fishwives

6 photos tagged fishwives, from 2 members of Flickr Commons.

When were these photos taken?

3
2008
2011

 

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Photos tagged fishwives:

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Recent uploads

The last upload was August 2011.

Conversations

Here’s a selection of the conversations happening on these photos:

Mrs Barbara (Johnstone) Flucker

from National Galleries of Scotland Commons

  • jollywinegums said:
    Is she opening shellfish here? Oysters maybe?
  • Frances Bell said:
    Maybe scraping the beards off mussels
  • thespinjinny said:
    That's my great great great great? Grandma!
  • Northwestkathleen, animal lover!! said:
    Poor thing, her shoes have holes in them and she looks like she's had a hard, rough life.

Two Newhaven fishwives, perhaps Mrs Elizabeth (Johnstone) Hall on the right

from National Galleries of Scotland Commons

  • jollywinegums said:
    Perhaps the arrangement at the front of the skirt was to support the baskets these ladies are often photographed with.

Marion Finlay, Mrs Margaret (Dryburgh) Lyall and Mrs Grace (Finlay) Ramsay. Called 'The Letter'

from National Galleries of Scotland Commons

  • 3 older comments, and then…
  • BigBean said:
    I wonder what those dresses were for. They look like they are designed to carry something, or collect somethings... -- Seen in your Hill & Adamson set. (?)
  • pennylrichardsca (now at ipernity) said:
    Don't know, but they'd work great if you were knitting or crocheting --the ball of wool wouldn't be able to roll off your lap onto the ground! The design would work well for that purpose, while the knitter was both walking and sitting. Are they meant to be reading a letter from an emigrant loved one? A lover? A soldier? Ah no, probably a loved one at sea--the National Galleries website says they're fishwives in Edinburgh. (So the skirt's design is probably related to that kind of work?)
  • BigBean said:
    A skirt for carrying fish? Mmmmm, nice. I prefer the mental image of the walking knitter. Sadly there are no photos of walking knitters on flickr to illustrate this.
  • pennylrichardsca (now at ipernity) said:
    On ambulatory knitting: domesticpiracy.blogspot.com/2006/04/on-knitting-while-wal... everything2.com/title/Ambulatory Knitting knittinginmotionring.blogspot.com/ I know I've seen a vintage photo of a Scottish woman knitting while walking AND carrying a pack of something on her back... can't find it just now, though. ETA: Here it is, in a set of other photos: loobylu.com/archives/000791.htm
  • BigBean said:
    those are some helpful articles for the potential ambulatory knitter. Perhaps the ladies in the photo are reading similar advice from the 19th Century equivalent of a knitting blog? I especially noted the care that must be taken when considering the size of one's potential ambulatory knitting project, such as starting off with a 'big bag' and carrying enough yarn to last through your planned knitting for the day. All good advice.

Mrs Elizabeth (Johnstone) Hall, Newhaven fishwife

from National Galleries of Scotland Commons

  • Chi Chi said:
    Surely one of the greatest fishwives in history
  • Gwen Page said:
    I love this. It would be great to see more photos of women from this time - see what their lives were like.
  • Pixel Wrangler said:
    "The fishwives of Newhaven were famous for both their beauty and confidence. They carried the fish their men had caught in baskets on their backs up to Edinburgh to sell it. Whenever storms at sea made the fishing especially dangerous and the price of fish rose, they were heard saying 'It's no fish ye're buying, it's men's lives'. The phrase became internationally known after Sir Walter Scott used it in his novel, The Antiquary." -- National Galleries of Scotland caption
  • George Eastman Museum said:
    Great Minds Think Alike :-)