Thursday, 3 November 2011

Fin de siecle elegance

There was a young lady from Thrace,
Whose corsets grew too tight to lace.
Her mother said, "Nelly,
There's more in your belly,
Than ever went in through your face!"

This ad is for sale on eBay.

3 comments:

Chris Partridge said...

I think the boat is an adirondack guide boat, isn't it?

Joan

Antonio Majer said...

such fin de siecle women look sweet toffees to be unwrapped...I guess the problem may have been to wrap them again later :-) - and maybe in hurry too

lonach34 said...

I don't think so.
1) there is insufficient sheer; ADK guideboat ends are very high and these seem neither high nor fine enough.
2) guideboats traditionally use a rowlock with plates on either side of the oar and pinned through the square oar shaft. It is not possible to feather these oars. Rowlocks shown are ordinary open tops.
3) I don't think rudders were common, and the lady is holding tiller ropes in a manner that can best be described as languid.