Saturday, July 10, 2010

sepia beach 2 - costumes and caps

Continuing with my series of old family beach photos, these are some of my favourites. Though actually, most of them are my favourites.

In this first photo are my grandparents (paternal) - Harold and Win Jiggins, and Harold's sister Queen. Win and Queen are the 2 girls standing together just to the right of centre, holding hands and Queenie with a particularly clingy costume! I can't help wondering if she realised. Harold is behind and between them.
I'm pretty sure that the lady set just in front of Win and the man to her left (with the 2 boys between them) are my great grandparents, Win's mum and dad.



Aren't these costumes great! and all the women, bar none, are wearing those mob caps, most of the little girls too.


The second photo includes my Auntie Queen again sat in the water almost centre front, next to the woman holding a little boy, and with her brother - Harold, my grandad - on the other side of her. I'm pretty certain its Win, my gran, just behind and to the left of Harold holding up the seaweed.




And this last one I like best of all due to the larking about and face pulling. This really captures a moment, doesn't it?

Auntie Queen is there again, 2nd from the left at the back and I'm pretty sure that next to her on the end of the row is her mother, my great grandmother Elizabeth. Other photos of Elizabeth are formal, and serious and usually wearing glasses but I think this is her.




and just look at those costumes and caps!

Happy Sepia Saturday - more fabulous photos over here.

17 comments:

Lynne said...

These were just grand! Everybody looks like they are having such a good time!

And the bathing 'costumes' oh my ... here they thought they were all modestly covered up and apparently never gave a thought to how they would look when wet! Quite revealing; even more so than today's where we get to show actual skin. In the last photo, the woman in the center's costumes leaves nothing to the imagination!

Thanks so much for sharing these beachy photos.

Oh, also love in the first pic that either someone else is splashing them or a big wave came in ...

Giulia said...

Any & all beach pix are welcome & these even more so...wonderful, Letty.

Unknown said...

What enviable photos, of the whole bunch of people, wonder how these were taken, the quality is so good and they tell a time of fun and frolic. The water looks cooling! Thanks for sharing these. And true the bathing attire is a bit revealing too!

California Girl said...

Don't they look happy? I actually have a photo of my mother and her first husband and he's wearing a full bathing suit. It isn't THIS old but it does date to the late 1930s.

Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMotte said...

The swim fashion makes these pics a great post. Thanks.

Kat Mortensen said...

These are fabulous photographs, Lettuce! It looks as if some of those bathing costumes could get quite revealing, doesn't it?

Kat

Shammickite said...

I wonder where those photos were taken?
And, yes, very revealing costumes, I'm sure they didn't realise hjust ow revealing when the costumes got wet!
Do you think these pictures were taken on the same day?

North County Film Club said...

Wow! What sexy bathing suits!
I can just hear them singing "I'm too sexy for my suit." I wonder if they were embarrassed later. I guess not or they wouldn't have kept the photos.

Giulia said...

Me again. I saw the 'sexy' comments & I have to agree that they weren't embarrassed or they wouldn't have kept them. And wow, you'd think people didn't know that, uh, people were still people back then. As in, people were sexy. Even in England:)

Nancy said...

These are such fabulous photos! Everyone looks like he/she is having such fun. One thing that really impresses me is how (apparently) unself-conscious everyone was. No one seems to be trying to hide a body that's a little over-weight or too thin.

How did you get the photos to be so large on your blog?

Great post. Thanks for sharing your photos.

tony said...

i've never seen group beach shots like these before.What A Happy Crew!!!

Bruno Laliberté said...

this sure redefines modesty...
:D~
great pictures though. i guess these folks knew how to have some fun. not as stiff as we might think them to be.
:)~
HUGZ

Akelamalu said...

Great photos Lettuce. The ladies swimsuits don't leave anything to the imagination do they?? :0

Alan Burnett said...

A great collection of photographs. I agree with what you say about the pleasure of seeing people relaxed and enjoying themselves as against formal photographs.

lettuce said...

I'm glad you've enjoyed these!
as you say giulia, even in england.
:-)

I don't think they were, Shammickite - there are very minor differences in the costumes.... and the numbers aren't consecutive.

They would probably have been taken at Eastbourne, or Brighton - possibly Southend - early 1920's.

Nancy, I upload the pictures large and then take out the bit of code which defines the size (something like "width: 214px; height: 320px;" - just delete that) and towards the end of the code where it says something like "s320" or "s400" change it to "s800". You may also need to change your template to make the main column wider..... hope this helps?

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