Holidaying in the 19th Century? Here’s what you need to know

Sunshine has finally reached the UK! As we break out the BBQs and look forward to our summer holidays, I thought it would be fun to use The Illustrated London News Archive and Gale Artemis: Primary Sources to look back 100 years, and see what holidayers back then had to look forward to…

1. Don’t forget your Rowland’s Kalydor and Sulpholine
   The pursuit of a healthy tan was not a familiar concept to 19^th century holiday makers. Indeed, ladies would take steps to remove all traces of tan or freckles from their skin, by the use of such potions as ‘Rowland’s Kalydor’ or ‘Sulpholine’:

   

   Rowland’s Kalydor was first sold in the late 1820’s, advertised as a compound discovered by “a Lady of Title, in the course of her Travels and Botanical Researches in the Eastern part of the World.” It continued to be advertised throughout the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

   

2. Make room for your ink bottle
   Suitcases are very much a 19^th century invention. As tourists travelled more by train and less by ship, the old method of packing clothes into a large trunk gradually died out in favour of a more portable, lightweight method. However the contents of these suitcases might surprise a 21^st century traveller. As this advertisement shows, suitcases were designed not just for clothes but for shaving mirrors, shoe horns, manicure sets, and a variety of brushes and glass bottles:

   

    

3. Smile for the Camera!
   The art of the holiday photo was born at the 19^th century seaside. Photographers with portable dark rooms would take your photo ‘While You Wait’ for you to then keep as a souvenir:

   

   As this cartoon from 1927 shows, having your photo taken at the beach was all part of the holiday fun:

   

   Even if you were just having a paddle:

   

I really enjoyed researching this topic, and had great success searching words such as ‘seaside’, and ‘tour’. If you’d like to see for yourself then please contact us today for a free trial.