Swim Collection

Boys Swimming, Training Ship Mercury, River Hamble, Hants
Boys from the Training Ship Mercury swimming nude in the River Hamble. The Mercury, established in 1885 by the London philanthropist Charles Hoare

Another Wash-out by W. Heath Robinson
Training at home for the cross Channel swim with a man swimming suspended from a window with watering cans. Please note: Credit must appear as Courtesy of the Estate of Mrs J.C.Robinson/Pollinger

A Swimming Stroke of Genius
A simple device by which a cross channel swim may be rendered both easy and pleasant- not to mention luxurious. Please note

Advert for The Rolex Oyster waterproof wrist watch 1930
Jabez Wolffe timing Miss Micky West for forth-coming attempt on Channel records. The most accurate wrist watch in the World made waterproof. Date: 1930

A cunning stroke by William Heath Robinson
A clever but unsportsmanlike contrivance to increase buoyance and prevent fatigue among Channel swimmers. A useful inflatable idea to help long-distance swimmers by the gadget king

Poster advertising Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Poster advertising Port Elizabeth, a holiday resort on the coast of South Africa. Two young women in swimsuits dip their toes in the sea

Cocktail Girls 1950S 3 / 4
Two smiling, leggy young models enjoy a drink together at a cocktail bar. A towels is slunged nonchalantly over a bar stool. I hope they don t intend to drink & swim!

Front cover of The Bystander by Barribal
Two young ladies playing in the sea

Ladies Swim Contest 1905
A ladies swimming contest on the river Thames, from Hampton Court to Richmond

Captain Webb 1875
Captain Matthew WEBB is sustained with hot coffee during his first-ever Channel swim

Alice in Wonderland, Alice in the Pool of Tears
Alice in Wonderland -- Alice swims with various birds and animals in the Pool of Tears. Date: early 20th century

Major Metcalfe, Mrs F. Cripps, and Lady Alexandra Metcalfe
Edward Dudley Metcalfe, MVO, MC, (16 January 1887 18 November 1957), known as Fruity Metcalfe, officer in the British Indian Army, a close friend and equerry of Edward VIII

British soldiers bathing in flooded shell hole by Matania
The only advantage of the wet weather on the Western Front - a novel swimming bath used by British soldiers to bathe in. A scene captured at the front by The Sphere special artist, Fortunino Matania

Holidaymakers in the sea at Margate, Kent Date: circa 1910s

Endell Street Open Air Swimming Pool
A view of the open air swimming pool in Endell Street, Holborn, London, on the site of Holborn Borough Councils Public Swimming bath which was pulled down in 1938 in preparation for the building of a

Nautilus Swim Club 1
Fixture card of the Nautilus Swimming Club, a London club based at Camberwell Baths in south-east London. (see two subsequent items for their 1891 river picnic)

Advert for Beechams Pills 1887
What are the Wild Waves saying ? Try BREECHAMs PILLS! 1887

Cartoon by George Studdy, part of his Fruity Fables series, showing a lady orange peeling off her skin down to a bikini. Credit should read

Advert for Beetham Larola suntan lotion 1940
Sun tan without sun burn. To suntan becomingly yet without painful sunburn, the skin should always be bathed with larola. Exposure to sun

Sturgeon and Caviar
Sturgeon swim in the ocean, and their eggs are canned for the enjoyment of wealthy humans

Advert for the Macintosh Swimming Ring, 1926 Date: 1926

Christmas morning swim in the Serpentine
Page from the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News featuring various sketches of the Christmas morning swimming handicap in the Serpentine in Hyde Park

Advert for Gorringes womens bathing dresses & capes 1924
Selection of womens exclusive bathing dresses with separate knickers and capes. Date: 1924

MYTTON / SHORT CUT HOME
JOHN MYTTON To win a bet that he could outride a friend this eccentric squire took a short cut through a lake despite the fact he couldnt swim. Date: 1796 - 1834

Advert for Gorringes womens bathing costumes 1927
One piece swimsuits and separate tunics with knickers in a variety of styles in different colours and patterns and also rubber caps with flowers, available at Gorringes, Buckingham Palace Road

Woman drying herself after a dip in the sea outside her hut
Woman drying herself with a beach towel after a dip in the sea In her trendy striped bathing costume) outside her hut which is named Burleigh after a village in Berkshire, England. Date: circa 1920s

Venetian Pools, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
Swimmers enjoying the Venetian Pools at Coral Gables, just south of Miami, Florida, USA. Date: 1952

Bathing Beach of the Royal Muskoka Hotel, Canada
Children playing at the Bathing Beach of the Royal Muskoka Hotel, Canada, in and around the water and a canoe at the waters edge

Advert for Kleinerts Roxy watertight bathing caps 1948
Wonderful to know that dive, swim under water, do-what-you-will, weraing a Roxy cap your hair just womn t get wet. Tucked away above a patent inner flange - a simple but perfect device that forms an

Bournemouth Sea Front
A crowded beach scene at Bournemouth. People sunbathe in deckchairs and swim in the sea

Webb in Mid-Channel
Captain Webb nears the French coast in the first successful attempt to swim the English Channel

Comic postcard, Mother and daughter in the sea Date: 20th century

Comic postcard, Scotsmen wearing wrong kilts after going for a swim Date: 20th century

Cartoon, A Dip in the Free Trade Sea -- satirical comment on the Conservative governments announcement that they did not intend to return to the policy of Protectionism

Mother of pearl divers attacked by a shark, Tahiti. Date: 1885

British Seaside Scene - Two woemn dry off after dip in sea
Two women (the one of the left would win a Princess Margaret lookalike Competition) dry off after a dip in the sea. Possible Daughter (left) and Mother (right)

The Aqua Theatre - Pier Approach Baths, Bournemouth
Performers of the The BIG SPLASH of 1963 - The Aqua Theatre - Pier Approach Baths, Bournemouth - Synchronised Swimming Entertainment Show, starring Teddy Northcott and Johnny Carney. Date: 1963

Aquashow Sychronised Swimming Team - Bournemouth - relaxing
Aquashow Sychronised Swimming Team members at Bournemouth - relaxing in the sea at the beach. Date: 1961

Boys Club, swimming and relaxing by river, 1927
A group of boys from a Boys Club sit by a rivers edge and dry off in the sun after their swim

Seaside Bathing Machines early 1900s Date: circa 1900s

Kensington Public Baths London probably 1920s

Cover design, Do it yourself, July 1966 - a swimpool in your garden Date: 1966

Wolseley Workers in solarium
Wolseley Workers, women being treated with sun rays in the works ultraviolet solarium, wearing swim suits and goggles. The solarium was installed to counteract the lack of daylight for wartime shift

Photographs of bathers in costume, Venice Lido
Photographs of bathers in costume, and a bathing scene, Venice Lido, Italy. Captioned, Lead, oh lead me to the Lido. Venice-Super-Mare'. Date: 1911

Brass band playing to bathers Wannsee, Berlin, Germany
Brass band playing to bathers, in a lake at Wannsee, Berlin, Germany, outdoor scenic photograph. Captioned, Bathing to the band in Berlin

Advert for Bathing Suits
An advert for the latest range of bathing suits available at Debenhams. Date: 1932

Summer fashion ideas for women: a plage suit with a lozenge-patterned jerkin, and two swimsuits. Date: 1954

Page of fashion adverts - June 1921
Page of four fashion adverts for womenand children's clothing, from The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, June 1921

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