1920s Weight Loss & Fatty Liver

I have decided to lose weight this year – it was one of my new year resolutions, and part of my getting healthy plan. It's strange how it sort of creeps up on you - If I'd had a great vintage wardrobe it wouldn't have happened, I'm sure.   My last blood test showed my blood count is almost back to normal (I was severely anaemic), although my blood pressure is too high, and I am now on blood pressure medication.  I also have abnormal liver function, and now that hepatitis has been ruled out, I apparently have a ‘fatty liver.’  This is how I look now, more or less. I would never wear shorts that short though!

Over weight and at fat-camp in the 1930s

The cause of this, my doctor tells me, is a ‘typical western diet.’  My diet over the years has been anything but typical.  I grew up whole wheat everything and NO soft drink, was vegetarian for 8 years, vegan for two of those, did raw food for one year and for my last pregnancy in 2005, with twins, gave up sugar.  I have newer smoked or ‘done drugs’, or taken excessive amounts of medications or painkillers and I am a moderate drinker, who has abstained before during and after each pregnancy (all four of them). I don’t have a sweet tooth, drink only two cups of tea or coffee a day and drink lots of water.  There must be more to it than ‘typical western diet.’

According to fatty liver guru, Sandra Cabot, grains as well as sugar is a major cause of fatty liver. So those whole grains I have been eating over the years – brown rice, whole wheat, oats – may not have been as good for me as I was lead to believe. Bugger!  So now I am cutting out all grains and sugar for 8 weeks, to see if there is any improvement.

Not the safest way to weight loss, 1960s

At present, according to this BMI calculator, I am borderline obese (its about 29) and need to lose at lest 20 kg.  I have known that I’m overweight for some time, but I have been struggling to lose it, even before I became ill.  Apparently having a fatty liver prevents you from losing weight.  If I can get my liver healthy, I can apparently lose weight!

weight loss in 1929, when an economic depression is not enough

Apart from being overweight, especially around the abdomen, the other major signs of fatty liver are high blood pressure and bad skin.  Well, I have had both of those things for ever – why didn't someone mention this to me years ago?!

Miss Camilla Clifford (The Gibson girl) - American musical comedy star

One hundred years ago the female physical ideal was very different, the curvy Gibson Girl look was in, and my BMI, had it been a thought of concept, wouldn't have seemed so bad.  A series of articles in 1912 and early 1913 saw Brooklyn-born Cornell student Elsie Scheel, 24, hailed 'the most nearly perfect physical specimen of womanhood'. At 5ft 7in tall and 171 pounds (12 stone 3 pounds), with a pear-shaped chest-waist-hips ratio of 35-30-40 inches (close to the proportions of the Venus de Milo), her BMI would have been close to 27, which is also in the overweight category.   Elsie, however,  who was selected by university medical examiner Dr Esther Parker from a group of over 400 women, was described by the New York Times as 'a light-haired, blue-eyed girl whose very presence bespeaks perfect health.'

1912

Elsie  said that 'She has never been ill and doesn't know what fear is' - indeed, she believes women would be happier if they 'got over the fear of things'.  Her tips for a healthy diet and lifestyle? She rarely ate breakfast, candy and avoided tea and coffee but loved beef steak, and thought walking better than staying up late dancing or studying.   She called herself an ardent suffragette and said that 'if she were a man, she would study mechanical engineering as she likes to work about an automobile.'   As a woman, however, an a  student of horticulture, her ambition as was grow vegetables on her father's farm.  Quite a healthy pursuit indeed – I would love to be a farmer. I wonder what her liver looked like.
I can imagine the taller, thinner and darker girls reading this article one hundred years ago and despairing, or at least feeling inadequate.  Maybe they would have resorted to something like this:

Yes, tapeworms!

By the 1920s the ideal was for a much slimmer body. Curves were out. Which was good really, because after WWI many people were extremely thin, due to food shortages and rationing, soldiering and working. One things settled down after the war the 20s lifestyle became one of excess for many, including the new middle class with their sedentary jobs, and it became easier to overeat. Weight loss again became a hot topic. especially as scientists had just discovered the connection between weight and diabetes. Every newspaper and magazine had articles about diet and losing weight, and weight loss products like pills, rubber clothing and reducing creams flooded the market.  Advertisers knew that fat was scary.

Cashing in on fear, 1920s Kelloggs ad

Many middle class women, many already quite slim, wanted to lose even more weight in order to look good in the slimline fashions of the 1920s that exposed ankles, calves and even upper arms and knees!. Many doctors considered this harmful, saying that extreme thinness and women’s “thin and scraggy” figures and “haggard, drawn expression” were the very opposite of beauty and a threat to women’s responsibility as mothers. Somehow I don't think all women were concerned about that.

Cigarette smoking was also becoming accepted for women, and advertisers homed in on their desire to keep slim, creating a strange link between smoking and beauty that is finally starting to disappear ninety years later. Obviously cigarettes don't give you diabetes!

Lucky Strike, 1927

I am not about to take up smoking, try tape worms or slimming vibrators, but I am aiming to lose weight.  Not for beauty, but for health. More importantly I want to lose fat, especially in my liver.  As my health improves with diet, I aim to excessive more - beginning with walking the dogs at least half an hour per day, a nice gentle exercise my doctors recommends. If only it would stop raining!

An English lady walking her Russian Borzois, 1930s

 I’ll keep you updated.

And if you know anything about fatty liver, let me know!

Deb xxx

The Paradise & Au Bon Marche

The Paradise, the British television costume drama series, adapted from Emile Zola's novel Au Bonheur des Dames has finally arrived in Australia. And it's wonderful. Set in an upmarket department store in the 1870's in England's north, rather than in Paris, Mr Moray, like Zola's Mouret, aim's to overwhelm the senses of his female customers, forcing them to spend big.  While Moray is slightly sleazy, and possible dangerous, he is also charming and clever, and a great salesman. 

The Paradise department store, source

The first episode saw young naive  Scottish girl Denise Lovett (Joanna Vanderham), arrives in the town to work in her uncle in his draper's shop - but as it is located opposite the Paradise, it is not doing well enough to employ her.  Instead she applies for a job as a salesgirl at The Paradise, which she gets,  and comes under the watchful, critical eye of Miss Audrey, the head  of ladies fashion. I won't say any more about the plot, in case you haven't seen it, but the details such as the shop girls 'living in' and their uniforms given an idea of life at the time.

Denise enters The Paradise for the first time, source 

Zola apparently based his department store of the novel on Paris's Le Bon Marché ("the good deal" in French), began in 1867 by Aristide Boucicautit. Although not the world's first department store, it had the first specially designed building for a store in Paris, by architect Louis Auguste Boileau. 

Bon March store c. 1867 source

Louis Auguste's son, Louis Charles Boileau,expanded the store in the 1870s, consulting the firm of Gustave Eiffel for parts of its structure.

Le Bon Marché c. 1887 source

Au Bon Marche catalogue , 1913 source

Pablo Picasso used a display card from the Lingerie department at Bon Marché as the centrepiece of collage in 1913.  He also used some striped wallpaper,  advertising for la Samaritaine store clipped from Le Journal dated January 25th. 1913, and added drawing and paint, with a wine glass on the right and a carafe on the left.

Au Bon Marche, Pablo Picasso, 1913 ,source:

In the 1920s, Louis Auguste's grandson, and architect, Louis-Hippolyte Boileau,completed another extension to the store.

Au Bon Marche shopfront, 1920s source

For more vintage 1913 shop images, please see tumblr

Deb xxx.

Vintage Bathing Costumes & Swimwear

French postcard, 1913

More on a summer theme today - a look at swimwear one hundred years ago.  I thought it best to look at the years leading up to 1913, though, just to see the difference, if any.

In the 18th century women wore "bathing gowns" to 'swim', or bathe - long dresses of fabrics that would not become see-through when wet, with weights sewn into the hems so that they would not rise up in the water. Men wore a form-fitting wool garment with long sleeves and legs, like long underwear, which changed a little over the next century.  Not only were they modest, but they protected the wearer from the sun, as suntans were definitely considered unattractive at the time.

Victorian bathing wear

In the 19th century, the woman's two piece suit became common—the two pieces being a gown from shoulder to knees plus a set of trousers with leggings going down to the ankles. Despite this covering, and thanks to Queen Victoria’s example, popular beach resorts often had bathing machines, small wooden sheds on wheels which were pulled by horses into the sea. The ideas was to avoid the exposure of people in swimsuits to the opposite sex, as it was not considered ‘proper to be observed in a bathing costume, and allowed women, to change into their swimming costumes and enter and exit the water discreetly. Often a swimming costume was hired with the machine – usually a "one size fits all" design made from a sturdy fabric, with a loose wrap tunic with tie belt and baggy drawers. Impractical for swimming, they were really just for bathing, or splashing around and getting wet. Large bathing caps were also worn to keep the elaborate bulky hairstyles of the day dry.

 

Do I look good in this? c, 1900

Costumes were hired as many people only went bathing occasionally, maybe on holiday to the coast.  Other couldn't afford special bathing wear, so would wear old nightdresses or long underwear, such as some of the girls in the photo below, taken at the Coolgardie baths in Western Australia in about 1900.

The Coolgardie Baths, c. 1900

It was also considered of vital importance that men and women bathers swam apart, as mixed bathing was frowned upon or banned on most beaches, however in reality many rules were broken. Mixed swimming contests were against the law until 1913, and therefore women swimmers could not compete in the 1908 London Olympics.

Men and a woman with bathing machines in shallow water at a Ostend, 1913, source

With newly fought freedoms for women and dress reform in the early part of the new century, it was not long the question of the standards of dress on beaches was questioned. The accepted attire for lady swimmers in 1895 was a tunic and short knickers, but many women were criticised for being immodestly dress. Stripes were very popular for men and children

Aussie kids ready for a dip, c. 1905

In 1907, Australian swimming athlete Annette Kellerman was arrested for wearing a fitted one-piece swimsuit on the beach in Poland. Annette Kellerman has designed her famous swimsuit to allow for serious athletic swimming, unlike conventional women's swimwear of the period, but it’s form fitting appearance was considered indecent by some, and it also showed her arms, legs and neck. She changed the suit to have long arms and legs and a collar, but still kept the close fit that revealed the shapes underneath. She later starred in several movies, including one about her life, and marketed a line of bathing suits - known as "the Annette Kellerman," considered the most offensive style of swimsuit in the 1920s and the focus of censorship efforts.

Annette Kellerman in her one-piece bathing suit, source

Also in 1907 men’s bathing attire was called into question, with beaches in Sydney calling for men to wear skirts or pants down to their knees for swimming. A protest resulted and men were allowed to wear shorter outfits, as worn by the Surf Lifesaving Clubs throughout Australia.

Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, December 1906

Despite opposition from some groups, the form-fitting style proved popular. It was not long before swimwear started to shrink further. At first arms were exposed and then legs up to mid-thigh. Necklines receded from around the neck down to around the top of the bosom. By 1910 bathing suits no longer camouflaged the contours of the female body. The yards of fabric used in Victorian bathing skirts and bloomers were reduced to show a little more of the figure and to allow for exposure to the sun. New York, as usual, was a step ahead of Australia.

Swimwear from New York, 1906

Women in bathing suits on Collaroy Beach in 1908

 Australia's first women Olympians, swimmers Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie, wore costumes very like those of Annette Kellerman at the Olympics in 1912.

 Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie, 1912

Mina Wylie in 1913

Female surf riders and prone board, circa 1913, Coolangatta, Queensland.

Women in bathing costumes in Pacific Ocean at Moclips, WA on August 23, 1913

Summer 1916

Bathers in New Zealand, 1918

By the 1920s women’s bathing suits were usually still a two-piece garment with a long singlet style top than could be worn over shorts, or tucked in. Fabrics now were finer jersey and flannel, with rubberized silk and satin began to be used. By the mid-1920s Vogue magazine was telling its readers that “the newest thing for the sea is a jersey bathing suit as near a maillot as the unwritten law will permit.”

A mix of styles in 1920

In the early 1920s swimsuits still had to be of a suitable length - and you did get measured!

By the end of the 20s swimsuits, like dresses, were getting shorter and smaller, although still with a lot more fabric than many people wear today.

late 1920s style

Here in North Queensland the only safe way to swim in summer is to wear stinger suits - swimwear that covers your whole body – much like Annettes Kellerman’s suit. Of course new materials, such as lycra, make these much more comfortable than Annette's suit would have been. The bonus is that they also protect you from the sun!

We tend not to wear them, but don't swim if stingers have been found at the beach, but if you are diving off shore from a boat, they are a must.  Just remember, if you do come swimming in North Queensland, they look best in black......but that's just my opinion!

Stinger suits for a Fantasea cruise, Whitsundays

Deb xxx

Agatha Christie's Poirot

I am currently on a mission.  A mission to watch every Poirot episode - the ones with David Suchet as Poirot. Not only is Poirot my favourite Christie detective, Suchet is by far and way the best Poirot ever.

The shows are wonderful - clever, well acted, with beautiful set decoration, costumes and cars.  The kids love to with them with me, as they are more psychological than gruesome  and we all try and guess the murderer.  Of course I love the books too, but this way I can share, and slightly indoctrinate, with my children.

Poirot breakfasts in his apartment, with wonderful crockery

The list of all 13 series, from 1989 to 2013, can be found here. We have just watched Dumb Witness, the last episode of series 6, which I had never seen before.  It was based on a short story that Ms Christies daughter found in her mother's possessions after her death, and it features a rather cute little dog, that Hercule Poirot ends up owning, if only for a short time.

Poirot and Bob

The episode, or movie as it is feature length, also features a rather amazing speed boat, that one man is hoping to race and beat the world water speed record. The way they time this is quite interesting too.

Timing the water speed event

If you can't find DVDs of the series, most can be found on youtube (you can see Dumb Witness here).  Great holiday viewing! I have also found a fantastic blog with the entire chronology of Hercule Poirot and his assistant, Captain Hastings, which you can find here.

A young Agatha Christie

We are off to watch The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, one of Christies early novels, written in 1926 - the same year her husband asked her for a divorce and she mysteriously disappeared for eleven days.  Luckily for us she returned, and continued to write incredible novels until her death, fifty years later.

Watch some if you can,

Enjoy,

Deb xxx

Vintage Hand carts, Billy carts and Goat Carts

At my children’s school concert the other night the grade sevens performed a little skit about billycarts, taken from the ‘Unreliable Memoirs’ of Clive James. At about age 10 in 1949 Clive’s exploits at going down ‘Billy Cart Hill’ were hilarious, and got me thinking about billy carts, how they came to be and how we don’t really have them any more.

Australian 'billycarts' were used as early as the 1880s. They were either literally drawn by a billygoat - hence the Australian name 'billycart'- or small two wheeled hand carts for which the name billycart had already become a generic term.

Australian Child's chair cart, 'mail cart' c.1890-1930 

Billycart, c. 1950-1970. source

Billycart is also an Australian variation of the English goat cart which, like the dog cart, was originally an 18th and 19th century form of animal propelled cart. A later development - the mail cart - was a two wheeled vehicle designed to be pulled by children as a play thing. The British firm Simpson, Fawcett and Co   advertised these in the 1870s emphasising their exercise value.  Here is an invoice on headed paper from Simpson, Fawcett & Co. to Leeds Pail and Perambulator Works from 1879 with illustrations of 'Hammock woodenette' patent number 56, and 'Royal Mail cart' .

Here is an actual mail delivery cart from about 1900.

source

. The mail cart, which could hold a young child, was also a precursor to the modern pram.

Victorian mail cart pram, c,1898 source

Ad from 1900 source

   
In his 1952 memoir, Sydney bookseller James Tyrrell remembered as a boy using a 'billycart', or what was probably a form of mailcart/goat cart without the goat, to deliver books for Angus and Robertson.   Similar carts were used by bakers to deliver bread, such as this one in England c. 1903.

source

One small boy pulling another in an early billy cart. They are on a path in a back yard, c. 1915 source.

Later billy carts had four wheels and steering ropes, and were a home-made versions of commercially produced - and hence relatively expensive - pedal cars. like this one from about 1922.

pedal car c. 1922

Of course they didn’t have pedals or hand cranks and were pushed or ridden down hill. They didn’t really have breaks either. Anthony Hordern and Sons Ltd, Australia’s largest department store at the time, was advertising billycarts in the 1920s - these were essentially the two wheeled mail carts of the late 19th century. However it was around this time or a little later that the 'modern' billycart developed as a fruit box with wheels or the more sophisticated H-shaped frame with rope controlled steering.

Harnessed goats were also used in a variation of this two wheeled cart - again using the term goat cart or 'go-cart'. Here are two boys playing with a small two-wheeled home-made goat-drawn cart, made from a wooden fruit box or crate marked 'J.T. MORTON' on the side.

Billy cart racing(with goats) became a popular pastime for Australian children in the 1920s and thirties.  Here is a still from a 1920s  featuring boys riding on the back of goats and children in billycarts on the streets of Rockhampton, Queensland.

And Goat racing in 1926 at Ariah Park Sports Day - Ariah Park, NSW

source

This goat cart, pulled by the champion goat "Coongal", gets privileged service from a Queensland Police officer as it crosses Queen Street in Brisbane, c. 1930.

Billy cart or goat racing is still a sport in Australian, although it has been condemned over the last few years for being harsh to both goats and children, as poorly trained feral goats have been used. Goats were usually well trained to pull carts in days gone past, and they were a re part of the family.
Billy carts, or goat carts were also popular in the US. with families from all walks of life.

Scout troop goat cart c 1920s source

Children with a goat cart in North Dakota c. 1930 source

source

The Harrison children, c. 1891 source

I think this is a great way to get around, don't you?! I can't imagine children now having this freedom though, although I do think goats are the perfect pets - they are vegetarian, could eat the prunings and vegie scraps, trim the grass and maybe even give milk. 

Of course pigs and dogs were also used to pull carts, and when dogs carts were outlawed in the UK in about 1840 as cruel, many dogs were killed as their owners could no longer afford to feed them.  Dog carts did continue in Belgium and some other European countries until the 1930s, and in WWI instead of pulling children, milk or bread they were used to carry guns or rolls of barbed wire for barricades.

source

Some large dog breeds would appear very suitable for pulling carts - they were bred for it after all. Like this Bernese Mountain Dog.

source

Today,although dog carts aren't used for commercial purposes, they are used as means of entertainment in a sport called carting, dryland mushing or sulky driving.  Just like sledding without snow, and it is done also by sled dog owners in the off season to keep them fit.

My eldest son used to walk the dog by letting him pull him on a skateboard, and my staffy now loves to pull me when I'm on my bike.  You'd think that if a dog is capable of pulling a human, it could pull a small cart of bread or ice cream.   Imagine a dog, or goat, drawn ice cream cart at the park or beach. My kids would love it - what a novelty, especially in this day and age when so many families cannot afford or have the space to have a pet.  And my dogs would think they'd died and gone to heaven if they could hang out with me outside all day and be petted by kids.  Maybe with regulations to prevent cruelty dog carts could become popular.......what do you think?


Deb xxx

As usual, more cart photos on tumblr.