Historical information
The comb is part of a vanity set owned by a woman who lived in the Harbour Master's house at Warrnambool in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The set was possibly a wedding gift from her mother-in-law, Caroline Edwards, a local business woman who was an importer of 'china and fancy goods' along with her husband Thomas Myers Edwards. The Edwards owned Staffordshire House a business in Timor St (and later Liebig St) from 1876. The comb is an example of a valued possession of women at the time and could signify social standing. It was also a functional accessory used on a daily basis.
Significance
The item is significant socially as an example of accessories available to and used by women in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Historically, it is linked to a local import business ‘Staffordshire House’ in Liebig St Warrnambool, where it most likely came from.
Physical description
A ladies hair comb which features an ornate flower design on the pewter (or possibly silver-plated) edge. The comb teeth are most likely made of celluloid.
Subjects
References
- Website: Victorian Collections Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village Internet link to a Women’s Journal held by Flagstaff Hill– The Ladies Home Journal circa 1891. See page shown in this record.
- Website: The invention of Bakelite Quote from the website: "Many 19th century manufacturers modified colloids and natural polymers to form new materials. In 1870, the American inventor John Wesley Hyatt used chemically modified cellulose to produce an astonishing new product called Celluloid, a plastic that was used for everything from hair combs to silent-movie film."
- Website: Laurel Leaf Farm Shows example of celluloid combs