Our theme image for Sepia Saturday 230 is an 1890 Carte de Visite (CdV) featuring Miss Grace Sutherland and her remarkable hair. Grace was one of seven Sutherland Sisters, a singing group from New York State, who were noted for their long hair (a kind of reverse ZZ top of their day). I can't think of any of my relatives with potentially record-breaking hair so I turned to my collection of CdV's to see if I had anything that might possibly give Miss Sutherland a run for her money. There was nothing, of course: Miss S and her siblings were in a class of their own. So then I had a soothing glass of malt and began to ponder as to what you could possibly do with all that hair. And one though led to another and eventually I came up with a kind of hair-brained calculation which I would like to share with you. Perhaps it answers one of the questions that has been troubling me for some time : how on earth were all those fine Victorian and Edwardian gentlemen able to cultivate such fine beards and side-whiskers? The answer might just happen to be a Sutherland Sister and a pot of glue!
You can find more interpretations of this week's theme by visiting the SEPIA SATURDAY BLOG and following the various links.
I don't think those are quite equal.
ReplyDeleteNo! They grew it out! What a mess gluing hair on the face would have made.
ReplyDeleteAh, the Carte de Visite, so little chance to use mine now!
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine what their skin would look & feel like after a few a'fixins of that hair to the upper lip, chin, & neck? They'd have the worst case of dermatology I can imagine. Forget acne! Besides that, they probably wouldn't smell very good. The Sutherland girls used some sort of foul-smelling hair tonic their mother concocted to treat their long locks - although, when marketed with the girls as an example of what might be achieved with it, it sold well, providing the girls with a small fortune.
ReplyDeleteI'd need a transplant for my head. I gave up beards very quickly when my attempts looked like being ginger.
ReplyDeleteWhich Could Also Explain This Year's Eurovision? :)
ReplyDeleteThe Seven Sutherland Sisters made a fortune (and lost it) with their special hair tonic. Perhaps it worked for some people.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been quite a powerful mug of malt!
ReplyDeleteDid you ever have one of those magnetic toys as a child where the metal filings were behind plastic on a piece of cardboard that had a face printed on it? You'd take the supplied magnet and move the filings around to create hair all over the poor fella.
ReplyDeleteWere you also sniffing that pot of glue??
ReplyDeleteWhat an intriguing, fun take on this week's theme! Hair brained indeed and whisky fueled!
ReplyDeleteAll that hair- and the minibeasts it sustained deep in its forests!
ReplyDelete