The Symbol of the "Naughty Nineties"

Fire engines raced to the scene.  The young Prince of Wales and his friend, the Duke of Sutherland, were on one one of them.  They enjoyed the scene immensely as the horses were made to go faster and faster through the busy London streets of 1865.

Unfortunately, they couldn't save The Eldorado, a music-hall and restaurant.  Nineteen years later, a new music-hall replaced the old theatre.  Designed by Thomas Verity, an acclaimed theatre designer, the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square was to become one of the most famous music-halls.  It had a grand opening with Chilperic by Florimund Horne. It was also the site of the opening of the Lumiere Cinematrographe in 1896.

The music-hall was especially noted for its ballets.  Such eminent ballerinas as Adeline Genee appeared there.  Madame Katti Lanner, an Austrian dancer, ran a dance troupe.  The management even travelled to St.Petersburg to acquire new talent.

Unfortunately, the ballet stars were usually members of variety shows.  For example, one evening's entertainment included a juggler, a trapeze-swinging poodle and a contortionist.  This was not the only problem encountered by the girls who appeared in the ballet.  In those days,  actresses and girls in the ballet often had a bad reputation.  They were regarded as "easy game" by the young men of the town.  One MP, a Mr Winterbotham, later complained that dancers often became prostitutes.

The promenade at the back of the dress circle in the theatre was apparently notorious and the reason why the Empire Theatre was considered "the symbol of the Naughty Nineties". Prostitutes and courtesans strolled here hoping to attract the attention of the young aristocrats and dandies.  Winston Churchill wrote that "they also from time to time refreshed themselves with alcoholic liqueurs".  These scenes would result in a great scandal - the subject of my next post.

Georges Barbier, A Great French Fashion Artist

I've finally written my new article.  You can see it here: Georges Barbier

Explorer's Remains Found

Interesting story about Framk Wild, an explorer and friend of Shackleton.

Find An Online Course Easily

Would you like to complete an online course from the comfort of your own home?  An online course makes this possible.  It will save you money on transport and it also means that you can study at your own pace.  Another advantage is that you may not be able to find the course that you want locally.  However, you will probably be able to locate the program that you want online because there are many more choices available. Find an Education will help you find an online course easily.

Find an Education enables students to browse online degree programs and search for the course which they want. Students can browse by subject or by university or college.  The site supplies details of each program and university.  Students who want more information can also fill in a Request Form which is sent to the college or university.

Students can find online degree programs which will suit them at Find an Education.  Many different subjects are offered, including online degree programs in communication. There is a list of featured universities, colleges, and schools.  These include Arizona State University and ATA Career Education. There are also several useful articles, such as:  “How to Choose the Right Online Degree” and “Find Your Niche.”

http://inces.ed.gov/collegenavigator

I hope to write a new post this week!

Sydney's Bon Marche

Two brothers looked at the burgeoning buildings of Sydney and dreamed of creating a great department store which would rival Bon Marche in Paris. They were sure that they could do it because their family background was in retail and they had owned a successful drapery store in Melbourne.

The old, iconic building, which was once Mark Foy's department store, is now a court but the distinctive architecture remains. The turretted mansard roof and the birght terracotta trim advertising 'corsets', 'gloves' and 'hosiery' is still visible to those interested in the history of Sydney.

The Foy brothers, Francis and Mark, opened their first store in Sydney in 1884. It was another drapery business and relatively small. In 1908, however, they caused a sensation by opening a three-storey store near Hyde Park. Soon the three storeys weren't enough and the store grew to six storeys. They built other buildings to house the many departments, including furniture, hardware, and carpets. They even owned a woollen mill.

The great Mark Foy's was eventually the only store to have four frontages - on Elizabeth, Liverpool, Castlereigh, and Goulbourn streets. Paul Keating once criticised people by saying that: "They had more front than Mark Foy's!"

The department store was the first Australian store to have an escalator. People still have fond memories of the elegant galleries, the grand ballroom with its marble, and the restaurant. Women and girls especially loved to shop in the store which was highly regarded as a centre of fashion and had glamorous glass cabinets and wooden ceilings.

Unfortunately, the days of Mark Foy's ended in 1980 when Grace Brothers bought the store. Lovers of old department stores can only look at the building and dream of shopping in elegance.

The Real Lady Cora

A fascinating article about the the real Lady Cora on whom the character in Downton Abbey is based.