P. L. Travers’ 121st Birthday

P. L. Travers in the role of Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, circa 1924.

State Library of New South Wales

Today would have been the 121st birthday of the Australian creator of Mary Poppins, P. L. Travers.

Born Helen Lyndon Goff in Maryborough, Queensland on the 9^th of August 1899, she moved to Bowral, New South Wales in 1907.

As an adult she travelled Australia and New Zealand, and later England as an actress, changing her name to Pamela Lyndon Travers.

Travers created Mary Poppins while renting a cottage in Sussex, England in 1933, and the first book was published in 1934.

The eighth and final book in the series was published in 1988.

Travers died, aged ninety-six, in April of 1996.

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On this day: a film premiere in 1900

 

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Early French filmmaker Gabriel Veyre premiered À travers l’Indochine (1° série). Embarquement d’un boeuf à bord d’un navire (Through Indochina (1st series). Bull being loaded on a ship) in Lyon.

It was part of a series recorded in Tonkin (present-day Vietnam) between 1899 and 1900.

P. L. Travers’ 120th Birthday

P. L. Travers in the role of Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, circa 1924.

State Library of New South Wales

Today would have been the 120^th birthday of the Australian creator of Mary Poppins, P. L. Travers.

Born Helen Lyndon Goff in Maryborough, Queensland on the 9^th of August 1899, she moved to Bowral, New South Wales in 1907.

As an adult she travelled Australia and New Zealand, and later England as an actress, changing her name to Pamela Lyndon Travers.

Travers created Mary Poppins while renting a cottage in Sussex, England in 1933, and the first book was published in 1934.

The eighth and final book in the series was published in 1988.

Travers died, aged ninety-six, in April of 1996.

Travers died, aged ninety-six, in April of 1996.

New York’s Easter Parade

Between 1910 and 1915

New York City has hosted an Easter parade on Fifth Avenue since the 19th century. Taking place on Easter Sunday, for decades it was one of the most significant cultural events of the year.

Here are some images of the parade from the late 19th and early 20th centuries:

1898

1899

1900

1905

1912

1914

On this day: Puck Magazine for Easter

This is the cover for American magazine Puck, dated the 5th of April, 1899. Easter Sunday fell on the second of the month that year.

Known for its satire, the magazine was published from 1871 to 1918.

On this day: the opening of the Blackwall Tunnel

The Blackwall Tunnel, which runs under the River Thames in London, was opened by the Prince of Wales on the 22^nd of May, 1897.

Under construction in 1895.

Work began on the tunnel in 1892 and construction cost £1.4 M. 800 men were employed and seven deaths were recorded.

The tunnel in 1899.

A second tunnel was opened in 1967.

On this day: Florida in 1899

Snowball fight on the steps of the Florida Capitol, 10th February, 1899.

The Great Blizzard of 1899 brought all kinds of crazy weather to the southern states of America.

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Christmas Pantomime in 1899

Dan Leno as Dame Trot in Jack and the Beanstalk (1899). The show opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane at Christmastime.

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On this day: the death of Countess of Castiglione in 1899

On the 28^th of November, 1899, Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione died, aged sixty-two.

Born on the 22^nd of March, 1837 to an Italian aristocratic family, she was known for her beauty and for being the mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France. She is also remembered for her contributions to the development of photography.

Oldoini, who was known for her long, wavy blonde hair and changeable eyes, was photographed many hundreds of times. Many pictures did not feature her face as they were considered risqué for the time. For example the pictures that were taken of her bare legs and feet.

She cut herself off from society as she got older, and refused to go outside except at night.

On this day: Isadora Duncan was born in 1877

Isadora Duncan in 1899

American dancer Isadora Duncan was born on the 27^th of May, 1877.

As a former dancer, I grew up being taught to admire her. However, I strongly disagree with quite a lot about her, including her pro-Communist, pro-Soviet views. These views led to her exile from the United States.

Duncan revolutionised dance, creating contemporary styles before her time, dancing barefoot and showing a preference for performing in flowing fabrics. She had a preference for scarves.

In the early 20th century.

This love of scarves was to be her downfall; in September, 1927 – at age fifty – her scarf became entangled in the automobile she was travelling in, breaking her neck and causing her death.