Ask & You Shall Receive!

So further to my search (in the previous post) for information on the instructional bandage. I took a chance & asked a question on a British Medical Museum's website, not expecting any response at all really. I mean, why should a museum in another country have the time or interest to answer a question from an ordinary person, right?

Wrong! I received a lovely, helpful detailed reply from a real person at the museum, here's most of it:

'The Thackray Museum does indeed hold one an almost identical example
of these triangular bandages in its collections. The one in the museum
collections includes an illustration of the pima cotton plant with the words
'Registered Trade-Mark Gossypium Barbadense' added just below 'After
Esmarch'. The Registered (Design) Number 647071 in the lower right-hand
corner indicates that (a) the bandage's design was officially registered in
England and (b) that it was registered in 1915.

This means that the bandage itself cannot date from any earlier than 1915;
it could technically continue to be manufactured with that design for years
afterwards, but realistically I doubt very much that it was made much later
than 1918. The museum library holds illustrations of other Esmarch bandages
that both predate and postdate 1915.

The fact that both our bandages are so similar suggests to me that they were
probably produced by the same company, albeit possibly at different times.
Unfortunately, I'm not certain which company used the image containing the
image and the words 'Registered Trade-Mark Gossypium Barbadense'. I don't
think it was Vernon & Company but unfortunately I don't have the time at
present to properly research the holder of this trade-mark.

Friedrich von Esmarch (born 9 Jan 1823, died 23 Feb 1908) was a German
surgeon who was the first to introduce a first-aid kit and triage on the
battlefield. He introduced first aid training for both military and civilian
personnel. His handbooks of military surgical techniques were used
extensively as the best on the topic. The Esmarch bandage is a triangular
piece of linen or cotton, with a long side about 4 ft. It can be used folded
or open, and applied in 32 different ways. Esmarch insisted that every
soldier carry one in battle for temporary dressing and field-work. Esmarch
also invented an apparatus, using a narrow hard rubber tourniquet with a
chain fastener to control bleeding in tying off an extremity in such a way
that it is made bloodless. When used during amputation, being bloodless made
it easier to operate on a limb."

Thank you very much Jim Garretts of The Thackray Museum! I highly recommend their site if you're at all interested in the history of medicine & a visit is probably worth making if you're ever in Leeds!

So, got any good Medical History resources?

I recently acquired this fascinating instructional bandage. I think it's probably World War One era, judging by the type of drawing & the methods explained, but I really don't know for sure.


After searching the web & my history books (which admittedly aren't medical specific, Australian history is more my specialty) & finding absolutely nothing on this particular model & very little on similar ones, I'm stumped & looking for clues.



It says 'MADE IN ENGLAND' on the bottom right hand corner, 'REGISTERED.NUMBER.647071.' on the bottom right hand corner & FIRST-AID BANDAGE. (After Esmarch.) in the top corner.


I've found photos & references to Esmarch Bandages with German text, & American ones made by Johnson & Johnson, but the British one is nowhere to be found, I've only seen mention of it here McPheeters Antique Militaria which claims they were made by Vernon & Company but I can't find anything on that company either. Any ideas where to look for info would be greatly appreciated!

Vintage Patterns Ahoy!

Etsy Buy Handmade theuppitywoman

My latest corset creation

This is the corset I made for some lovely friends of mine as a birthday present for their partner. She has 12 panels, 18 bones (6 flat steel & 12 spiral steel), fully laced up the waist is 22 inches & the busk is an antique one I had in my stash. she's a really gorgeous black satin & the lining is a thinner satin with 'the lady is a vamp' printed in rows all over it. Not the greatest photo unfortunately; my camera decided to die right when I wanted to take this, so I only got one shot. The pillow model also doesn't quite have the hips to fill it out, so it looks a bit wrinkled where it actually isn't.

I made her a bit differently to the way I've done previous ones, by interfacing the outer fabric & inner strength layers separately & then flatlining them together & sewing them as one layer. The lining is separate again. I like the result & the way it came together & will be using the same method in future.

I hope the intended owner likes her.

Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal

There have been horrendous fatal fires this week here in Victoria, thousands displaced, entire towns gone (no exaggeration, gone), death toll 181 & expected to rise, just unbelievable devastation.

I'm fortunate to be in one of the few rural areas of Victoria not currently on fire. I have registered as a fundraiser with Red Cross Australia & am raising funds through sales from my two Etsy stores Light And Shade Art & The Uppity Woman Vintage . I have also donated 5 items to the Australian Sellers' Etsy Team Bushfire Appeal Store which have already sold, with 100% of those going directly to the appeal.

So how about making a purchase for your present stash now & give to a worthy cause at the same time? Thanks.

My New Etsy Store Is Open!

I've bitten the bullet & put some of my treasures up for sale on Etsy, here's a sneak peek at my store stock.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade theuppitywoman.etsy.com

New Glasses Frames!

I received my latest Ebay purchase in the mail today, from the lovely Mellaspike!

These great glasses to add to my ever growing collection of cateye lovliness! They're the same as my navy pearlised ones which always get a positive response, so I guess the shape suits me well. The new ones are a really interesting shade of bronzey green with beige in the leaf shaped cutouts & beige diamantes. They're in great condition too!

Course Over- how slack am I?

Wow, it's nearly 6 months since I've posted anything! I've now completed (very successfully I might add; I even sold a few things at the student exhibition) the certificate in Visual Art at the CAE.

I've also put all my art that's on Flickr onto this page- please take a look. I'll be adding more as I get photos of things.

Next year I'll be working pretty much full time & also studying for a business degree & a visual arts degree through Open Learning (a great way to study by the way- check it out http://www.open.edu.au/wps/portal).

Woo Hoo, I got into the course!

Well I had the interview & showed my portfolio last Tuesday, & they rang on Friday to say I have a place! I had 19 pieces in my portfolio, including photos of two corsets- I'm glad I decided to put those in as the interviewers seemed really fascinated by them, so that probably helped them remember me.

So now I'll be in Melbourne two nights a week so that I can go to school on Thursdays & Fridays- I can't wait!

Wet Media Experiments

No, I don't mean the drips who call themselves 'journalists' in this country!

Last night I decided to take the plunge & try my hand at watercolours. The magnolia blossom worked out ok, so I did a couple of ink works with a brush as well.

The dead tree looks a bit on the gothy side, but it's not a bad representation of a photo we took in the Grampians just after the last bush fires there. The other one is with apologies to Man Ray- it's vaguely half of one of his photos.

Learning to draw

I've finally decided what it is I want to do when I grow up, which basically boils down to getting serious about making corsetry & costumes for everyday fabulous people. To that end I've chosen a couple of courses I'd like to do over the next few years to refine my totally self taught skills in design & construction of wearable confections.

If you're at all interested in them, the course details are here http://www.cae.edu.au/?infosection=visualarts&infopage=accessvisual and here http://www.gordontafe.edu.au/index.cfm?action=6&secAction=4&terAction=1&Search_Action=display&Search_courseID=411&Search_CourseType=SC
I'm hoping to do the visual arts one in the second half of this year & the Clothing Construction next year (perhaps going on to complete the three year course-who knows).

To this end I thought having some actual training in drawing might help in putting together a portfolio for applying to said courses, so that's what my last few Monday evenings have been. The pictures above are from my first three classes; they're slightly fuzzy since they're actually digital photos of A2 size work. The Wombok leaves, emu egg & bowl of seedpods is in ink, the figurine, emu egg & bowl in charcol & the lemon reamer & plastic strainer in 6b pencil (that one's a scan of the A4 original).

I found the ink really hard to control, especially on an easel where it kept responding to the forces of gravity in annoyingly messy ways! But it's all fun & I'm learning heaps surprisingly quickly. -I'm particularly pleased with the reamer since it actually looks like the real one & has that solid, plasticy look to it.

Leaves, leaves, leaves

Since I finally have a scanner working on my computer I now have digital images of some of my work. These are the first coloured drawings I've ever done- one in metallic pencils & the other ..not. The originals are both on A4 size paper. Obviously they're both of leaves- perhaps not the most exciting subject, but at least they don't move whilst being used as an artists model (until the kitten steals one to play with anyway).

I think they're pretty good; especially considering I drew them after not picking up a sketch book for a very, very long time & I'd never had a drawing lesson in my life.

My latest creation

Ok, here's a few pictures of a corset I finished yesterday for a competition (poor Beryl the bodyform doesn't quite have the 34-23-34 physique required to fill it out properly).

- The winner will be 'the most creative use' of a bag of kimono & obi scraps from one of my favourite places, Kyo in Ocean Grove. Here's hoping no one else thought of making a corset with theirs!

Yep, it's another arty blog!

Since I have drawings, corsets & ideas on bits of paper everywhere I've decided to put them all up in one place. This is that place.

I've been dabbling in designing & making clothes for around 15 years, constructing corsets for around 2 years & have recently begun drawing again after a hiatus of almost 2 decades. I'm by no means professional at any of these endeavours, so please be gentle with me.

Comments & constructive criticism welcome, trolls not.