Nicknamed the ‘Idle Women,’ although they were about as far from idle as anybody could possibly be, the women canal workers of the Second World War performed vital war work which is all but forgotten today, some seventy years later. Some of the ‘Idle women’ arriving at a canal dock | The Sphere | 15 April 1944 The curious name of ‘Idle Women’ came from the badges that these pioneering women wore, with the initials ‘IW,’ which stood for ‘Inland Waterways’. …
women’s history
This week at The Archive we are delighted to have added 115 years’ worth of historic headlines, with two brand new titles joining us over the past seven days. In total, we have added 103,686 new pages, with substantial updates to one of our national titles. Read on to discover more about this week’s additions. Register now and explore the Archive Kicking off our new titles this week is the Runcorn Weekly News. Published in the Cheshire town of Runcorn, this ‘politically independent’ publication …
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‘Times have brightened,’ writes one 1938 beauty commentator in the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, as she reflects on how women of the past used to regard their faces. Do you remember how as a young girl, you looked at your face in the mirror and wished that you had a differently shaped mouth, not to mention nose, teeth, ears, and hair? You used to believe that the only thing to do with your face was to be resigned …
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In a time before mascara and lipstick, what did women of the past use for makeup? Continuing our look at the history of makeup, in this special blog we take a look at a selection of historic cosmetic tips and tricks, all sourced from the pages of the British Newspaper Archive. Finding a mirror in the kitchen | The Sketch | 5 June 1907 Register now and explore The Archive Rouge & Rouge Alternatives Rouge was, historically, certainly a more risque element …
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This week at The Archive we are delighted to welcome one very special new addition, as well as the 97,542 brand new pages which have joined our collection over the past seven days. Register now and explore the Archive Our latest new title takes the shape of the Gentlewoman, a richly illustrated weekly newspaper for women. First published on 12 July 1890, the Gentlewoman was ‘presented‘ to her public. In introducing herself to the publishing scene, ‘she already makes bold to say [that] The Gentlewoman has …
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Every woman wants to be beautiful. Most women could be if they tried. Comparatively few know how to be. In 1910 the Daily Mirror published its very own Beauty Book, which promised to be ‘Every Woman’s Guide to Beauty.’ This was something revolutionary, as it opened beauty remedies and early makeup trends to its middle-class mainstream readership. Its publication came at a time where makeup was barely accepted, and indeed, many of its mainstays (mascara and nail polish, for example) had yet to …
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In 1928, novelist Radclyffe Hall published her seminal LGBTQ work The Well of Loneliness. Following the story of Stephen Gordon, an upper-class woman who finds love with one Mary Llewellyn and is consequently shunned by society, the work was groundbreaking in its lesbian subject matter. Radclyffe Hall | Graphic | 30 April 1927 Although it was received favourably by many publications including the Daily Herald and Lady’s Pictorial, Sunday Express editor James Douglas began a campaign on 18 August 1928 to have Hall’s book banned – naming The …
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This week on The Archive we continue to bring you our top picks from our collection of specialist, national and regional newspapers. And in this vein, we turn our spotlight this week onto our very special suffragist newspapers, which chart how women across the British Isles and Ireland campaigned for the vote. Register now and explore the Archive Newspaper of The Week One of the most iconic of these titles is The Suffragette, later renamed Britannia. This newspaper was established in 1912, …
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Continuing our commemoration of the 75 years since VE-Day, in this special blog we explore the vital role that women played throughout the course of the Second World War. In 1939, for a second time in just over twenty years, Britain found itself embroiled in an international conflict, and women stepped forward to work in civil defence, armed forces, and industry. Unlike any other country, for the first time, British women were conscripted into service. On 18 December 1941, the …
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Not only did the flapper turn on its head traditional notions of femininity – she was arguably the first incarnation of youth culture in Britain and beyond. She was a good time girl, she drank, she smoked, she drove, she partied, she wore the latest outrageous fashions, she came home late – and in doing so, she preempted the youth culture movements of later decades. A study by Domergue | The Tatler | 3 June 1925 In this special blog, we explore …