WARNING: This page is M-rated (Maximum naughtiness, Minimum sleaze)
Page 4 - Go to Page 1 - 2 - 3 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8
 |
SCHOOLGIRL ABOUT TO RACE IN SPEEDO SWIMSUIT A touch of nostalgia. Speedo, one of the world's biggest names in swimwear for adults, boys and girls, is still around but, alas, it is no longer an Australian-owned brand. The swimsuit was developed by a company founded by Alexander MacRae at (appropriately) Bondi Beach, Australia, in 1914. The company, known as McRae Hosiery Manufacturers, later MacRae Knitting Mills, launched the Speedo brand name in 1928. Today Speedo is owned by the Pentland Group of the UK, with headquarters in Nottingham. It is the world's largest-selling swimsuit brand. Photo taken at Charlestown (NSW) in 1995. |
 |
THE BOYS ARE NOT FORGOTTEN! Not to leave out the boys, this is a shot taken at another swimming carnival - held at Lambton, a Newcastle (NSW) suburb in 1994. What great advertising and not only is it free but the bearer of the name actually pays good money (or his mum does) to carry the name! Ah me, the joys of capitalism! |
 |
AN UNUSUAL METHOD OF EXECUTION - BY ELEPHANT! A mode of execution popular with the Moghul rulers of India in former times employed an elephant to do the job. It was also used for hundreds of years in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). This old engraving depicts the scene. One form this took was to bind the prisoner to a long pole, which was then laid on the ground and an elephant brought up to trample him or her to death. In parts of India the prisoner, arms bound behind his back, was forced to kneel and lay his head on a block of stone, the elephant then being brought up to crush his head to pulp. Other modes were also employed. Robert Knox in his work, An Historical Relation of Ceylon (London, 1681) describes what he saw there: The King makes use of them [the elephants] for Executioners; they will run their Teeth through the body, and then tear it in pieces, and throw it limb from limb.The elephants were specially trained for this purpose and the executions took place at certain fixed places and at certain times of the day. When the British took control of the ancient kingdom of Kandy in Ceylon they stopped such executions, turning the trained elephants out into the jungle. It was said that year after year these elephants turned up regularly at the set places and times, to carry out their duties and be rewarded with a special feed. They eventually disappeared. |
 |
GUMNUT BABIES ON FLOAT One of the floats in the annual Mattara Festival held through the streets of Newcastle (NSW), this one in 1995. The girls are depicting some of the characters in a series of much-loved Australian books which included the Gumnut Babies. Who can forget Snugglepot and Cuddlepie? These and a whole string of books were written and illustrated (with great skill) by May Gibbs. May was born in England but came with her family to Australia while she was still young. She died in 1969, leaving behind a wonderful legacy in words and pictures. |
 |
PUNCH MAKES FUN OF MIRACULOUS RELICS When a Catholic prelate announced in 1857 that the Oil of Walburga possessed miraculous powers he reported the story of a girl in an institution operated by the Daughters of Christian Charity. The girl had klssed a bottle of the holy oil and was, said the bishop, immediately cured of an inflammation of the eyes, which was so violent she was almost blind. The Bishop was so impressed by this that he ordered the Daughters of Charity forever to keep holy the seventh day of November, being the day the miracle was performed. St Walburga was an English saint who flourished in the 8th century CE.This was but one of many tales told about the miracle oil said to flow through the years from the sacred remains - chiefly the breasts - of the saint's relics. Alas the satirical magazine Punch was not so impressed, as can be seen from the cartoon they produced. |
 |
HAVE A GLASS OF HEALTHY LIVING Currently in my secondhand book stock I have one copy of this book which is packed with great ideas. HEALING DRINKS. Juices, Teas, Soups, Smoothies. By Anne McIntyre, Gaia Books,quarto paperback (stiff pictorial card), 2005, 159 pages, illustrated. An excellent collection, fully illustrated in colour. Very good copy, looks like new. ISBN 185675216X. Cat nr 18145 - $A27 including shipping within Australia (rest of world $A50). ORDER HERE |
 |
NUDE CHILDREN IN ART Australia recently experienced a major controversy when photographs of nude children produced by a noted photographer, Bill Henson, were put on public display, to be seized by police, then, after investigation, restored to public display. I wrote at the time of 'true art triumphing over the philistines'. The whole episode was a stupid reaction by a moral minority. Nude children have been featured in art, even in Church art, through the centuries. They are very common in antique postcards, like this one taken from a painting, The Marsh King. And beautiful subjects they are - at least for those of us not terrified of naked human bodies! |
 |
A VERY UNUSUAL ANTI-DRUGS LESSON Some years back I came across a series of photos taken outdoors at an American school function. There were a number of photos of children variously tied. The event was said to be designed as an anti-drugs 'pageant'. The idea seemed to be that the ropes symbolized the restraints on one's life from getting involved with illegal drugs - or something like that. The whole idea was suitably obscure but I enjoy a bit of bondage and maybe others will do likewise. I suspect the teacher who organized the event was likewise an aficionado. Some people think bondage involving children is a no-go area but the coming of the Internet has changed all that. Sites like Deviant Art, Webshots, Flickr and YouTube are packed with thousands of still images and film clips - many of them made by the children themselves. Bondage per se is not pornography, unless sexually-explicit images are involved. On top of this flood of 'kinky' images are the many scenes in mainstream movies and TV shows where children are bound and/or gagged. For those interested a partial list of movie & TV bondage scenes involving children will be found HERE. You may be surprised to see how many there are. |
 |
FAMOUS SIAMESE (CONJOINED) TWINS Daisy and Violet Hilton, Siamese (conjoined as they say now) twins. This was a promotional postcard circulating far and wide, aimed at promoting the display of the twins in sideshows around the country. It was probably produced around 1912 and was just one of many postcards featuring the famous twins. Daisy and Violet were born in Brighton, East Sussex, England, in 1908, to an unwed mother and when they were two weeks' old were informally adopted by the midwife, who was also their mother's landlady. Mary Hilton gave them their surname - Hilton. Mrs Hilton had an eye to profit and was soon exhibiting the girls along with other sideshow wonders. At one stage they were taken on tour to Australia. Eventually Mrs Hilton died and the twins were bequeathed to Edith and Myer Myers. The twins came with a financial fortune which allowed the Myers to build a luxurious home in the USA, to which country they had moved. By the 1920s the twins were touring all over the USA. Over the years they performed with such celebrities as Bob Hope, George Burns and Gracie Allen. When they reached the age of 21 the twins separated legally from their guardians, who had become abusive. They continued to appear in public and in films but suffered various setbacks and ended their lives virtually penniless. They were working at a grocery store at the time of their death in 1969. (More detailed accounts of the lives of Daisy and Violet will be found on the Net.) |
 |
ANOTHER SEASIDE HAPPY SNAP Taken on Nobby's Beach, Newcastle (NSW) in 1995. As usual beaches provide great opportunities for the photographer. There is, however, one problem - the light at the beach is exceedingly contrasty and has often caused me problems. A fill flash would help but I didn't always have one. |
 |
BELLY DANCER AT MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL A lovely belly dancer performing at the annual Hamilton (NSW) Multicultural Fiesta in NSW. This was the 1997 festival and the dancers were delightfully barefoot. (Sometimes belly dancers disappoint by wearing shoes). Belly dancers seemed to be popular in Newcastle as another group of belly dancers performed during the annual Mattara Festival in the main town area. According to Wikipedia the term 'belly dance' is of Western origin, applied to traditional Arab dance styles. Egyptian dancers traditionally danced in bare feet but - regrettably in my view - they now mostly wear shoes, even high heels! Movie belly dance is a mixed bag. Sometimes the performers wear shoes, at other times they are barefoot. And one further note - from the 1950s it has been illegal for Egyptian belly dancers to perform with a bare midriff. Reminds one of the stupid prohibition on showing belly buttons on US TV in years past. |
 |
PLANNING ON 'DROPPING OUT'? Currently in my secondhand book stock I have one copy of this reference book on farming. AUSTRALIAN SMALL FARMS HANDBOOK. Services - Supplies - Equipment. Mark Pearson (compiler). Second Back Row Press (Australia), A4 paperback (stiff pictorial card), Enlarged Second Edition, 1986, 170 pages, illustrated. Some of the references are now out of date but there is a wealth of useful information and pointers to finding more in this detailed and very scarce book. Name in front and some edge wear but generally a fairly good solid copy. ISBN 0909325499. Cat nr 18477 - $A37 including shipping within Australia (rest of world $A55). ORDER HERE |
 |
APPRENTICE GIRL WORKING IN ENGLISH FACTORY One in a series of illustrations in an article in an English magazine from the early part of the 20th century, describing the working conditions in a factory where apprentice girls did heavy work. Apprenticeship today means something quite different to what it did in earlier times. Effectively apprentices were slave workers, mostly drawn from the poor and forced into working in very poor conditions. They were frequently abused in various ways. A more detailed account of the lot of apprentices in former times will be found HERE. |
 |
ENTHUSIASTS PREACH THE END TIME As the centuries pass religious believers warn of the approaching End Time. Christians call it the Second Coming. But the Jews and the Muslims also believe an end time is coming - Armageddon as some call it. Trouble is it has been coming for a very long time. In Jesus' day the disciples were told that 'this generation would not pass until all be fulfilled.' Well that generation passed and so have many more since then. The photo was taken during a festival with an End Time enthusiast promoting his beliefs in a public park. See a list of the many dates of Armageddon (and this doesn't cover them all) HERE. |
 |
FEELTHY POSTCARDS SOLD IN ALEXANDRIA? One of the lines that occur in movies involves the selling of 'feelthy' postcards' to visitors in Egyptian port cities. Thousands of these postcards circulated but many were not actually Egyptian in origin but were produced like this one by the more liberally-minded French postcard makers. After all, the French have never been quite as inhibited as other people in the matter of nudity. The trade cashed in on the curiosity of men who came from more inhibited backgrounds. In the case of this card (no date but probably 1920s) the model was probably a genuine oriental. The printing quality was not great but, then, I doubt the buyers cared. Note the metal bracelets and chains and the anklets - almost hinting at slavery or suggesting a harem girl. The idea that the human body is 'feelthy' or 'dirty' is a strange notion to my mind. Years ago we had a store with poster stands and in them were some Playboy posters - not explicit, just nice nude female displaying bare breasts. One day I overheard a young girl looking at one of these posters and exclaiming to her friend: 'Look, dirt pictures!' I thought what a sad thing it was that she had evidently been taught by her parents that a nude body was somehow 'dirty'. |
 |
PRETTY GIRLS AND PRETTY BALLOONS Photo taken during Mattara Festival, Newcastle (NSW) in 1993. The young women were showgirls from a night venue. |
 |
PRISONERS EN ROUTE TO SIBERIA An old illustrations showing that they didn't mess around when transporting prisoners to Siberia in old Russia. The two men are heavily fettered. Siberia has a long history as a penal colony and a place of exile, well before the Soviets put the area to good use to terrorize their citizens. Indeed, it seems that as far back as the 16th century the area was a place of exile - vast, remote and cut off from many of the amenities of the big cities. Siberia was in effect a massive open-air prison to which the authorities consigned anyone who was deemed a threat to authority. With the overthrow of the Tsarist regime the new Communist government soon put Siberia to work in what was to become known as the gulag - a vast chain of prison camps of massive infame. Eventually millions of people were consigned to misery in this vast region. I usually think of this picture when I hear Abby singing 'Yo, heave, ho!..' (Song of the Volga Boatmen) in NCIS. Not the same part of Russia but this is what comes to mind. |
 |
ALTERNATIVE HEALING THROUGH MIND POWER Currently in my secondhand book stock I have one copy of this extensive reference book on hypnotism. SELF-HYPNOSIS. The Complete Guide to Better Health and Self-Change. By Dr Brian M. Alman and Dr Peter Lambrou. Souvenir Press, small quarto paperback (stiff pictorial card), 2nd Edition, 1993, 283 pages. 'Clearly explained techniques.' Help for anyone seeking to stop smoking, lose weight, control pain, increase self-confidence, solve sleep problems, manage stress, relieve asthma, and much more. Minor defects, very good copy. ISBN 02856311365, Cat nr 18029 - $A32 including shipping within Australia (rest of world $A55). ORDER HERE |
 |
ANKLET BEING FITTED TO
GIRL'S LEG Photo taken around 1930 showing a Yafouba bride-to-be (Ivory Coast) having a massive metal anklet fitted prior to her wedding. The woman will wear the anklets for the rest of her life. Close-up of the anklets:  |
 |
GOING FOR A LITTLE PADDLE (in the studio!) Another interesting antique postcard. The little girl is posed standing on a rowboat with water in the background - all in a photographic studio. With her shoes off and her dress held up ('to avoid it getting wet') the scene looks a bit convincing at first glance but careful study shows otherwise. This postcard is a 'real photo' and has been hand-coloured. Date unknown but possibly around 1920. |
 |
CHEER SQUAD GIRL Another photo taken by me at a school swimming carnival in Newcastle in 1994. |
Page 4 - Go to Page 1 - 2 - 3 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8
Email link will be found on front page