The Flickr Oldaccessory Image Generatr

If you know me, or follow my photostream, you will know that I am a collector of many things. Amongst other objects, I love to collect vintage accessories. This includes antique fans, of which I now have a sizable collection. My favourite fans are those from the Victorian and Edwardian era. Fans from these eras are extremely ostentatious and beautiful, but at such advanced age are often very fragile. Such is the case for this French one from the 1870s, which is made of black silk which has then been hand painted with a sprig of dainty pale pink roses. If you look closely, you will see there are a few places along the folds where the delicate silk has perished opening a gap in the fabric and in one place breaking a hand painted rose in two. The splays of the fan are made of ornately carved ebony. European fans like this were predominantly used as a symbol of wealth, with many portraits of the era depicting this item in the hands of aristocrats. European fans typically have sticks made of wood or ivory, whilst the leaves of the fan were made from many different materials such as lace, silk or feathers. Being so fragile, this fan, like my entire fan collection, is kept carefully in acid free paper, and stored out of the light, to help avoid any further deterioration of the material. In spite of its damage, considering this fan is around one hundred and sixty years old, it is in remarkable condition. I have photographed it against a backdrop of a piece of machine embroidered floral fabric that I recently acquired from an upmarket fabric shop, which sells fabrics by the quarter metre, which is just the perfect size for my photography purposes!

The theme for "Smile on Saturday" for the 21st of September is "focus on F…", where a photograph of something beginning with the letter F is required. English words that start with F are preferred and adjectives are not: only nouns. Thus, whilst this fan is fragile, which is an adjective, and it is floral, which is also an adjective, I actually photographed it because it is a fan! The fact that it is photographed on some floral fabric that fills the frame is an added bonus, and only done to show off the delicate fan itself. It is lovely to be able to share with you a piece of my collection of fans you will not have seen before, even though I have had it for several decades now. I hope you like my choice of image for this week, and that it makes you smile!

The handbag as we know it today, did not really come into vogue until the 1920s, when women began to have a need to carry such items as lipstick, rouge and powder with them, and independent working women began carrying their own money. Prior to this time, the handbag's predecessor, a reticule, a small drawstring bag was carried as a purse by a woman in the Eighteenth Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. The example I have photographed here is from the mid 1920s with a brass frame and chain to hang it around the wrist. Lined with white satin, its exterior is entirely hand beaded with tiny glass beads. A bag like this would have shown off a young lady’s abilities in the domestic arts, such as embroidery – a desirous skill in in a jeune fille à marier (a marriageable young woman) of the 1920s, and probably took several years to complete. Although it has lost a small selection of its beads, this handbag is in remarkably good condition for its age.

I have photographed this example of a beaded ladies handbag against a backdrop of a centrefold from a November 1925 edition of “Le Petit Écho de la Mode”, a French ladies magazine full of fashions, written essays, advertisements for beauty products and needlework ideas. Doubtless the maker of this handbag would have taken the pattern from a magazine similar to this. “Le Petit Écho de la Mode” was launched as a weekly magazine in 1880, with a free model pattern introduced in 1883, by which time it was selling 210,000 copies across France per week. By 1900, when “Le Petit Écho de la Mode” first introduced a colour front page, it had a circulation of over 300,000 per week. Surviving the Second World War, the zenith of the magazine came in 1950, when it had a record circulation of one and half million. After being taken over by their competitor “Femmes d’Aujourd’hui” in 1977, “Le Petit Écho de la Mode” finally ceased publication 104 years after it was first released, in 1984.

The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" on the 3rd of May is "bags". I love to collect vintage accessories, and that includes ladies handbags, and I have a good many examples. When the theme was announced, I was originally going to submit a photograph of an Edwardian reticule made of silk and hand embroidered with flowers on a black velvet background, but then between when the theme was announced and when I took this photo, I acquired two 1920s copies of “Le Petit Écho de la Mode” which I bought for their elegant fashion graphics, so I have opted for this 1920s version instead. I do hope that you like my choice for the theme, and that it makes you smile.

The theme for "Smile on Saturday" for the 28th of January is "optical instruments". If you follow my photostream, you may know that I collect 1:12 size miniatures, some of which have featured in past themes in the "Looking Close on Friday" and "Smile on Saturday" groups. These have included some 1:12 miniature books, which, as I get older, I do now need spectacles if I wish to read what is written on some of their tiny pages. I happened to be on holidays, photographing my 1:12 miniatures collection, the day that the theme was announced. I immediately thought I could use them for the theme. Initially, I photographed a pair of 1:12 miniature spectacles sitting atop a stack of miniature books on a miniature table, but I wasn’t particularly enamoured with the results. Then I thought of the Victorian lorgnette I have. Combining the miniatures and the lorgnette led to this result!

I should like to dedicate this photo to my Flickr friend John John from Brisbane who has always been supportive of my miniatures photography. John has a fascination with fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, and I told him that I had some 1:12 miniature editions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books of Sherlock Holmes in my collection, and finally, here they are in centre stage! I hope John likes this picture dedicated to him, as I hope you do, and I also hope that it makes you smile.

This Victorian lorgnette was made in Austria around the turn of the Twentieth Century. Very cleverly made, the lorgnette can easily be folded up to form a pendant monocle. The gold light caught in the glass on the left is the reflection of my pendant light overhead. With a silver and ebonised wood handle, I imagine that the Viennese owner quite enjoyed taking these with her to the city’s many theatres, not so she could watch the show on stage for which she had opera glasses, but so she could watch the fashion show of elegantly dressed ladies around her.

The Sherlock Holmes books by Arthur Conan Doyle are all 1:12 size miniature made by the British miniature artisan Ken Blythe. Most of the books I own that he has made may be opened to reveal authentic printed interiors. In some cases, you can even read the words, depending upon the size of the print! I have quite a large representation of Ken Blythe’s work in my collection. What might amaze you even more is that all Ken Blythe’s opening books are authentically replicated 1:12 scale miniatures of real volumes. To create something so authentic to the original in such detail and so clearly, really does make this a miniature artisan piece. Ken Blythe’s work is highly sought after by miniaturists around the world today and command high prices at auction for such tiny pieces, particularly now that he is no longer alive. I was fortunate enough to acquire pieces from Ken Blythe prior to his death about four years ago, as well as through his estate via his daughter and son-in-law. His legacy will live on with me and in my photography which I hope will please his daughter. I hope that they make you smile with their sheer whimsy!

Anyone who follows my photostream will know that I am an avid collector of interesting and beautiful objects. Amongst many other things, I love to collect vintage accessories. This includes antique fans. My favourite fans are those from the Victorian and Edwardian era. Fans from these eras are extremely ostentatious and beautiful, but at such advanced age are often very fragile. Such is definitely the case with this fan. This is a Victorian fan of the 1850s made of black silk which has been beautifully hand embroidered with stylised red and purple poppies and blue daisies interwoven with curvaceous leaves in colourful embroidery silks. The fan has been set on hand cut and shaped gilded wooden struts. Potentially embroidered by the woman who originally used this fan as an accessory at a ball or party, the fine workmanship would have promoted this woman as a skilled needlewoman, which in the genteel times of the Nineteenth Century would have been a desirous quality in a jeune fille à marier (a marriageable young woman). Usually being left closed, and kept out of the light, the colours of the embroidery silks are still vibrant, even after one hundred and seventy years.

The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 19th of November is “man-made leaves”. I used this fan in last week’s “Smile on Saturday” theme of “part of a human face” where my sitter hid partially behind the fan, so you were given a taste as to what the fan looked like. It seemed a shame to not to use it for this week’s theme and show off its rich and colourful embroideries. I hope you like my choice for the theme, and that it makes you smile.

The language of the fan was a vital aspect of a Georgian lady's expression. However, regardless of how fashionable your fan was, you would not be considered elegant unless you held it in the right way. It was believed that even the plainest woman could become attractive if she used her fan graciously. In times past, there was a whole language communicated through how and where you held your fan, or how you used it. For example, the tip of a fan placed to the lips implied “come over and converse with me”, a fan over the heart meant “I love you” and fanning yourself quickly with the fan facing up indicated “I’m single”.

The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 12th of November is “part of a human face”. In the last twelve to eighteen months, I have been exploring a new avenue in my photographic creativity, that of portraiture photography. I used a somewhat illusive sitter for the “Smile on Saturday” theme of “nose” in September 2021 and for “Looking Close on Friday’s” theme of “dots and stripes” in October 2011, “lips” in November 2021 and “feathers (in black and white)” in December 2021. Since that time, he has been absent from my photostream. I have asked him to return for a fifth time, and is this time showing us a bit more of his face than in previous themes. My sitter has kindly shirked his garb completely, or so it appears, and taken up one of my antique fans in a coquettish conversation with a fan. An open fan held below the eyes indicates “I’m shy, but I’m willing”. I suspect this to be correct on both counts when considering my sitter. I do hope that you like my creation for this week’s theme of “part of a human face”, and that it makes you smile… maybe even a little cheekily!

I love to collect vintage accessories. This includes antique fans. My favourite fans are those from the Victorian and Edwardian era. Fans from these eras are extremely ostentatious and beautiful, but at such advanced age are often very fragile. Such is definitely the case with this fan. My sitter holds a Victorian fan of the 1850s of black silk which has been beautifully hand embroidered with flowers in colourful embroidery silks, which is why I left the embroidery in colour in this selective colour image. It seemed a shame to remove the colours which are still vibrant, even after one hundred and seventy years. The fan has been set on hand cut and shaped gilded wooden struts.

The theme for “Looking Close on Friday” for the 10th of December is “feathers (black and white)”. In recent months, I have been exploring a new avenue in my creativity, that of portraiture photography. I used my sitter for the “Smile on Saturday” theme of “nose” a little over two months ago, a little over a month ago for “Looking Close on Friday’s” theme of “dots and stripes” and then again a few weeks ago for “Looking Close on Friday’s” theme of “lips”. Now you can complete the image of my elusive sitter, who has agreed to return for a fourth time, and is this time showing us an eye. Put it together with his nose and lips and you almost have a full face… almost! My sitter has kindly shirked his garb completely, or so it appears, and taken up one of my antique fans in a coquettish fan dance.

I love to collect vintage accessories. This includes antique fans. My favourite fans are those from the Victorian and Edwardian era. Fans from these eras are extremely ostentatious and beautiful, but at such advanced age are often very fragile. My sitter holds an ostrich feather and tortoiseshell fan from the early 1900s. The struts are made of tortoiseshell and the fan itself is made from bleached ostrich plumes. Usually, ostrich feathers were bleached to make them white, such as this fan, or to then colour them to match a lady’s outfit. If you do not approve of tortoiseshell or ostrich feather plumes being used for ornamentation, I thoroughly respect that, but please appreciate the fact that this object was created before either you or I were born, in a less enlightened time when it came to the wellbeing and care of our precious animals.

I do hope that you like my creation for this week’s theme of “feathers (black and white)”, and that it makes you smile… maybe even a little cheekily!

In western culture, a fan dance (a dance performed with fans) may be an erotic dance performance, traditionally by a woman, but not exclusively. Beyond eroticism it is a form of musical interpretation. The performer, sometimes entirely nude or apparently so, dances while manipulating two or more large fans that can be constructed from many different materials including ostrich feathers, silks, velvet, sequined and organza fabrics. The unifying factor in all are the spins, or fan staves, that give form to this prop.

The Victorians and Edwardians were very big on catching and displaying animals, be it taxidermy for educational purposes such as those that featured in the first modern museums created in the Victorian era, the big game hunters who sought lions and other exotic animals for their horns, tusks and hides to display, or for Victorian and Edwardian consumerism such as this fan. Four hundred tons of South African ostrich feathers were brought through St Katherine’s Dock in just one year alone, and at a value of four million pounds, were all used for women’s headdresses, hats and fans.

The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 10th of July is “eyeglasses”, but the photo had to show the glasses without someone wearing them. A few weeks ago, for the “Looking Close on Friday” theme of “feathers”, I posted a photograph of one of my antique fans. I love to collect vintage and antique accessories. This includes antique fans, reticules, purses, gloves and I even have a few pairs of antique glasses, so when the theme was announced, I thought these might be a pleasantly different and unusual choice.

This Victorian lorgnette was made in Austria around the turn of the Twentieth Century. Very cleverly made, the lorgnette can easily be folded up to form a pendant monocle. The gold light caught in the glass on the left is the reflection of my pendant light overhead. With a silver and ebonised wood handle, I imagine that the Viennese owner quite enjoyed taking these with her to the city’s many theatres, not so she could watch the show on stage for which she had opera glasses, but so she could watch the fashion show of elegantly dressed ladies around her. Thus, I have placed the lorgnette against a backdrop of items she would have needed for an evening at the opera or the ballet: a pair of French elbow length white kid leather gloves with pearl buttons, a hand beaded reticule (the predecessor to a modern day purse) of white and cream beads and rhinestones, and a French ivory and lace fan hand embroidered with silver sequins.

My favourite fans are those from the Victorian and Edwardian era. Fans from these eras are extremely ostentatious and beautiful, but at such advanced age are often very fragile. This Ivory and lace fan is from the early 1900s. It features sparkling silver sequins made from thinly pressed metal which are hand sewn into a pattern on the lace net. The reticule is also from the first decade of the Twentieth Century and each bead has been hand sewn onto the fabric in a complex pattern using silk thread. Although small, it would probably have taken a lady two years to hand embroider in her spare time. It would have been an item to be worn with pride (yes worn as it has a wrist strap at the back which is just as ornately beaded), showing her fine skill as a needlewoman. The French kid gloves are still beautiful and soft, even though they are well over a century old. They are very clean and look like they were seldom worn, so I keep them well wrapped up in acid free paper to keep them clean when not on display.

I love to collect vintage accessories. This includes antique fans. My favourite fans are those from the Victorian and Edwardian era. Fans from these eras are extremely ostentatious and beautiful, but at such advanced age are often very fragile. This is an ostrich feather and tortoiseshell fan from the early 1900s. The struts are made of tortoiseshell and the fan itself is made from naturally undyed ostrich plumes. Usually, ostrich feathers were bleached to make them white or to then colour them to match a lady’s outfit. This one is unusual in the fact that it hasn’t been coloured. The fan has been carefully colour graded and put together with plumes that run from paler ones at the front to darker ones at the opposite end, which makes it very striking when splayed out.

The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 26th of June is “feathers”. When I read the theme, I immediately thought of my collection of antique fans. I took this photo some time ago when I was curating my collection. I liked how it showed the beautiful grading of colours and the textures of the feathers. I did not imagine that I would have a cause to use it on Flickr. If you do not approve of tortoiseshell or ostrich feather plumes being used for ornamentation, I thoroughly respect that, but please appreciate the fact that this object was created before either you or I were born, in a less enlightened time when it came to the wellbeing and care of our precious animals.

The Victorians and Edwardians were very big on catching and displaying animals, be it taxidermy for educational purposes such as those that featured in the first modern museums created in the Victorian era, the big game hunters who sought lions and other exotic animals for their horns, tusks and hides to display, or for Victorian and Edwardian consumerism such as this fan. Four hundred tons of South African ostrich feathers were brought through St Katherine’s Dock in just one year alone, and at a value of four million pounds, were all used for women’s headdresses, hats and fans.