Apron Collection

Coopers at work making wooden barrels
Four coopers hard at work in their workshop making traditional wooden barrels. Painting by Malcolm Greensmith

Olney Pancake Race
SHROVE TUESDAY The starter line for the Olney pancake race which has been held in the village for over 500 years. Any Olney woman over 18 can compete

Girl playing Nurse
A young girl in her nurses outfit, tends to her teddys injuries with copious bandaging, whilst a pet cat watches

Poster advertising Sunlight Soap -- for rest and leisure. Date: early 20th century

Blacksmiths outside their forge
A superb photograph of six Blacksmiths and coachbuilders posing for a photograph outside their forge/workshop, each holding the tools of their trade

Group photo, Claridges Hotel kitchen staff, Mayfair, London W1. Date: 1908

Interior Decorator with his brushes, ladder and pipe
Interior Decorator (Terry) with his brushes, ladder, pipe and blowtorch! Date: circa 1950s

Minoan art. Crete. Prince of the Lilies. Dated circa 1550 BC. Brings the Minoan belt and headdress made A?a?A?a?of lilies and peacock feathers. Fresco from the palace of Knossos

The Derby 1923 by Cecil Aldin
Leaving the post at the start of the Derby of 1923, a race famously won by Papyrus, owned by Mr B. Irish and ridden by Steve Donoghue

Welsh woman with spinning wheel, Wales
Welsh woman outside a cottage with a spinning wheel, Wales. Date: late 19th century

British gunners, Battle of the Somme, WW1
British gunners in action during the Battle of the Somme, First World War. Their guns are on " Percy Scott" mountings, with rather colourful camouflage paint. Date: 1918

Champagne Hoard
Lining up bottles of champagne in rows in preparation for a wealthy Argentine society event at the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Date: 1930s

Garcon De Cafe 1850
A French garcon de cafe, or cafe waiter. Date: 1850

Alice in Wonderland, Alice in the White Rabbits house. Date: early 20th century

Butchers Shop, High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex
W Snelling Butchers Shop, 11 High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. circa 1900

German Massage Parlour
Greetings from the Massage Parlour

Typesetting by hand, Morning Post newspaper, London
A roomful of male compositors in London, typesetting the pages of the Morning Post newspaper by hand

Street scene with shops, Crickhowell, Powys, Mid Wales
A street scene with shops, in Crickhowell, Powys, Mid Wales. The large corner shop is Bells grocery store, decorated with flags, perhaps to celebrate Empire Day (24 May)

Cobblers shop front, St Davids, Pembrokeshire, South Wales
View of a cobblers shop front in St David s, Pembrokeshire, Dyfed, South Wales

Llewellin Churn Works, Haverfordwest, South Wales
A group of employees, mostly women, of the Llewellin Churn Works at North Gate, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Dyfed, South Wales

Music cover for Two Marionettes Polka, composed by May Ostlere. Two puppets (without strings!) are depicted dancing on a small stage, framed by red and gold curtains

Blacksmith at work in his forge
An elderly blacksmith hammering a horseshoe on his anvil. The owner of the horse awaiting a new set of shoes looks in at the window, while the blacksmiths cat scratches an ear on the work bench

Two Cobblers Mend Shoes
Two cobblers, seated on a low bench in their workshop, set about repairing shoes and fitting new soles

Shetland knitter, Shetland Islands, Scotland. She is knitting as she walks along with a bulky load on her back. Date: late 19th century

Puff Pastry Recipies
A woman makes various things out of puff pastry

Poster advertising Pollards Storefitters, showing workmen busy with their carpentry. 20th century

Who will buy my sweet blooming lavender?
Old Street Cries -- Who will buy my sweet blooming lavender? 20th century

Kodak Cameras 1930S
Putting the finishing touches to Kodak cameras. Date: 1930s

Girls filling penny tins of mustard, Norwich, Norfolk
Girls at work filling penny tins of mustard at the firm of J Colman Ltd, Norwich, Norfolk

Poster advertising Pettijohns breakfast food, showing Red Riding Hood -- or is it Goldilocks? -- and a family of bears sharing an outdoor breakfast together in the woods

Older Woman Baking 1947
An older woman wearing a flowery apron rolls out pastry for some home baking

Penny-Ice Man / Crane
The ice cream man sells penny licks to the children gathered around his cart

Biergarten waitress carrying beer tankards
A Biergarten waitress carrying tankards of beer

Dickens / M. Chuzzlewit
The Life & Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Sarah (Sairey) Gamp, midwife, nurse and layer out of the dead, wearing an apron and a bonnet

Young girl of Carovilli, Molise, Italy, 19th century. She wears a kerchief artfully folded around her head, and a symmetrical motley of patterns of gold braid and embroidery

Dan Leno, music hall comedian, as Sister Anne
Dan Leno (George Wild Galvin), music hall comedian and musical theatre actor, as Sister Anne in a pantomime entitled Bluebeard, at Drury Lane Theatre, London. Date: circa 1901

Minnie Duncan music hall coster act
Minnie Duncan of the music hall double act Duncan and Godfrey (Arthur Godfrey). Wearing coster costume of long black skirt with full-length white apron, shawl and large hat with ostrich feathers

As a pancake
Front cover showing a young French woman with short red hair, revealing pinny and rolled stockings, tossing a pancake! 1927

Cats enjoying a dinner party on a Christmas card. Date: circa 1890s

Little girl with chicks
A small child, surrounded by a hen and her chicks, carries two of the little birds in her apron c. 1905

Dipping plaice in batter - Fish & Chip Shop, Morecambe
The owner/proprietor dipping plaice (or another type of flat fish) into a ceramic pot of batter in a Fish & Chip Shop, Morecambe, Lancashire, before placing into the hot fat fryer behind

1930s woman cooking in her kitchen
A woman stands at a kitchen pantry or dresser trying out new recipes. Attached to the work service is a hand operated meat mincer. Date: c.1930

Gibbs Happy Families - Mrs Bun the Bakers wife. 20th century

Carantec, Brittany, France, Crevette fishergirls
Carante cin the Finistere department of Brittany in north-western France - Crevette fishergirls. Date: circa 1910s

DRYING DISMAL DESMOND
A little girl pegs out her freshly washed Dismal Desmond toy dalmatian dog to dry on the washing line in her back yard! Date: early 1930s

Woman Cooking 1960S
A woman in an apron holds a saucepan ready over the hob as she turns it on

Drying Clothes / Allingham
A woman in a pink bonnet check her washing line to see if her washing is dry

Hotel chefs relaxing, Central London
Chefs outside a Central London hotel take a break from their labours, in the fresh air. Date: circa 1950s

W Heath Robinson - Peeling Potatoes by Gramophone

Servants at Reipole House, Loch Sunart, Argyll, Scotland
Group of six servants at Reipole House, Loch Sunart, Argyll, Scotland. circa 1895

Alice in Wonderland, Alice and the pack of cards, as the courtroom scene disintegrates at the end of the story. Date: early 20th century

Cover design, Over 120 Ways of Using Bread for tasty and delightful dishes. Showing a woman in her kitchen, enjoying some of the results of her baking. Date: circa 1940s

Three women with a dog at an open window
Three women with a Jack Russell terrier at an open window. Date: circa 1900s

Carthusian Monks
Carthusian monks of the tranquil monastery of La Valsainte, Switzerland, drinking from the village well, oblivious of World War Two. Date: early 1940s

Old Shetlanders, Havera Isle, Shetland Islands, Scotland. Date: 1918

English Rose kitchen advertisement
Advertisement for the wonderfully retro English Rose fitted kitchens of the 1950s depicting a housewife in a jolly yellow pinny proudly showing off her pristine new kitchen. c.1955

Young peasant woman in a wood, Finland. Date: 1922

Susi - with girl, mixing bowl and kitten. 1950s

Barman standing by well-stocked bar
Barman standing by a well-stocked bar. The cash register displays an advertisement for Bass & Co Barley Wine. Packets of Capstan cigarettes are on display below. Date: circa 1910

Supper-Time by Muriel Dawson -- a little girl and her black kitten. Date: 1947

A Welsh Rabbit (Rarebit?) complete with traditional costume
A Welsh Rabbit (Rarebit?) complete with traditional Welsh costume. Date: 1904

Traditional Swiss Costume - A woman from Frick, Aargau
Traditional Swiss Costume - A woman from Frick, a municipality in the district of Laufenburg in the canton of Aargau. Date: circa 1909

Opening Oysters 1930S
A man prises open oysters at Scotts Oyster Bar in the West End of London. Date: 1930s

Decorating Pottery - Barons Art - Barnstaple
Decorating by hand at Barons Art Pottery at Barnstaple, Devon

Laundry at National Childrens Home, Harpenden, Herts
Girls iron and fold clean washing in the laundry at the National Childrens Home, Harpenden, Hertfordshire

Cuckoo Clock Maker
Two little boys help an old clockmaker, perhaps their grandfather, to make a cuckoo clock in the Black Forest, Germany

Jesus & Peters Feet 19C
Jesus washes Peters feet at Passover

Advert Gas Stove Acme
Acme Gas Stoves - " No thank you, Mr Soot!"

Cookery Magazine 1917
A wartime issue of this popular cookery magazine - Splendid Flour Substitute recipes, Making the meat go round, the sugar shortage, How to save bread

Saddler at Work C. 1800
A saddler, in apron, works at a bench. Various tools can be seen in his workshop including a round paring knife

Mrs Sarah Gamp, character in Martin Chuzzlewit
Mrs Sarah Gamp, character in the novel Martin Chuzzlewit (1843-1844) by Charles Dickens Date: 19th century

Downstairs servants of a country house
Group photo, downstairs servants of a country house. circa 1900

A saddler making a saddle in his leather workshop
A saddler in leather apron making a saddle in his workshop. Handcoloured woodcut engraving from The Book of English Trades and Library of the Useful Arts, Phillips, London, 1818

Group photo, Carlton Hotel kitchen staff, London, posing on the hotel roof in November 1908. Date: 1908

French Happy Families - Bistro
French Happy Families - La Famille Lavinasse, Father, Bistro. early 20th century

Upholsterers at work, C V Smith factory, London
Upholsterers at work at Mr C V Smiths factory in Osnaburgh Street, Camden, London. Teams of men are assembling and stuffing long leather couches

FRESH PEAS FOR SALE
Fresh gathered peas, young Hastings: a woman gathers her apron up to hold the peas poured out by a farmer on the back of a cart Date: 1795

Cartoon, Waitress, WW1
Cartoon, Waitress, showing a pretty young woman in a white apron serving a beer to a French soldier in uniform. Date: 1915

Group of working men with a dog, France
Group of working men sitting on barrels, with a dog, France. Date: circa 1920s

Saro S36 Lerwick on Columbine apron late 1939. Date: 1939

A woman of the Auvergne collecting walnuts
A woman of the Auvergne region of France loading a wickerwork pannier backpack with the walnuts she has been collecting in her straw basket Date: 1910

Two women chatting in a kitchen, one thin and one fat. One says: I just seen young George the worse for drink again. The other replies: I ain t surprised. You may depend e in aled it from is father

Pembrokeshire fisherman and family
A Pembrokeshire fisherman and his family outside their cottage. The woman on the left is washing clothes in a wooden bucket

Helping Daddy by Muriel Dawson
A little girl in an apron and a Victorian style sun bonnet helps her father rake hay on a farm

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