Inquiring Minds Want to Know!

Joined
Nov 26, 2016
Location
central NC
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(Wikipedia Commons)

I think many folks may have them – questions about our Victorian friends that we never quite knew how or where to ask. Well now’s your chance. Throw caution (but not common sense) to the wind and pose your question(s) here. I’ll do my best to answer or call on my fabulous co-host, @DBF , or another knowledgeable CWT member to help out.

I’ll kick us off with one my buddy, @NH Civil War Gal , recently asked, “How did women in the CW time and later cope with errant chin hair?” And the answer is…

Women of ancient Egypt removed all of their body hair, including that on their heads, with tweezers made from seashells, pumice stones, or early beeswax and sugar based waxes. Yikes!!!

A fellow named Jacques Perret, a French barber, created the first straight razor for men in 1760 which was used by some women. By 1844, a doctor had created one of the first depilatory creams called Poudre Subtile and soon after, in 1880, King Camp Gillette created the first modern day razor for men. Sadly it was another three decades before a razor specifically marketed for women showed up.

In 1915, Gillette created the first razor specifically for women, the Milady Decolletée. The early 1900’s also saw ads for depilatory cream hit the masses.
 
Thanks for starting this thread Ellie. Here's something I've always wondered about. I've seen a lot of 19th century images - daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, CDV's, and cabinet cards. In some, married people are wearing wedding rings and, in others, they aren't. When were wedding rings introduced and when did they become fairly standard?
 
When I was doing some research on this subject I stumbled on this young lady.

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Poster late 1800's promoting Annie
(United States Public Domain)

Meet Annie Jones Elliot - sadly not the first bearded woman, but most agree she was the most famous and perhaps the youngest. She was born July 14, 1865 in Virginia. She started touring with P.T. Barnum the she was only 9 months old earning $150 weekly for her family. She first started out as the “Bearded Girl/or Monkey Girl”, until she grew up and was not a little girl.

As she grew older she grew tired of being a part of what was called “Barnum’s Circus Freaks” and she was one of the leading opponents for discouraging that particular word.

It was thought she may have suffered from a medical condition called - Hirsutism or excessive body hair. She married twice and died at 37 from tuberculosis.
 
Not sure about wedding rings - but for the diamond engagement ring we can thank this fellow:

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Cecil John Rhodes PC (July 4. 1853 – March 26 1902)​

His fame - he was described as a businessman and mining magnate - his success was in the diamond fields of Kimberley in Northern Cape Province - his company in 1888 - DeBeers Consolidated Mines - their best advertisement “Diamonds are Forever”.


When were wedding rings introduced
I have read that many men did not wear a wedding ring due to the nature of their work and the danger of getting a ring caught while working and possibly losing a finger. The other reason was financial - but maybe Eleanor will dig up some more information.
 
This is from planleft.com:

In the late 1930s, De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. was facing a continued slowdown on diamond sales in the United States, mostly due to the Great Depression.

The national attitude at the time was one of scarcity and responsibility.

Newly-engaged young women hoped for washing machines or other practical household necessities to mark their engagements.

Hoping to reinvigorate the desire for diamonds in the United States, De Beers turned to the N.W. Ayer Advertising Agency in Philadelphia.

Louise Frances Gerety was hired by N.W. Ayer in 1943 as the replacement for another female copywriter. She was given De Beers as her primary account, since female copywriters were generally restricted to woman-centric products and services.

She scribbled down “A Diamond is Forever” one night before bed in 1947, and presented it to lukewarm reception the next day at work.

Creating the Diamond Demand

At first, the higher-ups at N.W. Ayer thought “A Diamond is Forever” lacked any real meaning. (When you think about it, quartz is forever!)

The word “forever” was grammatically questionable, they said. No one was excited about the spot's prospects, but it made it to print without fanfare.


And diamond sales in the United States began an atmospheric climb:


  • In 1939, diamond sales in the U.S. totaled $23 million.
  • In 1979, diamond sales in the U.S. totaled $2.1 billion.
  • De Beers grew their ad budget from $200,000 to $10 million in those 40 years.

N.W. Ayer and Frances Gerety had helped De Beers create an association between their product and a psychological craving deeper than any washing machine or new Buick could fulfill: the desire for eternal romantic love and companionship.
 
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