Apron Collection

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

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

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 on. She seems to be getting her medical knowledge from the First Aid manual in her

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Massage Parlour
Greetings from the Massage Parlour ! A young lady in spotty swimwear is treated (rather vigourously I would imagine) by a rather solid-looking Masseuse, who is kneading away at knots

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. The cobbler and his apprentice (possibly his son) stand outside the shop

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 peasant woman in a wood, Finland. Date: 1922

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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