The Latest Thing in...

Ever wanted a pair of shoes made out of frogs? What about to play football while wearing clown pants? Do you even know what a puff box is? If the answer to all those is a raised eyebrow, then read on, through our page of delightful fads and follies from times gone by!

 

I must say, I find those clearly anti-shark sentiments highly offensive. Shocking business. Let's move on - to a detailed description of the very latest in pantaloons!

Now that's a pair of pants I could see myself in. What's next, you ask? What could we possibly choose to follow that masterpiece? Well, read on, to...

 

The idea of that large-headed hat pin almost does in my ingenious feminine vanity. And, finally, to end on a strong and somewhat bizarre note...

  

Thus concludes our foray into the ferny forests of fashion and fad (I think my alliteration grows more and more forced as we delve deeper into the denizens of... no, there are no d-words for blog, are there? *insert d-word here*). Except, of course, for our friendly citations. 

First cab off the rank is our model from this edition of the Periodical. Today, thanks are due to the image "Josephine Davis assisted by Billy Geller popularizing the latest craze, Take me to that Tango Tea". To see Josephine in all her glory, head to the National Library's Digital Collections website - http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an22963627

The Latest Thing in Footwear was published on 5 June 1914 in Perth's Western Mail; check it out for yourself at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37967782

The Latest Thing in Trousers can be found in the 9 July 1910 edition of the Lismore newspaper Northern Star. Head on down to read other breaking news by following this link: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72249498

The Latest Thing in Puff Boxes was another contribution from the Western Mail (clearly a very fashionable publication). These handy hints can be found in the issue from 15 April 1911, which you will see if you click here: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38826404

And, last but not least, The Latest Thing in Amusements can be found in the ever-amusing Australian Town and Country Journal published on 22 February 1902; just head on over to http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71520603 for further fun.

The Diplomacy of Our Darling Doctor

As prefaced by our charming and witty editor, we present to you today the advice of the sage ol' Dr. Crane on the three things those darn feminists should really be doing. There's a sneaky fourth one in there too - the picture is a clue...

Wow, Dr. Crane - wow. It's like... like you really get me, you know? It sends shivers down my spine. Want to read more words of wisdom? You never know, there's almost definitely some other gems out there! A search for Dr Frank Crane in Trove brings up 578 results - I like the sound of Spanking Father ("Spanking is a most wholesome and health-giving exercise, and is not without its mental and moral advantageous by-products" says our esteemed doctor), and The Bohemian doesn't sound too bad either. I'm not so sure about Boy Wanted, though.


For those of you who want to track down the original article, this gem appeared in on page 20 of an Adelaide paper, The Mail, on June the 27th, 1925. The article is available online in the Trove database here.

The glamourous portrait used to garnish our article is on Page 6 of the edition of Perth's Western Mail from November 29 1928; it's also available in - you guessed it! - Trove, just follow this link.

The sententious text of SENEX

This post was conceived after stumbling blindly upon one of SENEX's glorious tirades - Practical Jokes and Evil Consequences, below - and deciding to stalk him through the delightful depths of Trove. His rambles are, in the most humble opinion of this meek and mild editor, inferior only to those of one noble writer, the infamous M.A.W. concerning whom this paper's press is most ingeniously and resolutely sealed.

The editor has decided to include the references to each article as she goes, because it's easier. From kindest tongue of editor, to high and proud ear of reader: deal. Also, our darling sage - star of the latest release - is "A Yemenite sage aged 108, Jerusalem Jew"; photographed by Frank Hurley, and available online here.

El Artículo Número Uno:

Poor SENEX will have his income reduced to ₤180 per annum. 

SMH, Saturday 13 June 1931, page 8, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16785573

El Artículo Número Dos:

And yet poor SENEX still worries about his pension of ₤1 a week being far too good for the likes of people under 85, and women.  

SMH, Saturday 6 August 1921, page 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15934159

El Artículo Número Tres:

Wait, I thought he had saved ₤5000 pounds through hard work? But if that’s the case, where does this Parson’s pension come from?  

SMH, Friday 10 June 1910, page 10, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15125766

El Artículo Número Cuatro:

If only SENEX’s children had been a little kinder with their money this whole pensions fiasco would never had happened. The government should make them! Note – if SENEX was 87 in 1921 (just old enough to get his proposed pension increase – what a coincidence!), it follows that he had just made it over the (strangely lower) suggested threshold of 65 years of age for this particularly proposed amendment.  

SMH, Thursday 5 September 1901, page 10, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14407754

 

El Artículo Número Cinco:

SENEX hates gambling.  

SMH, Saturday 15 April 1905, page 8, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14681547

 

El Artículo Número Seis:

Although it appears that his hatred was somewhat more vehement half a century ago – perhaps he has become resigned to the evils? 

SMH, Friday 30 August 1850, page 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12920641

El Artículo Número Siete:

SENEX the doctor advocates for the use of brandy (medicinally, only, of course). 

SMH, Friday 23 November 1900, page 8, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14348288

El Artículo Número Ocho:

SENEX, who is most certainly NOT a paid writer for the Sydney Morning Herald, advocates for people sharing their newspapers with poor, lonely fellows in the deep bush. What a kind soul. For those of you who have no eyesight, another kind sould has painstakingly transcribed the slightly smudg-ed text. 

SMH, Saturday 27 October 1900, page 7, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28245716

Sir, - I was in a big house not far from Sydney the

other day. The usual “spring cleaning-up” was going on,

and while I was talking for a minute with the busy hostess

a servant carried out a basketful of sundries to be burned.

I noticed that there was a lot of unopened newspapers,

magazines, reports, &c., in the basket, and I said to the

hostess, “Isn’t it a pity to waste these papers?” She

replied, “Oh, I can’t hoard up a lot of rubbish.” “Rub-

bish!” I exclaimed, with a solemn emphasis which was

meant to express the wounded feelings of a hundred patient

writers and printers. The lady blushed for her hasty

words. I guessed that her conscience was touched, so I

gently remarked, “There are many poor, lonely fellows

in the far bush who would thankfully receive those useful

papers and magazines that you have just sent out to be

burned with the weeds in your garden. Many of the papers

have unbroken envelopes on them, and as you evidently

don’t care to read them yourself, Madame, you might

easily re-direct them to persons in the country, who would

gladly read them, and perhaps pass them on to their neigh-

bours.”

The lady smiled at me pleasantly, so I felt sure that

my simple little homily had not offended her, and I was

glad.

I am, &c.,

SENEX

 

El Artículo Número Nueve:

In lieu of a remarkable and completely newsworthy event, SENEX has decided to respond to Greybeard’s mildly reproving letter with an equally mild reply. 

SMH, Friday 15 September 1899, page 9 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14228550

El Artículo Número Diez:

SENEX the concerned citizen strikes again, this time defending himself against the dreadful traffic of 19th century Sydney. 

SMH, Thursday 20 January 1898, page 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14170793

 

El Artículo Número Once:

SENEX the linguist helping out his fellow citizens (NB the text of this article is nowhere near as exciting as its title lead me to believe). 

SMH, Tuesday 31 August 1886, page 9, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13632000

El Artículo Número Doce:

SENEX the scholar admits he knoweth not all. 

SMH, Thursday 15 June 1871, page 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28415525

El Artículo Número Trece:

SENEX the undignified blames his shame on others (this was the first SENEX I read – note the word ‘Joke’ in the title. Look at the treasure-trove this has revealed!). 

SMH, Friday 8 July 1864, page 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13107667

A Plethora of Playfulness... perhaps.

It is remarkable the extent to which language has changed over the past couple of centuries. Perhaps this is not always evident in more formal prose, or, that which is commonly read - indeed, I would venture so far as to suggest that it is commonly read precisely because it is commonly understood, and can therefore not be regarded as a representative sample. But, occasionally, one chances upon text redolent with archaic expression, or subtly relevant so specifically to situation - such as may happen, for example, when one reads a publication less formal in nature, such as a letter in a newspaper, perhaps; or even that most situated of text, wit - and one is in an instant struck by the transience of language.

Not that I profess to demonstrate such mind-blowing revelation here. Perhaps the limitations of my knowledge of the depth of the pegtop and the pugilist (see below!) is an indictment against my wit, rather than an expression of any deeper linguistic trend. Judge for yourselves, my people! Judge! (What could be more useful than judgement based on ignorance, against something irrelevant to, or at least removed from, daily life!?) But, in the words of my dear Miss Fanny Price, you will think I rhapsodise. And so, without further ado...

Gosh, what a lot of acknowledgements we are due today!

First, the celebratory host for the evening - our charming picture is excitingly titled The happy day and is part of the David Elliott theatrical postcard collection; you can find it on the NLA digital collections website here.

Now, for our jokes -   
Taxis and tripe - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11284515 - kicking us off is The Argus, from Thursday 30 November 1939, page 10
Shoes and racist clocks - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37709015 - are featured in the charming Western Mail, on Thursday 4 October 1934, page 6S
The door bell - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71450535 - is in the Worker (that blue-collar association accounts for the sexism, right?) from Monday 2 November 1942, page 10
The fireman and bad eggs - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37550791 - see The Longreach Leader from Saturday 18 June 1938, page 28
Homework and another fireman - clearly they're an hilarious bunch - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37358374 - this is again in that glorious publication, The Longreach Leader, who clearly are a bit obsessed with firemen; see the edition of Saturday 10 October 1936, page 3S
Puns on prams, and the scrapbook - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37938538 - see the Perth paper Western Mail, Thursday 5 September 1940, page 26
Crafty chemists - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article56741361 - I refer you to the distinctively named Advertiser; Friday 7 July 1933, page 3
The well-travelled umbrella - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37714215 - this is yet another from Perth's
Western Mail, Thursday 30 August 1934, page 3S
And, finally my favourite - a pegtop, a pugilist, a dinner plate and a cricket bat (all go into a bar?) - seriously, I swear this be trolling! - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65461858 - this is from the beautiful Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Chronicle, Saturday 2 July 1864, page 3

History is Such a Joke

Without further column-filling waffle, I present to you the article* for today. See if you can spot the odd joke out:

Tell me, Remus, why did the chicken cross the road? Why Romulus, to escape the cholera, of course.

Believe me, I've got plenty more where this gem came from - and I promise to give an astounding entry in Truly Tasty Treats as soon as I can muster up the enthusiasm and/or ingredients!

* Today's article brought to you by the letters c and h and the number LXVI. Also contributing to the glory was our dear old Trove; a big round of applause to page 5 of The Argus, on 4 April 1860, for stealing this darling from the London Punch on our behalf. Anyone who would like to view this can do so at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5680020 - there's many a scandalous law notice on that page also.


The cranky emu is borrowed from the work c1822 by Angelo Biasioli that the NLA has given the imaginative title [Animals of New Holland] [Picture]; to see the emu and his bosom buddies - not telling you who - head on over to http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an5601630.

Potato Preserves

My favourite thing about today'f article* if the way that being really really old fafhioned all of the 's' characterf are written af 'f' characterf. It greatly amufef me to read it all in an old fafhioned lifp. If there a word for fomeone who if prejudiced againft the paft? Paftift? 

Unfortunately today'f article if another one of thofe that needf to be tranfcribed, methinkf. It ftartf (that'f a good one) out alright but rapidly deterioratef. But, yef, a point to anyone elfe who takef the time to read it from the image. It'f not at all tediouf.... I promife! And 100 pointf to anyone who findf the microfilm copy at the Nationl Library and readf that inftead.

Here followf the tranfcription - I told you it waf a long one:

Extract
From the Reports of the Society
for Bettering the Condition,
and Increasing the Comforts
of the Poor.
A Letter,
Suggesting a Mode of Preserving
Potatoes.
(By Langford Millington, Esq)


In compliance with your request, expressed
at the meeting of the Society for bettering 
the Condition of the Poor, I herewith send
you my simple but effectual mode of pre-
serving Potatoes without fire, sweet and good,
for a great length of time.


I have, as yet, only tried it upon small
quanitities of potatoes in my own family; and
I had intended deferring the publication of
any account of it, until I had ascertained, by
an apparatius I have ordered to be made, the
expence and effects of the operation on a great
scale. But your request, and the peculiar
circumstances of the present season, added to
the existing apprehension that the last year's 
crop of potatoes is not calculated for keen-
ing, induce me to give some accounts of the 
experiments I have already made; and to
express my hope that country gentlemen and
farmers may be persuaded to try, whether,
on a bad day, they cannot advantageously 
employ their poor neighbours, in this mode
of preserving from decay, so materian an ar-
ticle of food.


The first of the two processes which I have
adopted is as follows. I took three pounds
and a half of potatoes, and had them peeled
and rasped, and put them in a coarse cloth
between two clean boards in a napkin press,
and pressed them into a dry cake, hardly so
thick as a very thin cheese. I then placed
the cake on a shelf, as I should an oil cake, to
dry. There was about a quart of juice ex-
pressed from the potatoes. To this I added
the same quantity of cold water; and in
about an hour it deposited rather more than
sixty grains of very white starch, or flour, fit
to make fine pastry.


The cake which I produced at the meet-
ing of the society, and which you observed to
be perfectly sweet, was prepared in the pre-
ceding manner, so long ago as the year 1797.
In size it occupied a sixth of the compass of 
the potatoes. In weight it lost about two-
thirds by the process, but upon being drest,
either by steam or otherwise, the cake will
produce very nearly the same weight and 
quantity of food, as three pounds and a half
of potatoes, properly dressed for table, would
do. I should observe, that I hav e lately pre-
pared in this way some potatoes that were 
quite frozen, and that the cake is now per-
fectly sweet. Some of the same potatoes that
were left, and not pressed, were rotton and
spoiled in a few days.


The other mode of preparation is what I
very lately tried in you presence. I took
five pounds of potatoes, and without peeling
them, had them well cleaned, and pounded
in a mortar; and put them into a small wine
press, and pressed them into a thin cake;
completing the process as before. The cake
produced in this way appears to be sweet and
wholesome; but has not that clean white
which the other cakes have; nor has there
been sufficient time to ascertain, whether it
will keep as well as that made of the peeled
potatoes. 


I have conceived that the first and most
material thing, is to ascertain the mode of
preparation, and its effects in preserving the
vegetable. Processes for abridging labour
are so speedily invented and completed in
England, that there can be little apprehen-
sion, but the mere mechanical process will
very soon be made perfect, and adapted to
general use. Upon the invention itself, I
trust it will not be too much to say, that if
its benefit was confined to supplying the
Navy of Great Britain, in every station of
the globe, with abundance of this wholesome
and nutritive vegetable, it would be an ob-
ject of no small moment; but when it is con-
sidered, that it may the means of saving,
in an abundant season, for a time of scarcity,
and of preserving for years, an article of food
so importanct, and so subject to decay; that
the potatoe so prepared may be packed in
one-sixth its former space, and supply not 
only our navy, but our manufacturers, and
our soldiers at home and abroad; and that
it may afford acceptable employment, within
doors, for the poor, during the severest part
of the winter, it will appear to be deserving 
of great attention.


With regard to the process, I have to ob-
serve, that tho'the peeling of the Potatoes is
not absolutely necessary, yet it greatly im-
proves the cake; and that the clearing them
from all discoloured and frost-bitten specks
appears to be necessary. I have used the
mode of rasping or pounding them; but,
upon a large scale, grinding them would pro-
bably be an easier operation; unless the in-
strument applied in the West Indies for rasp-
ing Cassada breadshould be made use of,
which is cheap and simple, and likely to an-
swer the purpose. With a very powerful
machine, I conceive that the cakes might be 
made at once, by merely pressing the potatoes,
without any previous preparation. As to
the means of pressing them, a common cyder
press might be use; or a cheese press, with
the advntage of a level to increase the 
power.


For those of you curiouf about the Caffada bread, apparently Caffada is the fame afs Manioc - there's a maffive article about it in, you gueffed it, Trove: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1276303

Alfo, thank you to Max who pointed out that my previouf poft waf indeed talking about the Edwardian era. For thofe of you who miffed out on Funday'f corker, The Man-Woman can be found right here!

*The article with the very long name - fine, I'll write it again:
Extract From the Reports of the Society for Bettering the Condition, and Increasing the  Comforts of the Poor. A Letter, Suggesting a Mode of Preserving Potatoes.
was published in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser on the first of May, 1803, and can be found in good ol' Trove: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article625541

Our lovely lady-friend this week is actually a costume design by Will Barnes; it is part of a collection titled Costume designs for Alfred Hill's Tapu, performed by J.C. Williamson in 1904. The collection of fifty two beauties can be found at http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an3703095, and this particular lady - our good friend Miss Potato Scraper - is hiding at the following address: http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an3703095-37

The Man-Woman

After promising on Thursday to leave alone the rest of my Wedding Day triumphs, I was persuaded to include the following article* due to its general awesomeness. And, by the way, for those of you who have a lot in common with me - apparently adventuress and adventuresses are both words, at least according to Microsoft (who, as we know, symbolises the pinnacle of correctness in all areas of language). It's a long one today. Presenting, for your enjoyment and general entertainment, Miiiiiiiiiiss Amy Bock!

After careful sluicing** in Trove, I also found the following article*** on Miss Bock, which shows off the masculine curve of the jaw. I particularly like the caption, Amy Bock: The "Man-Woman". It's nice to learn about how kind and accepting our ancestors were.

* The tasteful and non-derogatory article Adventuress's Career: Masquerading as a Man was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on May 4 1909; if you want to check it out - or it's neighbours Nimrod Thrown Open: Attendance Over 2000 and Radium in Antarctica: Probable Discovery, head to the Trove archive: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15055155

** I realised I meant sleuthing while proofreading - but what's the fun in that!? Sluicing is much more evocative!

*** This P.C. jewel ran in the Sunday Times on 23 May 1909 - it's a particularly fine specimen, this edition, and is available through Trove: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5761250

The beautiful model for today is one of the William Henry Corkhill Tilba Tilba photograph collection (quite a mouthful!); the eloquent title is Young woman, possibly a bride, and it is available for viewing in all its glory through the digital collections website: http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2499418

Unusual Tastes

Without further ado, please allow me to present the gem* entitled 'A Terrible Wedding Night', which appeared in the Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser in 1883.

My sincere apologies for the second paragraph of the article - I realise I chose one that is particularly difficult to read (damn you blackened page!), but hey, it's worth it for the joy of reading about the [Spoiler Alert] death of the mad werewolf husband. The effort makes it more satisfying... trust me!

UPDATE: Apparently the satisfaction is actually greatly lessened by the fact that no-one other than me can read the final paragraph. As it turns out, I'm just some kind of awesome super-powered ninja. Due to popular demand, I have transcribed the dodgy black bits. They are as follows:

They proceeded from the nuptial chamber. The door
was burst open, and a horrible spectacle presented
itself. On the floor lay the young bride in a pool of
blood. She still breathed, but her body was torn
and bitten just as if she had been seized by a tiger.
In a corner of the room was the bridegroom, covered
with blood, and foaming at the mouth, scratching,
biting, and tearing away at the wall and furniture.
With a sudden bound he sprang like a tiger upon the
invaders of his lair, and he would have made one or
more victims had not a brother of the dying bride
sent a bullet crashing through the madman's brain.

*The 'gem' is in fact - you guessed it - an article from a newspaper! As some kind person appears to have mentioned above, it appeared in the Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser; it was in fact published on 28 July 1883 on page 3, and if you feel like browsing any of the other interesting articles that it's been rubbing elbows with in the dark for all these years, I'd encourage you to visit it in Trove - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62139858 

And, finally, our celebrity guest for the day - Miss Vera Deakin, bridesmaid at the wedding of Ivy Deakin (dated somewhere between 1865 and 1930 - specific, right!) is living in the second Deakin family photo album, part of the Papers of Alfred Deakin at the National Library, and can be viewed in all her pre-alteration glory at http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms1540-19-614-s50