"TO ASSIST IN BALANCING CITY BUDGET"

COUNCILMAN OF BATH, ENGLAND PROPOSES TAX ON BOBBED HEADS

Bath, England (JFK+50) On February 17, 1925, Associated Press reports city councilman S. R. Lewin of Bath* is proposing "a tax on bobbed heads to assist the municipality...in balancing its budget."

The councilman points out there is a precedent for such a tax as there was such a tax placed on "the powdered hair of the ladies of the 17th century."  That tax, the councilman claims, produced "quite an income."

Mr. Lewin adds that the bobbing tax "might be considered a kind of 'poll tax'."

*Bath is a city in Somerset, England known for & named after its Roman built baths.  It is located 97 miles west of London.  Jane Austen lived here in the early 19th century.  The city has 6 million visitors each year.

SOURCE

"Bobbed Head Tax Proposed to Aid Finances of Bath," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., February 17, 1925, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Street Entertainer in front of Bath Abbey

(Roman Baths on right)

July 2 2006

Photo by David Iliff

CC BY SA 3.0

"BUSHY BOBBED HAIR"

JFK SHOOTS YOUNG GIRL IN SCALP, MISTAKING HER FOR A WOODCHUCK

Attleboro, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On October 13, 1924, the Associated Press reports Mr. James F. Kennedy, caretaker of an estate here in Attleboro*, "fired a load of shot, expecting to bring down a woodchuck."

Instead, Mr. Kennedy had shot a young girl in the scalp.  While Miss Lydia M. White did not sustain a "serious injury", she screamed and swooned.

The A.P. says JFK "had mistaken for a woodchuck** the young woman's bushy bobbed*** hair."

*Attleboro is located in Bristol County on the border of Massachusetts & Rhode Island.  It is known as the Jewelry Capital of the World.

**woodchuck, aka groundhog, inhabits yards, fields & meadows of New England.  It measures 16 to 26 inches in length & weighs 4.5 to 13 pounds.

***bobbed hair is of short to medium length cut straight around the head at jaw level 

SOURCE

"Bobbed Hair Looks Like a Woodchuck, Girl Shot in Scalp," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., October 13, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Groundhog of Newark, N.J.

photo by Mousebelt

2021

"18 YEAR OLD UNBOBBED BRUNETTE"

'MISS PHILADELPHIA' CHOSEN AS 'MISS AMERICA' 1924

Atlantic City, New Jersey (JFK+50) On September 7, 1924, the Associated Press reports that Miss Ruth Malcomson*, 'Miss Philadelphia', "was chosen for the title of 'Miss America' of 1924 at the close of the...Atlantic city beauty pageant."

Miss Malcomson is described as an 18 year old "unbobbed brunette with a wealth of curls."  She weighs 132 pounds and has blue-gray eyes.

*Ruth Malcomson (1906-1988) was born in Philadelphia, PA.  After winning the title of 'Miss America' she gave her "10 rules to beauty"

rise early, eat a healthy breakfast, exercise, no alcohol, no smoking, eat a light lunch, eat a satisfying dinner, early to bed, sleep 

SOURCE

"Unbobbed Girl Winner of U.S. Beauty Contest," The Sunday Star, September 7, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Ruth & Augusta Malcomson

Jan 30 1925

National Photo Company

Library of Congress

"THEY ARE PARTICULAR EVILS OF THE SEASON"

MARSHALL FIELDS BANS EMPLOYEE ROUGE & ROLLED DOWN STOCKINGS

Chicago, Illinois (JFK+50) On August 13, 1921, "a new set of rules" was issued by Marshall Field & Company* which "ban rouge, 'powder in excess,' extreme styles in hair dressing and 'rolled down' stockings'**."

The New York Tribune reports that these rules were added to a recent "edict to the effect that girls with bobbed hair no longer would be employed."  The rules were posted on bulletin boards and passed among employees by floor managers.

The posted rules read, in part...

"Employees are asked to cooperate with us in keeping the style of dress refined and business like."

As to the bobbed hair, young women employees with it were allowed to continue their employment if they would wear (hair) nets.  So far, however, 20 girls have been dismissed because they refused to wear the nets "over their short locks."

Mrs. G. Reid, head of the firm's education department, said...

"We have always had rules about the style of dress to which our employees must conform. "  

These new rules, however, were necessary according to Mrs. Reid...

 "because they are particular evils of this season."

*Marshall Field's (1852-2006) flagship store located on State Street on the Loop in downtown Chicago, Illinois.

**Rolled down stockings became a fashion trend among young women in the 1920s.  The thigh-high stockings were rolled down to mid-thigh or just below the knee.

SOURCES

"Fields Adds Rouge and Rolled Stockings to Bobbed Hair Ban," The New York Tribune, August 14, 1921, www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ 

"Rolled Stockings:  The Popular Fashion Trend of the 1920s," BYG ONELY, www.bygonely.com/

   

 

Marshall Field And Company

Name Plaque on State Street

Chicago, Illinois

Photo by David K. Staub (2006)

www.wikimedia.org/