Good Looks--The Care of the Hair (1906)

At the Toilet by Harrison Fisher (Circa 1910)

Throughout history, women have often suffered and even died to be beautiful; or that is, to conform to whatever the current standard of beauty was in their particular time and place. From lead-containing face powders in the 18th century (which were actually used by both fashionable men and women, with often disastrous results), to rib crushing corsets in the 19th century, to impossibly high heels, plastic surgery and weight control fads in modern times, the quest for beauty has unfortunately sometimes led to unhealthy practices.

Late 19th Century Trade Card

Like the usually ineffective and often dangerous medicines of the era, hair products of the 19th and early 20th centuries contained various substances, some of which were harmful, and many of which were benign and still found in beauty products today. Some ingredients cleaned and softened the hair, or gave it a pleasant scent. Others made the scalp tingle or burn to make users feel that it was working to stimulate circulation. Common ingredients found in these preparations included soap, borax, glycerin, witch hazel, rose water, bay rum and other alcohols. But some also contained potentially dangerous ingredients such as hydrochloric acid, caustic soda, or lead.

 

Late 19th Century Trade Card

Hair tonics and shampoos often made wild claims of being able to beautify and restore damaged or thinning hair, enticing women to use their often useless or even toxic products to become more attractive and fashionable. In the late 1800s, the Seven Sutherland Sisters promoted popular hair products, which included a "Hair Grower", "Hair Colorators", and a "Scalp Cleaner". These seven sisters from New York were popular singers and side show performers for Barnum and Bailey's from about 1882 to 1907, known for their exceptionally long, thick hair. Genetically gifted, they sported their lustrous locks long before the formula was even developed. But they were effective celebrity endorsers, targeting women who hoped to grow their own beautiful hair.

In an age where women wore their hair up in public, sensuous, long flowing hair was normally reserved for intimate moments. Such images of extremely long hair seem strange in the 21st century, but in their time they appealed to women's deep desire for sexual attractiveness and love, just like modern ads for beauty products do today. 

A very interesting in-depth article on the sisters, their lives, and their hair care products can be found at peachridgeglass.com. Link


A brief Wikepedia.com article on the Seven Sutherland Sisters with some interesting links can be found here: Link

The Seven Sutherland Sisters (Circa 1890s) On such group photos the sisters were always placed in such a way that it seemed all of the sisters had hair reaching the floor. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) Link

The following article appeared in the advice column "Good Looks" from The Delineator, January 1906, written by a female physician, Eleanor Rogers, M.D. The author gave beauty advice in response to letters from readers of the magazine, which was in line with the latest medical information of the era. While good general health and effective circulation to the scalp are still recognized as being important for healthy hair, many of the treatments recommended by Dr. Rogers would now be considered ineffective and/or extremely dangerous. The hair care tips presented here are for historical interest only, and must not be taken as safe medical advice.

7 Sutherland Sisters Hair and Scalp Cleaner (Source: Joe Mabel at Wikimedia Commons) Link (CC BY-SA 3.0-- Link)

This particular response to a letter on hair care references a substance called cantharides, which was one of the ingredients in the "7 Sutherland Sisters Hair and Scalp Cleaner." Cantharides, also known as cantharidin or Spanish fly, is an irritating substance derived from the secretions of blister beetles. Historically it was used in various preparations an an aphrodisiac, but it sometimes caused injury or death, rather than sexual arousal. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, cantharides was used in some hair care products, as it was believed the irritating properties stimulated circulation to the scalp and promoted hair growth. Cantharides can act as a poison if taken internally and can also cause chemical burns to the skin. It is still used as a therapeutic ingredient in small doses to treat specific skin conditions, but it is no longer readily available. According to Wikipedia, cantharides is classified in the United States as an extremely hazardous substance, and is subject to strict reporting requirements by facilities which produce, store or use it in significant quantities. Link

Miss Grace Sutherland (1889) (Source: Wikimedia Commons) Link

 

Close Friends by Howard Chandler Christy (1908)

Postcard Image by Howard Chandler Christy (1910)

Sweet Love by Harrison Fisher (1907)

When We Are Together Shooting by Clarence F. Underwood (1906)

Text paraphrased or quoted from Wikipedia.org is presented under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Teddy Bears At the Seaside--Postcards 1910

Pictures of teddy bears were popular on postcards in the early 20th century. Teddy bears were first developed in the USA in 1902. Named for President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, the first stuffed toy bear was invented by a man named Morris Michtom, inspired by a newspaper cartoon of the President with a bear cub. At about the same time, and apparently unrelated to the American Teddy, the Steiff firm in Germany also began making stuffed toy bears, first exhibited at the Leipzig Toy Fair in 1903. Link  These stuffed bear toys soon captured people's imagination around the world and have enjoyed enduring popularity with children and adults, and there are many informal and serious collectors of Teddy bears and memorabilia.

This cute postcard series by Raphael Tuck & Sons called Teddy Bears At the Seaside from 1910 celebrates the summer with cartoon images of the toy bears dressed and acting like humans, enjoying the beach and ocean. They are by the same artist (the signature is the same but illegible--possibly Ellery?) and are similar to the cards in Tuck's popular series Mixed Bathing (1908-1909), and Trunks Full of Fun (1913) which were recently featured on The Paper Sunflower. Link They are also similar to the Breakfast In Bed Series, also featured on The Paper Sunflower. Link These souvenir postcards were sold at various seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, and were also apparently sold in France, as some of them contain French writing, although none are shown imprinted with names of French resorts. Images are courtesy of tuckdb.org. Link

Primary Colors: Red, Yellow and Blue

Illuminated letter P in the 1407AD Latin Bible, Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England Link

The Primary Colors are red, yellow and blue. Primary colors are the foundation of all colors, because the other colors are created when primary colors are mixed together. Primary colors in their pure form make a statement: they are bold, bright and straightforward. In home and fashion design they are often used alone and muted when used together, transformed into colors such as pink, burgundy, gold and light blue which are softer on the eyes and create a less jarring effect.

But primary colors in their true form can be very appealing in small doses and are commonly found  together in modern art, comics, toys, plastic furniture and sometimes even in nature.

The following are examples of primary colors used together from the late 19th century to the present day. Some are in pure form, some are more muted. They are used for different purposes and create different impressions based on their context. There is no unifying theme to these images, except that they contain all three primary colors. They are provided here for inspiration and reflection.

Poster by Jules Cheret (1896)

Poster by Jules Cheret (1896)

Poster by Leonetto Cappiello (1899)

DINNER MENUS NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA SS KOBE MARU 

(INCLUDES MAP OF STEAMER ROUTES)  (1900) (Courtesy of NY Public Library)

 Alphonse Mucha Illustrations from The New York Daily News (1904) (courtesy of  wikiart.org)

Valentine Early 1900s

Valentine Early 1900s

Postcard Early 1900s

Postcard Early 1900s

Valentine Circa 1910

Postcard 1910

Birthday Card Circa 1910

Strong's Book of Designs (1917)

Tableau 1 by Piet Mondrian (1921)

Comic Book 1950s (Courtesy of digitalcomicmuseum.com) Link

Flags of Spain and Argentina
(courtesy of pixabay.com)

Tricycle (courtesy of pixabay.com)

 Plastic Chairs (Courtesy of deathtothestockphoto.com) Link

 Child With Plastic Block Toys (Photo by Sergey Klimkin, courtesy of pixabay.com)

Fresh Fruit
(courtesy of pixabay.com)

Macao
(courtesy of pixabay.com)

Poppy and Wildflowers
(courtesy of pixabay.com)

Cute Animal Summer Postcards 1908-1909

Cute cartoon animals were popular subjects on postcards in the early 20th Century. Two series of postcards Called Mixed Bathing I and II were issued by Raphael Tuck & Sons in 1908 and 1909 which celebrated the joys of summer by featuring animals dressed as people swimming and having fun at the beach. They were sold as souvenirs at various British and French resorts. Another series called Trunks Full of Fun by the same artist, featuring well-dressed elephants, appeared in 1913,

Inexplicably, one of the Mixed Bathing cards is stamped "Joyeux Noel", so it was apparently sold as a Christmas Card, in spite of its decidedly summery theme. Although the artist's signature is unreadable (Ellery?), it is the same as appears on a similar popular series of Tuck postcards from 1907-1908 called Breakfast In Bed, which also features cartoon animals dressed and acting as humans. This series was highlighted in a previous post on The Paper Sunflower which can be found here. Link

The following postcard images are courtesy of Tuckdb. Link

Breakfast In Bed (1907-1908)