline Vallandri, a French soprano who sang with the Opera-Comique in Paris. In the Encyclopaedia, which, according to the cover, contains “what every woman wants to know” (mainly beauty tips, hints on how to furnish your house, handicrafts and a small amount on childcare – what else would a woman be interested in, after all?) the opera singer explains her hair care routine.

It is not difficult to set down the rules I follow for taking care of my hair. Greatly as I prize and value my gift, I am no slave to it, for I devote only about three-quarters of an hour every day to its care. If women generally did the same, I have no doubt that in a short time they would soon notice an improvement in the condition of their hair.

Maybe, but three-quarters of an hour? My hair is lucky if it gets ten minutes of my time every day!  But as I read on, I soon realised that when she said she devoted three-quarters of an hour to her hair every day, she had not been entirely truthful, for as it turns out:

Every morning when I get up my maid brushes my hair. As it is so long, I have had to have a specially high stool made to sit on. The maid brushes both my scalp thoroughly and my hair from the roots to the end for half an hour. The other quarter of an hour I devote to dressing it for the day.

The poor maid must have been exhausted!

Mademoiselle Vallandri has various tips for women who would like to have long and beautiful hair. The first is that although the hair and scalp should be kept clean by the vigorous brushing described above, it is important not to wash it too often. When washed (at rare intervals) it should be left to dry naturally, and should under no circumstances be dried by rubbing it with a towel or by using hot irons. One wonders how long it must have taken to dry, and how cold she must have felt while it was doing so – it’s no wonder she didn’t wash it very often!

Curling tongs should never be used because, apparently: “The woman who uses curling tongs courts disaster.” as they dry out the hair and make it brittle and liable to break. Should the hair become dry, she recommends massaging a little brillantine into the scalp and brushing a small amount into the hair, as this will make it shine. The hair should be trimmed and singed with a lighted taper regularly, as this promotes growth and prevents split ends. Trimming sounds like a good idea but a lighted taper, really? Sounds far more like a recipe for disaster than using curling tongs!

The singer attributes the beauty of her hair at least in part to a hair lotion the recipe of which was given to her by a nun in the convent in which she finished her education. However, as the nun swore her to secrecy she could not reveal the recipe to the Encyclopaedia’s readers, thus preserving forever some of the mystery surrounding the length and thickness of her hair. I never knew nuns were experts on hair care but whatever this nun recommended obviously worked. No hair extensions for Mademoiselle Vallandri. Hair care producers, eat your hearts out…

Caesar and the King

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Caesar, dogs, Edward VII, funerals

On the morning of Friday, 20^th May 1910, two weeks after his death, Edward VII’s funeral procession made its way through London. It was a massive affair, involving royal dignitaries from most of the royal families of Europe; but a particularly moving touch was the presence of Caesar, Edward’s adored wire-haired fox terrier, following his master’s coffin. 

The Royal Collection © 2008, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, RCIN 2935437

Caesar was presented to Edward in 1902, and from the very first became a firm royal favourite. He wore a collar with the inscription, “I am Caesar. I belong to the King”, and was lavished with affection. Edward was loath to be separated from him, and Caesar accompanied the king on his 1903 tour to Europe. A French royal observer later gave a detailed description of the dog:

Caesar was a person of importance … He had a strong personality and a quick intelligence. He was very independent in his ways, a little mischievous and playful and deeply attached to his royal master, who pampered him as one would a child. When the King was travelling, Caesar went with him everywhere and did not leave him day or night, for he slept in an easy-chair to the right of his bed. He was present at all the King’s meals … the high favour which the terrier enjoyed compelled him always to be scrupulously clean. Every morning, he was washed and cleaned with care. I will not go so far as to swear that he liked it. Nevertheless he submitted to it with resignation.

The public’s imagination was caught by Caesar’s appearance in the funeral procession. Poems were written about him, and shortly after the king’s death a book appeared, Where’s master? (1910.7.3048), purporting to be written by Caesar himself. (The British Library attributes the work to the publisher Sir John Ernest Hodder-Williams.) This short volume describes the last few days of Edward’s life, as observed by Caesar, and the dog’s grief at his master’s death; it ends with him at the funeral: “I’m marching in front of the Kings.”

After Edward VII’s death, his widow, Alexandra, whose idea it had been for Caesar to walk in the funeral procession, took over the care of the dog until his own death in 1914. His gravestone read: “Our beloved Caesar who was the King’s faithful and constant companion until death and my greatest comforter in my loneliness and sorrow for four years after. Died April 18^th 1914.” A likeness of Caesar was later added to Edward VII’s tomb in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, reuniting master and dog.

How to write saleable fiction (Edwardian style)

 

We have been cataloguing masses of fiction lately, so I was amused to find this slim volume of advice, for would-be authors written by a London literary agent, George Magnus.

According to Magnus, literary merit was no guarantee of success – in fact, quite the opposite. “The better the novel, the smaller the royalty … the sale of a really clever novel, that is neither sensational nor offensive, frequently is not sufficient to pay in royalties for the typing of it”. Action, incident and exciting situations are “more requisite than polish and intimate character drawing”.

The book gives details of how much money new authors could expect for their work – a 10% royalty on a 6s (30p) novel, or £1 per 1,000 words for a serial publication,  earning around £60 for an average-length novel selling 2,000 copies.  It doesn’t sound very much, but you could buy a house for under £150.

Magnus recommended writing stories for boys – they should be “full of life and action”. A love interest was by no means essential, and “when introduced should be of the type labelled milk and water”. He also states that there was a big demand  for “religious fiction”. Authors are advised not to mention particular  denominations, but to “write a sweet, highly moral story in which true religion enters into daily life, unlabelled”.  Other recommended subjects include original incidents in the ball-room, naval and military love stories, airship and aeroplane racing, dramatic mining stories, and stories of adventure in fictitious foreign states.

Every book needs an attractive or mysterious title. Magnus advises his readers to include words like kiss, fan, waltz and wooed – and to have a double meaning in their title. I wonder what he would have made of my all time favourite title from the Tower – One frail woman and four queer men by Edgecumbe Staley (1902).

As well as dispensing advice, George also tried his hand at writing fiction. So did he follow his own rules?  We have a copy of his novel “Two in the dark” (1908), the story of an author and critic, and his pursuit of a young lady who writes serial stories for popular magazines.  While neither sensational nor offensive, it is quite racy for the time. Sadly it was not a great success, and he doesn’t seem to have published any more. In contrast, How to write saleable fiction ran to at least 14 editions, and remained in print until the 1920s.

Letters to Peter Pan

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Children's books, letters. Pauline Chase, Peter Pan

Peter Pan's Post Bag

‘Peter Pan’ is one of those stories with an enduring appeal. Everyone loves to hear stories about the ‘boy who never grew up’ and his battles with Captain Hook. There is something special about the story that has captured the imagination of children throughout the ages.

Pauline Chase (photo credit: Vintage Lulu)

Today I came across the book “Peter Pan’s Postbag : Letters to Pauline Chase”. Born Ellen Pauline Matthew Bliss, Chase was an American actress who was best known for playing Peter Pan on stage from 1906-1913. The book contains a sample of the letters that were written to her as Peter throughout her run.

A worrying number ask for tips on how to fly like Peter, whilst others comment that “Tinkerbell was very rude sometimes!”. There are also many letters asking for an “ortograf”. Finally the book includes a map of Never Never Land so that any lucky children who make it there could find their way to tell Peter in person how much they love him.

Map of Never Never Neverland

Below is a selection of the best (possibly cutest!) letters in the book (spellings reproduced):

Dear Peter

I am frightfully anxious. I am still quite young & don’t ever want to grow up. I always want to be a little boy (I mean girl) and have fun. Please don’t show this letter to Tinkerbell or she might call me a silly ass! Love and thimbles from Lesley.

A letter from Mary

 

Darling Peter

I should love to be you. I like you better than Wendy but don’t tell her because it might make her jealous & I like her nearlly as much as you. Madge

A letter from Ronie

Dear Peter Pan

You said that every time somebody said “I dont believe in fairys”, a fairy dies, so would you please tell me if every time somebody says “I believe in fairys”, a fairy comes. Love from Mabel

"Please teach me to fly!"

Mystery object 1

 

Can you identify the latest oddity to turn up in the tower? We have no idea what it’s supposed to represent, so I thought I’d try a bit of crowd-sourcing and see if anyone can explain it for us.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

The sinking of the Lusitania

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destruction, engineering, First World War, war

This week of cataloguing I came across a rather sad and strange reminder that our project is gradually approaching the 1^st world war. In my 1907’s shelf of books I found the ‘launch book’ for the Lusitania, the ocean liner which was famously torpedoed on the 7^th May 1915, killing over a thousand civilians travelling from the United States to England. Famous mostly perhaps because the ensuing outrage, stirred up by British propaganda, turned global popular opinion against Germany and led to US intervention in the war.The book is primarily about the construction of the vessel, which is beautiful, and so I wanted to post up some illustrations. Her story is also interesting, so I’ve included a little about her too, apologies to WWI experts, this barely skims the surface.

The Lusitania was built as part of the race for the trans-Atlantic passenger trade and was one of the largest and fastest vessels of the time. Perhaps because of this, she had been quietly part funded by the British Military authorities, with the idea that she would be used as an auxiliary cruiser in times of war. The final passengers to board her were aware of some of the risks …

 “Travellers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany . . . and Great Britain . . . and that travellers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.”

…read a notice from the German government in forty U.S.newspapers. National Archives (of America) http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/eyewitness/html.php?section=18

Though not all of them … That day, the Lusitania’s loading manifesto failed to mention a significant element of her cargo, with a supplementary manifesto, for the President of the United States only, being filed later after she had left New York. Some munitions were originally listed but what was omitted was the large amount of explosive products such as gun cotton and 52 tons of shrapnel shells. (www.lusitania.net).

It is not clear whether the Germans knew about the hushed up cargo or not, but despite it a wartime journey was always going to be risky. Tactics for evading submarines had not yet been clearly devised, however, Messr John Brown and Co. the designers of Lusitania were confident that their use of Krupp plate steel, with new methods of treatment and technique for application would make their vessel torpedo proof. Sadly this was not the case and chaos reigned as she sank within 18 minutes, killing 1,198 of her 1,959 passengers.

 The war diary of Kapitänleutnant Walter Schwieger Captain of the U-Boat that sank her described the scene:

“Many people must have lost their heads; several boats loaded with people rushed downward, struck the water bow or stern first and filled at once. . . . The ship blew off steam; at the bow the name “Lusitania” in golden letters was visible. The funnels were painted black; stern flag not in place. It was running 20 nautical miles. Since it seemed as if the steamer could only remain above water for a short time, went to 24 m. and ran toward the Sea. Nor could I have fired a second torpedo into this swarm of people who were trying to save themselves.” National Archives (of America) http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/eyewitness/html.php?section=18

The outrage at the event and the loss of so many were it seems a significant driver for America to join the war. Propaganda drove this further as strange items began to appear, such as the medals apparently issued to the torpedo crew for sinking the ship. These depicted the Lusitania sinking on one side and on the other a queue of passengers buying tickets from a skeleton (death). Whether Germany made them first but quickly destroyed them as they saw the action criticised or whether it was a conspiracy dreamed up by the British is unclear.Whatever significance the Lusitania’s sinking played in the war, there is no escaping the tragedy and loss of life. Therefore there is something eerily gloomy about finding a book so full of the excitement and pride of the manufacturers, designers and builders, who had little idea of what was to come.