When in Rome

What Soap to Make?

A long weekend, gorgeous and sunny weather, what soap should I make today?

From the cover of "The New Target Book for Girls"

It had to be When in Rome, of course!  That fresh and aromatic scent of basil and spearmint is perfect for this balmy weather.  Made with olive oil, shea oil and meadowfoam seed oil, When in Rome is a wonderful skin conditioning soap with a creamy lather and looks smart with its blue and black swirls.  

I have just made another batch today, but I do have some When in Rome in stock in the online store.  

Vintage Perfume Ingredient Catalogue

Junk shop find

(Extracts from 'Perfumes', a catalogue published by the Societe Chimique des Usines du Rhone, probably in the early 1920s.  From my private collection.)
 
I love reading the 'Perfumes' catalogue.   It contains a descriptive list of a wide range of synthetic perfumes, their benefits over natural essential oils (usually cost and potency), a few recipes for perfumes and a series of photographs of the factories that produced the chemicals.   It's full of possibilities!

I've been thinking for some time about making my own perfumes.   I am ambivalent about synthetic perfumes like the ones listed in the catalogue.  On the one hand, I would prefer to avoid the use of synthetic chemicals as I generally prefer keeping things as natural as possible.  I certainly stick to natural ingredients in the soaps I make. But I'm also aware of the advantages of using alternatives to natural products, particularly where there might be a dwindling or limited supply (like rosewood essential oil). 

I've tried researching various essential oils to check whether the production of the oils are in any way  detrimental to either the environment or the people who live near the resource.  The more expensive oils seem to be obtained from specifically grown crops.  Otherwise, it might be wise if I'm concerned about a particular oil to at least try to source an organic version, or one that is locally produced.

In any event, I still find the catalogue inspiring; it's like looking in a well illustrated cook book that makes you rush out and buy far too many vegetables.  And here's something else I find inspiring - a Holga pic of begonias in glorious late summer colours:

 

As a second thought, below is an extract from 'Perfume' of a perfume recipe for 'Bouquet of Moss Rose':

Firstly, you need to make 'rose spirit' as follows;

"Grain spirit of 94% strength without odour or flavour is reduced to 70% strength by adding Rose water, and then dissolving Rhodinol in this alcohol in the following proportions:

Rhodinol I   20gr

Alcohol 70% 1 litre."

This is the 'rose spirit'.  So, the recipe is:

"Rose Spirit.....................660cc
Extract of Orange flowers....240cc
Tincture of Ambergris........30cc
Tincture of Musk..............25cc
Tincture of Vanilla.............45cc

These ingredients are mixed, shaken and left for 15 days in a well closed bottle at a temperature of 25 degrees to 30 degrees C; it is then allowed to cool, filtered and put into bottles for sale."

I am pleased to say that Shanghai Lil and The Scarlet Fez perfumes will be all-natural and vegan!

Of Worthy Advice and Bad Art

Book finds

While being a lovely sunny day, there is always time to pop into second-hand bookshops and dig up some treasures from dark and dusty shelves.

My recent finds include "The Practical Way to Keep Fit" (ha!) by Harry Roberts and "How to Write, Think and Speak Correctly" (I know what you're thinking, reader) by C.E.M. Joad.  Both are part of Odhams Press Ltd's quaint range of self-improvement books for the Everyman, probably from the 1920s and both have the same lovely endpapers. 

Knowing how to write, think and speak correctly is all very worthy (an' all that), but the guide to keeping fit is my favourite of the two, mainly for its illustrations.  The text is ponderous and preachy and reminds me of being trapped at a party by a perfectly lovely but deadly dull guest.  The illustrations, however, are a bit of a hoot.  They range in quality, staying on the dark side of mediocre for the most part, but some are really very bad!  Some have quite funny captions and others are just, well, inexplicable.

 

You're telling me it does!

Well, that's all very well for him!

 Not even trying.

When in Rome

Breezing along on a breeze

I have just released a new soap - When in Rome.  This wonderfully aromatic basil and spearmint scented soap will be fresh start to the day and put you in the mood for scooting around town with the wind in your hair!

Packed full of excellent quality oils including olive oil, olive pomace, shea oil, rice bran oil, meadowfoam seed oil and a dash of castor oil (for that silky skin feel!), When in Rome is a treat for the skin and the senses!

Sophisticated and youthful, When in Rome is all natural, hand crafted, vegan and contains no palm oil.  Now available in store!

Top photo: Detail from the cover of "The New Target Book for Girls".

Space Age Fun

Flea market find 

I picked up these little paperback books a couple of weeks ago from a local flea market.  I can't say I'm a fan of science fiction, but I love the cover art on these numbers!

I think my favourite cover is the charming, almost domestic, scene of three guys fixing a spherical ship of some sort.  Love the leisurewear and how it looks like the type of illustration used in DIY home renovation magazines of the time - you've got the green lawn, the stepping stones, quite an idylic scene!   Great colours - even the aliens look cheerful!

Winter Long Weekend

We're having a lovely, sunny (off and on) long weekend and the garden is looking lovely.  The lawn is covered in golden leaves and the violets are in full bloom.  I have a bit of a crush on violets, but it's nothing to be alarmed about. 

Every June long weekend there is a large book-sale held in Norwood and I went this year non-nonchalantly thinking I'll buy nothing, but furtively ensuring I had sufficient cash in my pocket on the off-chance - you know what it's like.  Well, needless to say I came away with some beauties.  I love the cover of 'Try Nothing Twice' by Frank Clune (published 1946):

I also purchased a tatty old copy of the much sought-after 'Handbook of the Destructive Insects of Victoria' Part 1 by C. French (published 1890).  Have a look at the illustrations and endpapers montaged below:

And finally, an illustration from 'Modern Illustration, its method and present conditions' by Joseph Pennell (published 1898): 

Happy with my booty indeed!  The books, I mean.  And, to prove to you how lovely the garden is, here's a short harinezumi film taken from a worm's eye:

Jolly Hockeysticks

Some time ago, I was fortunate enough to come across a bunch of autograph books at a local market.  

The books date from between 1935 and 1941 and document a series of interstate trips taken by schoolgirls and their teachers.  I gather they were travelling to compete in sporting events.  Here, one girl has collected a photographic memento of her trip, collecting the photographs of her pals and escorts and filling the books with signatures, addresses and cute little notes.  It really is a lovely collection, you can sense the girls' excitement and this is sometimes displayed in the way they sit for their photographs.

I have my favourites, including one girl by the name of Elvey, who seems quite mischievous.  You can see her pulling a face in the montage below.  She is in most of the books and you get to see her grow.  By the later books, she is one of the 'trainers', proudly displaying her carefully curled hair.

A taste of Sydney life in the 1950s - Milk Bars and Espresso Bars

Located on the corner of New South Head Road and Cross Street in Double Bay, the One Two Three Milk Bar was designed by F.J. Zipfinger and catered to the teens of well-heeled Sydneysiders.  The ceiling was multi-coloured and the counter and fittings were in pink and black.

While the kids enjoyed the pink and black fun of the One Two Three, their parents may have slinked into the risque venue, The Latin Quarter.  Located at 250 Pitt Street, The Latin Quarter was designed by Henry Kurzer in the 1950s.   The espresso bar featured a mural by M. Pretzel and had a very special ivory coloured acoustic ceiling, recessed with star lights. 

The Latin Quarter also had a restaurant - you can see the entrance at the rear of the espresso bar in the above photo.  The restaurant/supper club had floor shows nightly.  The restaurant was one of the businesses owned and operated by the colourful Sydney identity, Sammy Lee in conjunction with Reg Boom.   The pair also opened a restaurant in the 60s in Kings Cross called "Les Girls Restaurant".  I bet you'd never guess what went on there!

Here is a photo souvenir of The Latin Quarter from the 1960s.  It shows the front cover of the folder advertising The Latin Quarter, the photo within of a couple being entertained in the restaurant, and on the rear, an advertisement for the Les Girls Restaurant, "where every night is New Year's Eve"!

 

Photos of One Two Three Milk Bar and The Latin Quarter from "Impact of Design" by Clive Carney (1959).  The photo souvenir is from the collection of Shanghai Lil & The Scarlet Fez.

Bookshop find

During a recent holiday up north, we visited a wonderful bookshop in Kingscliff.  It was old school so far as bookshops go, so there was much to find there.   I came away with a couple of design books from the 1940s including this modest little number "Design in Everyday Things", published by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1941. 

The book was an accompaniment to a series of educational lectures broadcasted on the ABC radio.   It has a number of thought-provoking essays on design, but it is the illustrations, advertisements and photographs which interested me.  

Being a big fan of moderne, streamline, art deco architecture, I zeroed in on these images in particular.

 

The first is an illustration in an advertisement for International Correspondence Schools (Australasia) Pty Ltd.  The photo is unidentified and uncredited.

The second breaks my heart.  It is identified as Wyldefel Gardens, a block of flats in Potts Point, Sydney.  In 1941, they were being demolished to make way for a new Naval Dock.  Imagine the views!