Wednesday 1 June 2011

Carnival of Genealogy 105: Swimsuit Edition

My contribution to the 105th Carnival of Genealogy, the 4th Annual Swimsuit Edition - my first to the COG for quite a while - is a loose paper print purchased with a miscellany of others some time ago, which has waiting for some time for the appropriate moment to see the light of day.

Image © and collection of Brett Payne

I'm afraid I have no idea who the subjects are - the only thing written on the reverse is a pencilled number, "925." The print is small, measuring only 42 x 66.5 mm, and I suspect could have been taken by a family member, although the number might suggest an itinerant photographers mark. Is the young lady the tousle-haired boy's mother? She seems very young, and is possibly an older sister or other relative instead.

The beach is rather steep and very stony. Other people can be seen - although rather indistinctly - in the background, both in the sea, to the right, and further up the beach, to the left. Also right at the left hand edge are the spoked wheel and steps of a bathing machine. Some ropes lying on the gravel - I hesitate to dignify it by calling it sand - are perhaps to pull the bathing machines back up the beach. This, together with the swimming suits and clothing worn suggest to me a date of perhaps the early 1900s. The Wikipedia article on bathing machines suggests that they had largely disappeared from English beaches by 1914.

For more swimsuit delights, head over to Jasia's Creative Gene blog and check out the Carnival.

5 comments:

  1. This is really an interesting photo. I've never heard of a bathing machine before. Fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing in the COG. And now I'm going to look up bathing machines in wikipedia...

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  2. That kid looks like he would give you a run for your money. I've heard of bathing machines but I don't really know what they are. Guess I will have to google it.

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  3. WOW, what a photo! Very interesting. Bathing machine, eh?? something else to learn about today. Thanks!

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  4. Aren't those two charming subjects! I love her swimsuit and the headgear. One thing I notice is how firm her grip on the little boy's hand and wrist is. He must have been a squirrely little fellow, ready to bolt as soon as she let go. I'll have to check out swimming machines! Thanks for sharing a fun photograph, Brett.

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