Swimming in Wool

by Erin Doane, Senior Curator

There’s nothing better on a hot summer day than taking a dip in some nice cool water. For centuries people have used lakes, rivers, oceans, and pools to help beat the heat. But what if you had to wear layers of thick, heavy wool to go swimming?  That doesn’t sound refreshing at all.

Women posing for a studio portrait in bathing clothes, 1890s

Swimming as a recreational activity, especially for women, is a relatively new idea. By the mid-1800s, the growing middle class found themselves with more free time and disposable income. With railroads allowing for faster and less expensive travel, vacations to the shore where people would swim, surf bathe, and dive became very popular.

While women could go to the beach, they were required to preserve their modesty. They did this by wearing loose, full-length bathing gowns made of thick wool or canvas that wouldn’t cling to their bodies when they got wet. These outfits had high necks and full sleeves. They sometimes even had weights at the hem so the skirt wouldn’t rise up in the water. Another option was known as the Princess suit which was a one-piece garment of a blouse attached to trousers. A calf-length skirt was worn over top. Because of the restrictive, heavy clothing, women didn’t so much swim as just walk out into the water then walk back to shore again.

Two ladies testing the water, c. 1900, Harry B. Mitchell photographer

Actual swimming was left to men. Before the 1800s, it was typical for men to swim nude but as Victorian modesty took hold, men were required to also wear swimsuits. Their suits were also made of wool with long legs and sleeves but were much more form-fitting. As the 1800s progressed, men’s swimwear lost its sleeves and the length of the legs shortened to allow more freedom of movement.

Swimming the old fashioned way, 1890s, Robert Turner, Jr. photographer

Women wanted to move around more easily in the water too but the evolution of their swimwear was much more gradual. The bloomer suit, named after suffragist and dress reformer Amelia Bloomer, with shortened trousers underneath a short-sleeve tunic became increasingly popular through the middle of the century. Women wore these shorter suits with stockings and shoes to maintain their modesty. Through the late 1800s, the trousers became shorter until they could no longer be seen under the skirt. Knit fabric, while still made of wool, made for more comfortable suits. In France, women’s swimsuits lost their sleeves entirely and bottom hems rose all the way to the knees.

Local swim fashions c. 1900, Harry B. Mitchell photographer

In 1900, swimsuits with a sailor-style collar were very popular. They were typically made of dark colored fabric, still to preserve modesty, but were of a lighter weave. White trim around the hem and collar was also quite fashionable, as was wearing a soft cap or straw hat to complete the ensemble.

Edith Miller and Eva Derby modeling swimwear on March 8, 1901

The first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896. Swimming was one of the men’s events. In 1912, women were permitted to also compete in swimming in the Olympics. Leading up to women’s entry into the sport on the world’s stage, swimwear underwent major changes. In 1907, Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman was arrested for indecency at Revere Beach in Boston for wearing a fitted one-piece swimsuit that bared her arms and legs. The new style, though considered risqué, was much more practical for swimming and quickly caught on.

Annette Kellerman, early 1900s, from loc.gov

Swimsuits continued to become lighter and smaller through the 1910s and 1920s. Men’s and women’s suits actually looked strikingly similar during the 1920s. Both were one-piece garments with tank-style tops and straight overskirts with attached shorts underneath. They were also still made of wool. Some were even made locally. The Queen City Knitting Mills on Scottwood Avenue in the Elmira Heights manufactured wool bathing suits in the early 1900s.

The Carr family in Keuka Lake, 1929

By the 1930s, swimsuits were finally being made of different fabrics like cotton and rayon, and later other new synthetic materials. Swimmers during that era must have found the change refreshing.

Clinton Island in the Chemung River, c. 1910s

Bohemia-on-the-Chemung

by Erin Doane, Curator

It’s that time of year when I start thinking about my summer getaway.  This year I think I will spend some time on a lake in the Adirondacks.  Getting out of the big city of Elmira and back to nature is not a thought unique to me.  Around the turn of the 20^th century, Elmirans went to Bohemia-on-the-Chemung for that type of experience.  Just a short trip up the river, Bohemia provided a perfect location to enjoy cool breezes, fishing and camping.  In the 1890s, small cottages began popping up along the river bank.

In 1895 members of the Pine Cliff Club, Elmira’s first outdoor organization, built their clubhouse in Bohemia-on-the-Chemung.  Pine Cliff was an exclusive club made up of members of Elmira’s most prestigious and influential families.  At the clubhouse, they enjoyed lobster roasts, clam bakes and venison dinners and swimming, fishing and boating parties.  The club was known for entertaining many notable guests from theatrical, military, political and business circles.

 

Sign from the Pine Cliff Club

Members of the Pine Cliff Club, 1902

Bohemia was a popular summer vacation spot but the idyllic location was not without danger.  In July of 1914, the first rattlesnake of the year was killed on an island just west of Bohemia-on-the-Chemung.  And there was always the danger of drowning on the river.  A June 13, 1898 Elmira Daily Gazette article reported that “Bohemia Was All Excitement Last Night” when one of two boats taking a spin on the river capsized and two men went into the water.  Drowning was averted, however, when the men realized that they were in only three feet of water.

One of the men in the boat that did not capsize that day in 1898 was Claude Eldridge Toles, an occasional visitor to Bohemia.  Toles was an artist born in Elmira in 1875.  His earliest job was as a clerk at Harris’s dry goods store but he had a passion for drawing.  He was friends with Horseheads resident and cartoonist for Judge, Eugene “Zim” Zimmerman, who also served as a sort of mentor.  Zim is thought to have helped Toles get his job as a cartoonist at the Elmira Telegram.  Toles created article headers, illustrations for stories and political cartoons while there.  He also sold cartoons to the Philadelphia Press, the New York Herald, the New York Journal and the Texas Sandwich, a comic periodical.  Toles’ life was cut short in 1901 when he died at the age of 25.

  

Political drawing by C.E. Toles, 1892

I never knew when I started looking into Bohemia that I would “discover” another Elmira artist.  I found two wonderful sites online with information about his life and works that I just have to pass along:

Stripper’sGuide - News of Yore: The Life and Times of C.E. Toles  
and

ARemarkable Collection: C. E. Toles (1875-1901), by charleywag on wordpress