Apron Collection

Alexander Jean, Actress. March 1982

PILGRIMS: THANKSGIVING, 1621. The First Thanksgiving of the Pilgrims, 1621. After a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

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

The Girl at the Gate, 1889, (c1930). Creator: George Clausen
The Girl at the Gate, 1889, (c1930). Rural scene, painted in the village of Cookham Dean in Berkshire. The model was Mary Baldwin who worked as a nanny for the artists family

Moses Weinberger (center) with bartenders Mack O Brien (left)
OKLAHOMA: SALOON, c1900

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

Women welders at the Landers, Frary
New Britain, Connecticut. Women welders at the Landers, Frary, and Clark plant

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

Galley, Zeppelin LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, 1933. The Graf Zeppelin was the most successful airship ever built

L Papa and Sons ice cream vendor in Gravesend, Kent. 1939

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

Cider press at Hillgrove, Sussex
Two men with a cider press at Hillgrove, Sussex November 1933 George Garland Collection West Sussex Record Office Ref No: Garland N8161

Europe, England, West Yorkshire, Leeds. Grand Theatre

Member of the First World War Womens Land Army, Truro, Cornwall. Around 1917
A picture of an unknown member of the Womens Land Army. Photographer: Arthur William Jordan

The Wash-House, 1905, (1906). Artist: William Newenham Montague Orpen
The Wash-House, 1905. After an original work by William Orpen (1878-1931). From The Studio Volume 37 [London Offices of the Studio, London, 1906]

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

Churning milk to make butter
Girl working a churn on a spring morning. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Women of Tudor England
City women and a country-woman in Elizabethan England, 1500s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

St Elizabeth of Hungary Spinning Wool for the Poor, 1901. Elizabeth (1207-1231) was the daughter of Andras II of Hungary

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

English politician. Photographed at her home in Chelsea
MARGARET THATCHER (1925- ). English politician. Photographed at her home in Chelsea, England, 1975, shortly before being named leader of the Conservative Party

PLYMOUTH ROCK: LANDING. The landing of John Alden, Mary Chilton and other Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in 1620: American engraving, 19th century

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

Virgin Street, St Ives, Cornwall. 1904
A man, carrying a bundle of sticks, walking up Virgin Street with two women standing in doorways watching. Photographer: John Charles Burrow

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

Teenager mark Orton serving food at Kellys pie and mash shop in Roman Road, Bethnal Green 28th January 1985

The Scullery Maid, c. 1738. Creator: Jean-Simeon Chardin
The Scullery Maid, c. 1738

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

Standing African woman in traditional Somalian clothing pounding grain in a clay pot using a stick, front view

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

CHIMNEY SWEEP, 1890. American advertisement for Pears Soap, 1890

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

Acfords Ltd printers, Industrial Estate, Sussex - interiors
Men working at Acfords Ltd printers, Industrial Estate, Sussex. Showing the interior of the workshop Chichester Photographic Collection West Sussex Record Office Ref No: CPS0752-3

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

ALLEGORY OF MERCURY, 1496. Personification of Mercury, the planet of science and the arts. Woodcut from Nicolas Le Rouges Le grand kalendrier des bergieres, Troyes, 1496

Dutch skaters on the Zuider Zee, 1800s
Skaters enjoying a winter Sunday on the Zuider Zee, Dutch island of Marken, 1800s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Dutch canal and tow-path, 1800s
Dog-cart with fresh vegetables and people towing a barge along a Dutch canal, 1800s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

French-Canadian woman baking bread in an outdoor oven, circa 1900. Hand-colored halftone reproduction of a turn-of-the-century illustration

New England Puritans on their way to church in the snow. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

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

A worker at the Mansfield shoe factory in Northampton, cutting out a leather shoe upper. 26th April 1956

British Eagle International Airlines a major British independent airline that operated from 1948 until it went into liquidation in 1968

A woman machinist seen here of the factory floor of J Searsy of Northampton sewing uppers. 6th April 1930

Eric Owen, chief modeller at the Minton China Works in Stoke On Trent, creating a vase to a clients specifications. In the foreground are models for a vegetable dish and coffee pots. 1946

Farriery may become a lost art, but the ancient smithy at Blaydon flourishes now, for Messrs. Bell and Company, the owners, have turned their attention almost exclusively to the making of boat hooks

Neeltje Tuyp, 1897 (1898). Artist: Nico Jungmann
Neeltje Tuyp, 1897 (1898). Plate taken from The Studio magazine, volume 13, no 59 (London, 15th February 1898)

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In the realm of craftsmanship, aprons serve as loyal companions to artisans like coopers meticulously crafting wooden barrels. Their sturdy fabric shields them from wood shavings and resinous stains, allowing their skills to flourish unhindered. During the tumultuous times of the First World War, aprons became a symbol of resilience and determination for women in the Land Army. In Truro, Cornwall circa 1917, these brave ladies donned their aprons with pride as they fearlessly worked the land, ensuring food security amidst chaos. Stepping into Alice's whimsical wonderland brings us face-to-apron with peculiar scenes. Inside the White Rabbit's house, an oversized apron hangs on a hook - a reminder that even in fantasy realms, practicality has its place. History weaves tales of compassion too; St Elizabeth of Hungary spun wool for the poor while wearing her humble apron in 1901. Her selflessness is immortalized through this simple garment that protected her clothes but also embodied her commitment to helping those less fortunate. The clangs and sparks emanating from blacksmiths' forges are accompanied by resilient leather aprons shielding them from flying embers. These protectors allow skilled hands to shape metal into formidable tools and works of art alike. Childhood games often mirror reality; thus we find young girls playing nurse while adorned with makeshift aprons fashioned from bedsheets or scraps of cloth. Their nurturing spirits shine through as they care for imaginary patients with boundless love and empathy. Amidst bustling city streets lies Leeds' Grand Theatre where performers adorn themselves backstage with elegant satin-lined stage aprons before captivating audiences under dazzling lights - a testament to both glamour and hard work behind-the-scenes. As majestic Zeppelins soared across European skies in 1933, crew members wore specialized fire-resistant flight suits complete with durable leather aprons. The zeppelin's galley bustled beneath these protective garments, ensuring that even amidst the clouds, culinary excellence prevailed.