I have written previously about Elsie, but feature here some additional photograph of her life.
This lovely evocative "blotter" reflects both a hairdressing business and the 1920's style - so an ideal match for this week's Sepia Saturday prompt photograph, which shows a French window display of 1920's mannequins,
promoting a "coiffeur" - a hairdressing salon.
Elise's
real name was Elsie Oldham (1906-1989) but perhaps the French adaptation was regarded as
more appropriate for a hairdresser. The business was conducted
from the rather less glamorous setting of the family home (below) with the
large adverts in the windows and on the pole outside.
The Oldham family was a well known one of coal merchants and carters in Blackpool, Lancashire, with, behind their house, the stables a large yard, hay loft, tack room. and stabling for around seven horses.
A young ringlet Elsie with her grandfather Joseph Prince Oldham
An older Elsie - still with the disjunctive ringlets.
Elsie set
up her hairdresser's around 1926.
On the death in 1939 of her father John William Oldham, Elsie took on the helm of the coal merchant business along with her husband Arthur Stuart Smith, seeing it through the difficult wartime years,and combining it with Elsie's own hairdressing activities. The coal merchant business was eventually sold around 1948 to another local firm, thus ending over 50 years of the family concern.
When Elsie moved into a bungalow, one of the bedrooms was converted into a hairdresser salon, with Elsie working until shortly before she died in 1989 - by that time the number of customers had dwindled to about three a week all of whom were as old as she was! When the house was emptied a cupboard was discovered full of the tools of her trade and bottles of hair dye in myriad colours - some of it must have been at least 20 or 30 years old!
Elsie's old set of scissors and hair clippers
With thanks to Elsie's son, for these photograph and memories.
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Oh I wonder who the brave souls were who last used those old bottles of dyes. Elsie sounds like a very enterprising woman, and I'm sure you are proud to be related to her!
ReplyDeleteLove the photos of the shop window and the ads for her business. I agree that "Elise" sounds more exotic and appropriate for her career than "Elsie." She must have been a good hairdresser to keep loyal customers so long.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I love vintage hairstyles. My father's housekeeper, after my grandmother died, was named Elsie too.
ReplyDeleteI admire Elsie/Elise for being able to take over the coal business as well as running her own.
A perfect fit for this week's theme! I like your last image of the scissors and clippers. We don't often think of the occupational tools that women used in their trade. There's something very intimate about cutting hair. It's a familiarity of touch that's only shared by doctors and dentists.
ReplyDeleteWith just a switch of an 'i' Elsie had a French background. What a clever and industrious woman. Loved seeing the hairdresser tools of the day. I bet she had a collection of 'Wave Clips', along with 'DippityDo' of the day. Great photos...treasures all.
ReplyDeleteNice take on the prompt! My Mom had some of those marcel wave clips in her makeup case and I used to try to use them in my hair, but they didn't work very well in long hair, and the waves wouldn't stay unless I used stiffening hair goo and I didn't like that stuff, so - Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading all your comments - thank you.
ReplyDelete