Published by the Mary Evans Picture Library59 Tranquil Vale, London SE3 0BST: 020 8318 0034 www.maryevans.comE: pictures@maryevans.com

MARY EVANSPICTURE LIBRARY

Issue 9, Spring 2013

Nameplate image ClassicStock/Mary Evans

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Everyone’s Doing the Tango

Casualties of War

Picturing the Great War

Coronation Tales

Life’s a Drag

Convivial Captions

"WHY WORRY ABOUT HOME

RULE…WHEN YOU CAN LEARN

THE TANGO? EVERYBODY'SDOING THE TANGO, LEARNING THE TANGO,TALKING THE TANGO OR WATCHING THE TANGO.NEVER, PERHAPS, HAS A DANCE BECOME OF SUCH

UNIVERSAL INTEREST SO QUICKLY..." Thusopined The Sketch in November 1913,ref lecting upon the incredibleinternational popularity of the 'tango tea'dance craze of 1913. Here, on its 100thanniversary, Mary Evans throws a spotlighton the phenomenal, if brief, reign of thetango tea.

The craze for the Argentine tango in itslatest incarnation began in Paris in 1912 asthe thé dansant, so named from thepractice of taking tea as a refresher betweendances. The tango tea was rapturouslyembraced by Parisians of all classes,causing the caricaturist Sem to re-christenthe capital 'Tangoville', and it wasn't longbefore the trend had swept across Europe,over the channel, and beyond.

It's diff icult to over emphasize howenormously popular the tango tea had

become by 1913. The prodigiouscoverage on all aspects of the craze inthe illustrated magazines in ourarchive reveals a world in the throes oftangomania. Whether it was tangoteas held at fashionable hotels, thelatest steps explained or mocked,reviews of tango 'exhibitions' at thetheatre or novelties such as tangodancing on roller skates, the tangowas everywhere.

Manufacturers embraced anyopportunity, however tenuous,to ally their products to anyaspect of the lucrative tangocraze. Tango-legend has it thatone enterprising dressmakerfound himself with a glut oforange fabric, and takingadvantage of the tango craze, re-named thecolour "tango" after the dance, making it aninstant hit with the tango crowd. Adverts inthe press plugged tango lessons,gramophone records and sheet music -and even tango boot polish.

However, the tango craze brought much

The tango in action, c.1913(image 10529120)

Jazz Age Club Collection/Mary Evans

more to the world than just a greatmerchandising opportunity: it also broughtliberation. The new 'tango' corsets thatoffered increased flexibility, and tangoskirts and even trousers that left feet clearfor dancing, were designed to give womenthe freedom of movement required fordancing the tango properly. The physicalliberation offered by the tango dress was astark contrast to the constriction of thefashionable 'hobble' skirt, a big trend of1910. Though women's liberation wouldtake more drastic forms in 1913 (in the sameyear, imprisoned suffragettes went onhunger strike, and Emily Davison threwherself under the king's horse at EpsomDerby), the subtle changes wrought by the

tango echo those elsewhere in society atthat time.

Everyone may have been talking about thetango, but it wasn't all praise. Effectivelybanned by Kaiser Wilhelm II in Germany,and boycotted by some religious groups,the tango's enemies saw not liberation, butmoral degeneration. Unlike the moretraditional dances of the period, the tangohold was an intimate embrace, which wasperceived by some to have a corruptinginfluence. For an "unnamed peeress", whowrote to The Times in disgust in May 1913,the dance was full of "scandaloustravesties", and deemed completelyinappropriate for a well brought up younglady. The Illustrated London Newscheerfully combined extracts of this letterwith a retrospective on the polka, a newdance which was also greeted with disgustin London in 1844, but went on to be widelyadopted, and by 1913 was regarded asthoroughly tame. Proponents of the danceclaimed that when the tango was dancedproperly, it could cause no offencewhatsoever.

As 1914 progressed, the passionate fervourfor all-things-tango had begun to cool.Even before the First World War hadbegun, the dazzling magnesium flash ofthe tango tea had, almost as suddenly as ithad burst onto the scene in Paris, burntout. By 1915, the Illustrated London Newsobserved that floors of stately homes, notlong ago used for dancing the tango, had

become convalescent wards, and societygirls' dresses substituted for the sober dressof the Red Cross nurse. Though the reign ofthe tango tea was over, it would take morethan rival dance crazes or the rumblings oftotal war to entirely suppress the enduringvitality of the Argentine tango, which wasto survive, albeit in a different incarnation,to dance another day.

Whilst tango corsets may be a thing of thepast, some aspects of the hugely populartango craze still resonate one hundredyears on. The chance to cash in on a crazewith unashamed promotion of related (ormore often, tenuously related)merchandise, is something we are nostranger to in 2013, as the dust settles on the2012 Olympics and Diamond Jubileecelebrations. It's easy to look backindulgently at the tango tea as an intenseand short-lived craze of yesteryear, but itdoes pose the question: could a dance crazeso virulent ever affect us 21st centurydwellers so completely, as the tango crazedid the people of Britain, and beyond, in1913? If the global K-pop sensation Psy andhis "Gangnam style" dance routine (onebillion You Tube hits, and counting) areany indication to go by, we are not asimmune to such crazes as we may like tothink…

Lucinda Moore 2013

Whether it was tango teas held at fashionablehotels, the latest steps explained, reviews oftango 'exhibitions' at the theatre, or noveltiessuch as tango dancing on roller skates, thetango was everywhere.

Mrs Roberts and Mr Eastonembrace the latest dancecraze on rollers skates at theHolland Park Hall Rink.The Sketch, 31st December1913 (image 10694118)

Advertisement for CorsetGaine's tango corset. TheBystander, 10th December1913 (image 10224715)

The spread of the tango: arrest of a militantsuffragette, surprised to find herself in the embraceof a tango-ing policeman. Punch, 26th November1913 (image 10693665)

Tango-bath at the Lido in Venice, Fabiano in Fantasio15th October 1913 (image 107104)

We are now representing photographer JeanetteJones, whose photographs of ballroom dancing,including the tango, have a timeless appeal.Tip: to view all of Jeanette’s work on ourwebsite, type %JJO into the search box.

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Tango in New York, c.2000.Photograph by Jeanette Jones (image 10679686)

© Jeanette Jones/Mary Evans Picture Library

REVEALING THE ARCHIVE

numerous dukes, earls and heirs appear with alarmingregularity, but so too do those who came from thepolitical, theatrical, artistic or sporting worlds. TheTatler seemed genuinely shocked to have to report thedeath of Raymond Asquith, the Prime Minister'spromising eldest son in 1916 ('One had hardly quiterealized yet somehow that he was a soldier - he hardlyquite realized it himself,' wrote Eve, the magazine'sgossip columnist) and it clearly took seriously theerosion of the peerage picturing, for example, LordDesborough photographed with his sole, remaining son,after his two elder sons had been killed in action. Insporting circles, The Illustrated Sporting & DramaticNews each week featured 'The Sportsmen's Roll ofHonour,' listing many talented men in rowing, cricket,rugby, polo and athletics, who may have achieved morehad they survived. It is from this world, and the stage,that we have chosen three unique individuals who sadlylost their lives in the Great War.

CASUALTIES OF WAR

War sells papers; a fact confirmed by thenumber of magazines we hold in the libraryfrom the First World War era. As the centenary

of the Great War draws nearer and we redouble ourefforts to comb the archive for new and unique materialon the subject, rather than retreating into the past, thepeople who lived and died through the conflict becomeever more real. The so-called 'lost generation' is nosentimental myth but a painfully acute reality. We findit writ large in magazines such as The Tatler and TheSketch, where, despite the continued reporting onsociety gossip and theatrical news, the war dominated,and the loss of human life, recorded in the weekly rollsof honour, overshadowed each and every issue.

In such class-conscious times, the casualties featuredwere almost exclusively officers - those who came froma privileged background, and were usuallycommissioned into the armed services. Portraits of

'THE MOST EFFECTIVE

PLAYER IN ENGLAND,' WAS

HOW THE TIMES,REPORTING ON A MATCH

AT ROEHAMPTON,DESCRIBED CAPTAIN

LESLIE ST. CLAIR CHEAPE (1882-1916), POLO

PLAYER AND ENGLAND TEAM MEMBER IN 1914.The polo world was girding its loins for itsannual transatlantic showdown: theWestchester Cup, played between Englandand America. For some years, theAmericans had dominated, much to theembarrassment of the English, and in 1914,there remained a question mark over theEngland team's ability. Cheape, who hadbeen born into a prominent Worcestershirehunting family, showed an athleticaptitude for ball games as a school boytogether with skilful horsemanship. Later,as an off icer in the Argyll & SutherlandHighlanders in India, he began to play polobefore being selected to play for England in1911. Though not originally chosen for the1914 challenge, Leslie put on an impressivedisplay against the selected England teammembers at a practice match leading TheTatler to print a photograph of him astridehis polo pony on 20th May calling him, 'astar performer who we hope is going toAmerica with our team.' Cheape did indeedset sail for New York in June 1914. On his

CAPTAIN LESLIE CHEAPE

arrival, he was greeted with the tragic news that one of his sistershad died in the Empress of Ireland disaster on the St. LawrenceRiver. And to add to his handicap, he was hit square in the face bythe ball during practice, breaking his nose. Nevertheless, Leslie wasdetermined to take part and England triumphed with a historicvictory against the American 'Big Four' - beating them 8 ½ goals to3 in the f irst game and 4 goals to 2 ¾ in the second, 'thereby

Leslie St Clair Cheape playing polo in 1911 (image 10698635)

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CAPTAIN ANTHONY WILDING

vindicating,' wrote The Tatler, 'the prestige ofBritish polo.' On board RMS Olympic on hisway home to England, Leslie wrote to his sister,Maudie, saying, 'Can still hardly believe thatCup is on board, seems too good to be true.'

Just over a month later, war broke out. On 23rdApril 1916, Leslie was killed leading a squadronof the Worcestershire Yeomanry in Egypt. Hewas 31.

But his skill and contribution as a polo playerwas not forgotten. In 1921, The Times, whilereporting on the polo season, wrote, 'The gapthat had to be f illed this season was a big one.Leslie Cheape at his best was a player of thatclass which appears only once at least in ageneration.' Almost a hundred years on, LeslieCheape remains the gold standard by whichpolo players are judged.

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COMBINING MATINEE IDOL LOOKS, ATHLETICISM AND A CHARMING MANNER, NEW ZEALAND-BORN

ANTHONY FREDERICK WILDING (1883-1915) WAS THE EPITOME OF AN ALL-ROUND SPORTING HERO. ACambridge Blue of exceptional ability, the appearance of the 6 ' 2" Adonis on court at theWimbledon Championships led to congestion in the streets around and reportedly causedladies to faint. He won the men's title in 1910, 1911, 1912 and 1913 before being beaten by hisdoubles partner, the Australian Norman Brookes in 1914. Wilding's skill did not perhaps match

that of some of his contemporaries - always modest, he regardedBrookes as the superior player - but his f itness and admirablephysique, honed with a relentless training regime, helped him winmatches. And like many sportsmen of his day, he spread his talentswidely, showing an equally keen interest in cars and motorcycles. Heundertook numerous tours on the latter through the UK and Europe,winning a gold medal in 1908 in the reliability trials for John O'Groatsto Land's End. His ability with motors and his gentlemanly conductwas recalled by the actor Gerald du Maurier in a biography of Wildingby the Telegraph's tennis correspondent, A. Wallis Myers:

"Anthony Wilding was one of the most attractive men it has been mygood fortune to meet. He was so healthy, clean-minded; it braced oneto talk with him…My wife and I were motoring down to Bushey onenight after the theatre in a taxi, which broke down in a lonely part. Aprivate motor pulled up; among its occupants was…AnthonyWilding."

Wilding without hesitation repaired the damage to the taxi and thenspent a further hour with the driver to ensure the car was roadworthyfor the return journey. He was also generous with his advice toamateur players, and was befriended by Prime Minister ArthurBalfour who he also coached.

It was no surprise that Wilding rushed back from the United Stateswhere he had been playing in a Davis Cup tournament in order to joinup in September 1914. He was f irst attached to the Royal Marines butthen, soon afterwards, joined the Headquarters Intelligence Corpswhere his knowledge of Continental roads proved valuable. Later, hewas attached to a new squadron of armoured cars under thecommand of the Duke of Westminster where he invented a trailerwith a 3-pounder gun on it to run behind a light armoured car. It was

Anthony Frederick Wilding who coached SuzanneLenglen among others. Photograph in the IllustratedLondon News, 4th July 1914 (image 10215466)

Captain Leslie St ClairCheape, photographby Madame Yevondein The Sketch, 5thJanuary 1916 (image10652077)

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Anthony Wilding photographed as a Lieutenant during World War One,taken in the Place Vendôme, Paris, behind the wheel of his car (he wasan expert motorist). The Tatler, 20th January 1915 (image 10640239)

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this trailer that he took with him to thefront line on 8th May 1915, and where, thefollowing day, after ten hours in action tookthe decision to rest in a nearby dug-out. At4:45pm, a heavy shell exploded on the roofof the dug-out, killing Wilding instantly.He was buried by fellow off icers in anorchard near Neuve Chapelle. TheIllustrated Sporting & Dramatic Newswrote poignantly of Wilding's life - anddeath, 'Just now it is the deeds in theGreatest Game of all that count. Nobodywho knew the man expected aught else ofTony Wilding. He belongs to the numbersof those Sons of Empire who will not besoon forgotten.'

CAPTAIN BASIL HALLAM

BASIL HALLAM (1889-1916) MADE HIS STAGE DEBUT AS

A SHAKESPEAREAN ACTOR UNDER SIR HERBERT TREE IN

1908. His big theatrical break came in 1914 whenhe starred in the revue, 'The Passing Show,' whichran for nearly 400 performances at the PalaceTheatre alongside American actress Elsie Janis (to

whom he became engaged). The character he played, 'Gilbert theFilbert, Colonel of the Nuts,' personif ied the much-lampooned'k'nut,' a term used for a dandyish, gentleman swell, and a humorousantithesis of the dutiful British soldier. The role established him asone of the leading comic actors of his day, attracted a legion ofadoring female fans, and his duet with Janis, "You're here and I'mhere," soon became a popular tune with troops when war broke out afew months later.

It is ironic that the character Hallam portrayed on stage could nothave been further from his real life persona. Hindered by an oldcondition which made his hips and ankles acutely painful andnecessitated the wearing of a metal plate on his leg, he was unable tojoin an infantry unit and was instead attached to the Kite BalloonSection of the Royal Flying Corps. Admitting that almost every timehe went up in his observation balloon he 'experienced all the horrorsof seasickness,' and hampered by his injuries, his doctor advised aperiod of rest. But his sense of duty and selflessness prevented himdoing so. "I must go back to the boys, whether I am well or not," hedeclared.

On 20th August 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, Hallam'sballoon was being hauled down near Couin, when it broke free of its tethers and began to drift towards enemy lines.During his attempt to escape, Hallam's parachute failed and slipping from the harness, he fell thousands of feet tohis death. Raymond Asquith, who himself would be killed in France just a few weeks later, wrote to Lady DianaManners describing Hallam's awful end, "…killed before my very eyes by falling 6000 feet or so from an escapedballoon. He came to earth in a village ½ a mile from where I stood…shockingly foreshortened, but recognisable byhis cigarette case."

His death was widely mourned. At the unveiling of a memorial plaque to fallen soldiers from the theatricalprofession at the Old Vic, Major-General Ashmore paid tribute to Basil Hallam, who had served under him at theSomme, describing how it was his practice after his day's work to go down in the pouring rain to sing to the menand cheer them up. A year later, an In Memorium notice in The Times read, "In proud and loving memory of dearBasil, who gave his life for his country - the dearest friend, the kindest man."

Luci Gosling 2013

Basil Hallam at the time he was leaving the theatre to‘take up a khaki part in the great drama over thewater.’ Photograph by Hugh Cecil in The Tatler, 16thJune 1915 (image 10699715)

The lives of Basil Hallam, Leslie Cheape and Anthony Wilding are just threeexamples of the First World War stories we uncover on a daily basis here atthe library. As our remit to scan material from the vast array of Great Warmagazines in our archive continues apace and adds to the alreadysubstantial collection of photographs, cartoons, fine art images,illustrations, posters, and postcards on the subject, we wanted to findseveral ways to convey the impressive breadth and depth of this richresource to our clients.

Our website WWI timeline offers a traditional, chronological way to searchimages, while we will continue to highlight new and existing collections suchas the outstanding Robert Hunt Library and Mike Sheil's Fields of Battlephotography on our Collections web page. We will also report on image setsand new contributors relating to the war in our general and specialisednewsletters. Look out too for more articles in forthcoming issues of ME &You magazine.

However, with an almost inexhaustible supply of fascinating pictures we stillfelt there was something more we could do to share the unique resource wehold here at Mary Evans. And so the Mary Evans WWI blog was born - aregular visual diary of our First World War archives; a fascinating peek intoboth iconic and unusual aspects of the conflict from home front to thefighting fronts. We plan to unearth the unusual, the quirky, the forgotten,the tragic, the funny, the moving and the heroic and to tell the stories ofsome long-since-forgotten individuals who played a significant part in 'theGreater Game.'

You can follow our blog - Picturing the Great War - at blog.maryevans.comand sign up for regular updates sent to your inbox. Our aim is for this tobecome a valuable and engaging resource for picture researchers and WWIenthusiasts alike and it will be contributed to by the knowledgeable MaryEvans team including staff member Luci Gosling. Luci is the author ofseveral books, including 'Brushes & Bayonets,' (Osprey, 2008), anauthoritative survey of First World War cartoons from the Illustrated LondonNews archive, and is currently working on a new title, 'Great War Britain' forThe History Press due for publication in June 2014.

We welcome your comments on the blog and urge you to recommend it toanyone with an interest in the history of the Great War and its visual legacy.Join up now!

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Publications with

complete or near-

complete runs covering

the First World War

available at Mary Evans

include: The Illustrated

London News, The

Graphic, The Sphere,

The Illustrated War

News, The War

Illustrated, L’Illustration,

The Tatler & The Sketch.

Great Warthe

Sixty years ago this June, coronation fever gripped the nation. The coronation of 1953 heralded a decade ofhope and new beginnings, embodied in the 28-year-old Queen Elizabeth II who was crowned inWestminster Abbey on 2nd June. But the coronation also has a history spanning more than a thousand

years, from the f irst crowning of a king (Charlemagne in 800AD) to the televised ceremony of 1953 whichallowed a worldwide audience to experience this ancient and mystical ritual for the f irst time. We've picked twoaspects of the coronation - one historic and one relatively recent (if 60 years ago can be described so), and offersome fascinating facts about royal coronations through the years.

The coronation of King William IV in 1831 was, by all accounts,a paltry affair. Coming at a time of deep economic depression,the King, who was a man of simple pleasures, would have

happily done without a coronation altogether and the low budgetevent that took place was dubbed the 'Penny Coronation' or 'Half

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Crownation' by wits of the day. Suchfrugality could not be achieved withoutcutting a number of ceremonial corners,and one of the most costly aspects of thecoronation - the 'after-show' banquet atWestminster Hall - was abandoned.

Along with the banquet went another age-old ritual, that of the King's Champion.Described in Debrett's Dictionary of theCoronation as the 'most perfect relic offeudalism,' the part of the King's Championwas f illed by the Dymoke family of themanor of Scriveley in Lincolnshire. Sincethe 13th century, they had claimed the rightto one of the sovereign's horses as well as itssaddle, bridle and the gold cup from whichthe king drank. In return, the King'sChampion would offer the monarchprotection, riding into Westminster Hall infull armour to the sound of a trumpetfanfare to throw down the gauntlet andchallenge any man who dared dispute themonarch's claim to the throne. By the timeof George IV's coronation in 1821, the rolehad become merely symbolic.Undoubtedly the pageantry and romanceof the King's Champion might haveappealed to the theatrical tastes of GeorgeIV. But, like so many aspects of thecoronation day ritual, it also anchored andaff irmed the ancient order of things - atangible and picturesque reminder of thecenturies-old foundations underpinningthe modern constitutional monarchy.

The Dymokes' role in the coronation wasreprised in 1953, in recognition of thefamily's long record of service. Instead ofsuits of armour and pounding hooves,Captain J. L. Marmion Dymoke attendedthe Queen in the full dress uniform of the1st Battalion of the Royal LincolnshireRegiment bearing one of the royalstandards.

Top: William IV in his coronation robes, 1837 (image 10011257)Above: The King's Champion entering Westminster Hall at the banquet following thecoronation of George V in 1911. Ritz-Carlton Coronation Souvenir, 1911 (image10650340)

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Top: The Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey, c.1840 (image 10000032)Above: Design by Norman Hartnell for the Queen’s coronation dress (image10583090)

ColonelBlood attempting to stealthe Crown Jewels in 1671(image 10653171)

Did you know…?

All monarchs since William I have been crowned at Westminster Abbey except for Edward V (oneof the Princes in the Tower) and Edward VIII (who abdicated before his coronation).

The orb and sceptre were stolen in an audacious heist by the infamous Colonel Blood in 1671.He was pursued and arrested shortly afterwards and, miraculously, pardoned by King Charles II.

At Queen Victoria's coronation, the Archbishop of Canterbury pushed the coronation ring ontothe Queen's finger with such force she cried out in pain and had to soak her hands in cold waterafterwards in order to remove it. After the ceremony, Victoria went home to give her beloved petspaniel, Flush, a bath.

King Edward VII's coronation had to be postponed at short notice when the King contractedappendicitis.

The Imperial State Crown includes the Black Prince's Ruby (legend has it that King Henry V woreit at the Battle of Agincourt), pearls that were once Elizabeth I's earrings, and the Star of India, thesecond largest diamond from the famous Cullinan, cut and mounted in 1909.

There were so many candles illuminating the Abbey at the coronation of King George IV thatmolten wax rained down, ruining many ladies' gowns.

Nobody was surprised when SirNorman Hartnell, already anestablished couturier to royalty and

designer of the Queen's wedding dress in1947, was tasked with designing the gownfor the 1953 coronation, but nevertheless,speculation over its design was at feverpitch. Out of the nine separate designssubmitted by Hartnell, the one chosen wasan elaborately embroidered work of art,incorporating the floral emblems ofEngland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and theDominions in an allegorical feast of silkthread, seed pearls and crystals. Securitywas of the utmost importance. Press triedto rent space in the mews oppositeHartnell's workrooms and use long-focuscameras, so at f irst the girls working on thedress were not told the signif icance of theirproject. They were placed in a room bythemselves and the dress was covered intissue to avoid spying. The precautionswere worthwhile and the Queen declaredthe gown, "Glorious!" when it was f inallyunveiled. Not only did Hartnell design theQueen's coronation dress but he also madethe gowns for the Queen Mother, PrincessMargaret and the six maids-of-honour.Hartnell continued to design for the Queenuntil shortly before his death in 1979 andshe wore outf its from the House ofHartnell into the 1980s.

Luci Gosling 2013

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MOST HUMAN SOCIETIES HAVE DISTINGUISHED

BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN BY THE TYPE OR STYLE

OF CLOTHING DEEMED APPROPRIATE, and wherethis has been the case, cross-dressing -wearing garments associated with theopposite gender - has opened its wardrobealongside. Throughout history, people havecross-dressed for a wide variety of reasons:sexual, practical, for disguise, subversion oridentity. The reasons have often differedbetween men and women.

During the Rebecca Riots in the mid-19thcentury, the act of cross-dressing became partof social protest, turning the perception of'natural order' upside down. Economicconditions in the late 1830s and early 1840shad led to extreme poverty for agriculturalcommunities in South Wales who began toview the increase in tithes, tolls and poorrates exacted at this time as an oppressionthat must be thrown off. Many roads in Waleswere impassable without payment of oftenextortionate tolls demanded by trusts, and itwas these toll-gates that became the target ofthe protesters. Dressing in women's clothing,the men called themselves Rebecca and herDaughters (supposedly after a verse in Genesisabout 'possessing the gate of those which hatethem'), and attacked turnpikes and tollhouseson the road. The clothing lent disguise butalso highlighted the symbolic nature of theirresistance.

Equally disruptive to ideas about traditionalgender roles were the numerous tales ofcross-dressing women in the 18th and 19th

centuries who successfullymanaged careers in the

military, upsetting thenotion of women as the'weaker sex'. HannahSnell was born inWorcester in 1723, andmarried James Summs.When he deserted her,she borrowed male

clothes and began hersearch, later learning that

he'd been executed formurder. At Portsmouth she

joined the Marines andsailed f irst to Lisbonand then to India whereshe was wounded in

Adventures in cross-dressing

Rebecca rioters,Illustrated London News,11th November 1843(image 10639154)

Hannah Snell, female soldier(image 10080501)

The Chevalier d’Eon, half infemale clothing, half in male.Engraving in the LondonMagazine, September 1777(image 10029907)

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battle in 1749, somehow managing to treather leg and groin injuries without beingdiscovered. When she returned to Londonthe following year, she revealed her disguiseand sold her story. Remarkably, her militaryservice was off icially recognised and she wasgranted a pension by the Royal HospitalChelsea. She died in 1792, one of severalfemale adventurers of this period who founddressing as a man offered them opportunitiesthey would not otherwise have had.

A much more visible example of transvestismin the 18th century was Charles GenevièveLouis Auguste André Timothée d'Eon deBeaumont, known as the Chevalier d'Eon.D'Eon was a high-ranking French soldier anddiplomat who in 1763 had a key role innegotiations to end the Seven Years' Warbetween France and Britain. He also used hisposition to spy for King Louis XV, but thesecrets he harboured, including thoserelating to a covert plan for the invasion ofBritain, enabled him to turn rogue when hebecame disillusioned with his treatment bythe French authorities. His dangerousposition kept the Chevalier in exile in Britain,where rumours that he was in fact a womanhad been circulating since 1770. When theking died in 1774, his successor Louis XVIgranted d'Eon return to France with the oddcondition, possibly at d'Eon's behest, that hewould from henceforth wear female dress.Returning to London in 1786 d'Eon lived out

the rest of his life as a woman, giving fencingdisplays, and becoming the f irst openlytransvestite man in British history.

The Chevalier's higher social position mayhave enabled him to be accepted as aneccentric in ways not open to men fromlower classes where such dress would havebeen seen as deviant. As the 18th centuryprogressed, cross-dressing men began tobe associated with homosexual sub-cultures, a judgement greeted inthe Victorian era with anexcitement borderingon hysteria. One of the

Louis XVI granted d’Eon return to France withthe odd condition that he would fromhenceforth wear female dress.

Life’s a drag!

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Ernest Boulton and FrederickWilliam Park, also known asStella and Fanny, arrested andput in a police van on 10thApril 1870. The Day’s Doings,20th May 1871(image 10000882)

most notorious cases, the subject of a recentbook by Neil McKenna, 'Fanny and Stella',was that of Frederick William Park andErnest Boulton, arrested in April 1870 afteran evening at the Strand Theatre in London infull drag where they'd been witnessedbehaving in a lascivious manner. Their arrestand remand hearings at Bow StreetMagistrates' Court, not to mention the trialitself in May 1871 for 'conspiring and incitingpersons to commit an unnatural offence,while unlawfully disguising themselves aswomen thereby corrupting public morals'caused wide public interest with muchreporting on the scandalous revelations. Itbecame apparent that Boulton and Park'scase fed into growing concern over theincreased visibility of masculine women andeffeminate men, and represented somethingworryingly 'other' for Victorian society that ifallowed to flourish would irreversiblycontaminate the nation's superiority. TheIllustrated London News of 21st May 1870,reported that articles found at their lodgingsincluded: "about sixteen dresses, thirteenpetticoats, one crinoline, about ten bodices,seven chignons, stays, powder, stockings,rouge, wadding, &c." Even when not infemale dress, the make-up worn by Park andBoulton, who called themselves Fanny andStella, and the cut of their male attire, mademany question their gender. Were theywomen in men's clothing or men in women'sclothing? "There is not the slightest doubt,"the Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine

opined, "that England is hastening towardsthe border that divides the sexes."

One prominent name engulfed in the scandalwas that of Lord Arthur Pelham-Clinton, MPand son of the Duke of Newcastle, who hadfor a time lived with Boulton, the latter stylinghimself Stella, Lady Clinton. Lord Arthur diedon 18th June 1870, the day of his subpoena fortrial, but whether from the given cause ofscarlet fever or from suicide, remainsobscure. Despite the grave situation thedefendants initially found themselves in, theprosecution case collapsed and Boulton andPark were acquitted.

An interesting cross-dressing footnote wasreported in the ILN a few months later inNovember 1871, with the investigation of acurious case of swindling: "a young womannamed Mary Jane Furneaux [misprinted asKenneaux] had obtained money from severalpersons by representing that she was LordArthur Clinton in disguise. She described themanner in which he (or she) escaped burial …and was now obliged to keep her name secretuntil the expiration of a certain period oftime, in order to get free of punishment."

From disguise to liberation, identity toentertainment, cross-dressing has been apersistent draw for those looking for a meansof escape from the life in which they f indthemselves.

Jessica Talmage 2013

Mary Evans Picture Library

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Convivial Captions

Issue 8 The Sketch competition answ

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Congratulations to our w

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Here at Mary Evans, we have our fair share of serious, heavyweight images, the sort to brook no nonsense and takeno prisoners; images that would not look out of place in the most sober historical tome.

These four, however, are not they. Falling into what we might call the lighter category, these images are just a handfulof our many unusual and humorous offerings. Our pprriizzee--wwiinnnniinngg ccoommppeettiittiioonn this month invites you to ‘bring thefunny’ by writing a caption for any or all of these images. There’s no limit to the number of entries, and all captionswill be judged anonymously by a panel of serious people at the Mary Evans Picture Library, with the funniest captionwinning ££110000 ooff AAmmaazzoonn vvoouucchheerrss. The decision of the panel is final. Send your entries to me&you@maryevans.comby 16th May 2013. The winner will be notified by 23rd May.

We would be happy to receive your comments about ME & You. P lease emai l us at me&you@maryevans.com.