Cowards: Order of the White Feather

By Delia DeLeest

Today's post isn't necessarily about cowardice as much as people's perception of who is a coward.

There are many reasons, even during wartime, why a man would be denied access into the military--medical, mental, a pressing need to remain home for family, etc. Every person has their own story, and only they will know all the intimate details. It's not for an outsider to make decisions regarding another person's life, nor is it their duty to criticize the decisions made by others, especially when they don't even know that person. None of these facts seemed to bother the members of The Order of the White Feather.

The signification of a white feather to mean cowardice came from the world of cockfighting. A purebred gamecock will not have any visible white feathers, so if a fighting bird displayed any white plumage, especially in the tail feathers, it was believed to be inferior. In a sport where determination and aggressiveness in an animal is highly prized, to have an animal display any sort of cowardice was the worst sort of plight. By the turn of the twentieth century, a white feather became commonly known as an accusation of cowardice among men as well.

In 1914, at the dawn of World War I in Great Britain, Admiral Charles Fitzgerald, along with support from author Mrs. Humphrey Ward, initiated The Order of the White Feather. This organization's sole purpose was to coerce able-bodied men to enter the military. When they saw a man out in public in civilian clothes, women were asked to hand them a white feather in order to shame them into doing their civic duty and take up arms against the Kaiser.

Right or wrong, the campaign was affective. So many men were pressured to join up that the government was having a hard time keeping enough men on the home front. Soon, Home Secretary Reginald McKenna began issuing King and Country badges to government employees to indicate that they too, were serving the war effort, though at home. Before long, he realized that veterans also needed to be protected from the feathered onslaught and issued the Silver War Badge, indicating that its wearer had been honorably discharged from the military due to injury or illness.

Not everyone supported the Order. Writer Compton MacKenzie had no patience with these judgmental feather handlers and claimed that "idiotic young women were using white feathers to get rid of boyfriends of whom they were tired." One noted pacifist at the time claimed he received so many feathers he had enough to make a fan.

Whether you agree with their actions or not, it can’t be denied that The Order of the White Feather definitely did their part to swell the ranks of the British military during The Great War.

Delia DeLeest is fascinated by all things 1920s. She suspects she was once a flapper or, more probably, a bootlegger in a previous life. Her third 1920s era book, NOT LOOKING FOR TROUBLE, is available now from The Wild Rose Press.

Sports & Entertainment: Baseball Cards

By Eliza Tucker

As far back as the 1840s, baseball was a popular sport in the U.S. As with any tournament game, its players and fans wanted a way to show their support for specific teams and the sport in general, and so many people made their own cabinet cards with photographs of players or teams pasted onto wood or thick paper for the purpose of displaying their interests.

In years following the American Civil War, Peck and Snyder, a sporting goods company based in New York City, came up with a way to further market the game--and their business. By printing "trade cards" with famous players or teams on the face with advertisements on the back. These cards were not sold, but handed out on the streets, much like today's fliers.

During the 1870's to the 1890's, trade cards were popular form of advertising. In fact baseball theme trade cards made up only a fraction of the total trade cards. Trade cards depicted many subjects, including presidents, animals and comics. A popular type of baseball trade card were comic trade cards, which shown baseball scenes in a comical situation. Collecting trade cards and pasting them into scrapbooks became one of the country's most popular hobbies. Many of these baseball trade cards found today have some damage on the back where they were removed from scrap books. Collecting old trade cards is popular with some collectors today...

Goodwin & Co., another tobacco company in New York, issued the Old Judge cards, a small picture card that was inserted into packs of Old Judge brand tobacco. Goodwin & Co. produced these cards both as a 'stiffener' for their cigarette packs and to boost sales.
Cycleback.com

By the start of the first World War, the tobacco companies had released their hold on the baseball cards, but the prize prints had long since found their way into Cracker Jack boxes, gum packages, and even boxes from clothing shops.

Famous People: Harriet Quimby

By Elizabeth Lane

I first read about Harriet Quimby in one of those educational biographies they used to put in the back pages of comic books. Even as a little girl, I was hooked. Harriet was the stuff of romance heroines--beautiful, independent, daring, mysterious, and ultimately tragic.

Harriet Quimby was born in 1875 to a Michigan farm family. It's not known whether she ever married or had children. She was never open about her personal life. What's known is that by the age of 25, she was in San Francisco with dreams of becoming an actress. But it was her ability to find a story and write it that caught on. Instead of an actress, Harriet became a successful reporter as well as a script writer for some early movies.

After San Francisco Harriet moved to New York City. From 1903 to 1912 she took photographs and wrote articles for Leslie's Weekly, a popular magazine of the day. She became a drama critic and eventually an editor. By then, her beauty, charm, talent and independence had made her the toast of New York. At a time when women had barely begun to come into their own, Harriet was earning a good living, supporting herself and her parents and even driving her own automobile!

In 1911 Harriet discovered aeroplanes. Fascinated, she signed up for flying lessons at the Moisant School on Long Island. A few months later she became the first American woman to earn a pilot's license. Her aviation skills, as well as her glamour, made her an instant celebrity. She fetched high fees at air meets--especially after she became the first woman to pilot a plane across the English Channel.

For public appearances, Harriet designed her own flying costume of plum-colored silk. It had a hood to cover her hair and a lower part that could be converted from knickers to a hobble skirt with the fastening of a few buttons.

On July 1, 1912, Harriet flew an exhibition near Quincy, Massachusetts. She and the exhibition manager were flying above the bay, at an altitude of about 1,500 feet, when the plane pitched forward. Harriet and her passenger were both flung out and fell through the air, into the bay. Harriet left behind a vision of courage, glamour and intelligence.

If I hadn't become aware of Harriet at an early age, I probably never would have written my book, ON THE WINGS OF LOVE (Harlequin Historicals, January 2008). Harriet Quimby was the inspiration for my heroine, Alex. But as the writing progressed, I wrote Harriet herself into the story--first as Alex's idol and role model, then as a perceived rival. It's the news of Harriet's death that brings the story to its dramatic crisis.

One more thing--when my editor asked me for a dedication, I dedicated my book to the memory of Harriet Quimby, a true heroine.

Guest Blogger: Elizabeth Lane

Please welcome Elizabeth Lane, our guest blogger for this week. Her newest release is On the Wings of Love from Harlequin Historicals.

Long Island, 1911

Alexandra Bromley has everything her father's money can buy. But what she really wants is excitement, adventure and independence. In an age when women are striking out, exploring the world and making their own rules, her future is set in stone. She's expected to marry a suitable man and continue the Bromley dynasty.

When an aeroplane crashes before her eyes, her whole world changes. The injured pilot, aircraft designer Rafe Garrick, turns out to be the most challenging man Alex has ever known. When he talks about flying, and how it feels to soar above the earth, a new passion is born in her.

Rafe wants nothing to do with a millionaire's spoiled daughter. But Alex's determination wins out. She persuades him to take her flying. Right then and there she resolves to become a pilot. After that... To make a long story short, they succumb to desire and end up having to marry.

For a few months Alex is happy being Rafe's wife and the mother of their unborn child. Then a terrible tragedy strikes, leaving her emotionally shattered. Only one thing can save her. Against Rafe's will, she signs up for flying lessons.

Given Alex's history of taking dangerous chances, Rafe is fearful of losing her. Alex sees his opposition as an attempt to control her, just as her father did. The battles begin--and continue until the rash, impulsive Alex makes the most foolish choice of all. That choice comes close to costing her life, her marriage and something even more precious.

What a great site! I see so many books here that I want to read. I've always been a fan of stories with unusual and exotic settings. It's a real honor to join you as a guest today.

What inspired you to write ON THE WINGS OF LOVE?
I've been fascinated by airplanes since a boy I dated in college took me flying in a tiny Cessna. I remember being terrified--and enchanted. Years later, as I researched the history of aviation for a work project, I was struck by the role of women who defied society to brave the sky in those fragile, unpredictable aeroplanes. Some of them died doing what they loved. My favorite among them was Harriet Quimby--maybe because she was so beautiful and so unconventional for her time. I couldn't resist including her as a character who inspires Alex, my heroine, to become a pilot.

How did you research your story?
This book was a fifteen-year project, worked on in stages and submitted multiple times before it finally sold to Harlequin. For starters, I read and read, and rented every related movie I could find. I ordered books with photos and descriptions of early airplanes, and more books with early pictures and maps of Long Island. Years ago I'd visited the wonderful aviation history museum at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio, and I probed the depths of my memory. Early in my research I even took a flying lesson with an instructor in a Piper Cherokee. It was a thrilling experience but scary. I do not have the courage of those amazing women who first took to the sky.

Have you written other historicals with unusual settings? Do you plan to write more?
Yes, and yes! My first book, MISTRESS OF THE MORNING STAR (1980) was an epic biography of Marina, the Indian mistress of Hernan Cortes. My second, DRUMS OF DARKNESS, was a sort of Gothic set in Panama, where I once lived. Then I wrote two big historicals set in China in the 1800s. I loved these books and could have gone on writing them forever. But the market changed, my then-publisher folded, and I didn't sell anything for four long years. Finally the new Harlequin Historical line picked up my Western proposal and I found a new home. Westerns are easy to write, easy to sell, and I've built a readership around them. But Harlequin has been supportive of my desire to write books in other settings. Whirling in my head are stories set in Africa, the Amazon, and Nepal, all places I've traveled. Stay tuned.

Elizabeth

For those who respond, I'd like to thank you by drawing three names. The winners will receive their choice of books (with a couple of exceptions because I have so few copies) on my website.

Review: On the Wings of Love

By Delia DeLeest

I had the privilege of getting a sneak peek at Elizabeth Lanes latest, On the Wings of Love, and was immediately brought back to 1911 where flying machines were just starting to make their mark on the world. Where I live in Hawaii, we think nothing of hopping a plane for quick inter-island flights--it's a simple fact of island living. I've never fully appreciated the skill and bravery those pioneer aviators needed to get into a flimsy machine made of canvas and wood and soar where, previously, men had only dreamed of going.

Alexandra Bromley's fascination with this new technology, along with her attraction to handsome pilot Rafe Garrick, was completely believable, as was her desire to flee the confines of the straight-laced society she was born in and to stretch her wings both figuratively and literally. I think she is a perfect example of those brave young women who were just starting to come into their own at the beginning of the last century.

I could also feel for Rafe, torn between his pride in Alex's accomplishments and his fear for her safety. I was real curious how things were going to get wrapped up in the end. Elizabeth did a wonderful job tying everything up in a very believable fashion.

Hopefully, this will be the beginning of many early twentieth century historicals to hit the shelves in the future. My final comment: they say you can't judge a book by its cover, but in this case, please feel free to do so. The cover art is absolutely gorgeous!

Delia
Available Now: IT TAKES MOXIE
Coming Soon: EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Holidays & Celebrations:November 11, 1918

By Eliza Tucker

On November 11, 1918, the Allied Forces and Germany signed an armistice agreement that signaled the ceasefire on the Western Front. This marked the end of World War I, even though fighting continued in other regions, such as Russia and the Ottoman Empire.

In the United States, the truce was met with great celebrations, even though the country's involvement in the war had only lasted a little over a year and a half. A year later Americans were still feeling the effects of the war, and a good number of soldiers who had not been reported dead had been left behind. New York City, with the rest of the country, planned elaborate meetings and parades to remember the day the truce was made, and no social leader gave up the opportunity to remind his audience of Patriotism and to preach against the continuing threats of anarchy and communism. The following quotes are pulled from a November 12, 1919 article that ran in the New York Times.

With a note of solemnity that contrasted sharply with the delirious joy with which the singing of the armistice was greeted a year ago, city, Sate, and nation yesterday observed the second Armistice Day with tributes to the memory of the heroic dead.

Combined with the eulogies of heroism that rises supreme in the history of the conflict were warnings from clergymen, from soldiers, and from statesmen to make swift action against Bolshevism and other forces of disintegration so "that these dead shall not have died in vain."

In all the exercises in observance of the first anniversary of the signing of armistice which brought to a close the world's greatest war to the most impressive moment was when audiences stood with bowed heads in a moment of silent prayer for those who perished on the fields of battle. None of the speakers failed to point out, and none of the audiences failed to recognize, that those who paid most dearly for victory were the soldiers whose names were missing from the muster rolls when the guns were hushed.

More than 100 separate meetings and memorial services were held in this city yesterday under the auspices of the American-Legion and the veterans of the regiments and military organizations which took their part in the war. In the schools the pupils heard tales of new heroes whose bravery rivals that of the outstanding figures of other wars. In many sections of the city these pupils joined the veterans in impressive pageants of victory.

Throughout the city the joyous celebration of the signing of the armistice was forgotten. Remembered only was the feeling that every citizen felt when he saw that immense field of gold stars borne past in tribute to the dead.

In cities throughout the country the same note of solemnity prevailed, and in none was the ceremony of paying tribute to the fallen a minor part of he exercises. Six States had set aside the day as an official holiday, and in their proclamations the Governors had expressed a desire that the Armistice Day should be observed in the same manner as Memorial Day had been observed since the idea was adopted, in tribute to the veterans of the civil war.

In twenty-two other states, where no holiday had been proclaimed, exercises were held under the auspices of the State Governments and the State military forces took part in the ceremonies. In the State, the New York Guard turned out to aid in the membership drive of the American Red Cross, which had set aside this day to make a special effort in memory of those who were killed or wounded on the battlefields.

The rest of the article is available here (.pdf file)

The 1919 push to make Armistice Day a national holiday succeeded. America isn't the only country to recognize the truce annually. In Australia, Canada, and the UK, it's called Remembrance Day; in South Africa and Malta it's Poppy Day per the red poppies worn in recognition of the poppies that bloomed in many of the Belgium burial grounds, as referenced in John McCrae's famous poem, "In Flanders Field." On November 11, Poland celebrates Independence Day, per its reinstatement of sovereignty after 120+ years of foreign rule. In New Zealand and France it's still called Armistice Day. After World War II, the US renamed Armistice Day "Veteran's Day."

As for me? I celebrate the day as the advent of the holiday season by remembering the celebrations for peace that took place nearly ninety years ago.

Here's hoping for peace on earth, and good will toward men. May these things begin in your home and spread into your community.

Standards of Beauty:Art Imitates Fashion, Fashion Imitates Art?

By Vicki Gaia

When researching fashion trends from my 1910 novel, Eliza's Hope, I discovered how much art influenced fashion. Art and fashion were closely linked in the past, more than today. The artist didn't think anything of designing textile patterns, theater sets, dinner ware, along side of original works of art.

Paris fashion designers relied on their artists. The famed French couturier, Paul Poiret, moved in artistic circles and employed artists. "I have always liked painters." Friends with the Fauvist painter, Francis Picabia, they'd shared a love of bright colors. Poiret collected Picasso, Dufy, Matisse and other modern artists of his time. He also loved the theater, and when the Ballet Russes (Russian ballet company) first appeared in Paris in 1909, their costumes set off the Oriental craze. Poiret designed flowing pantaloons, turbans, kimonos, all in bold vivid colors, never seen before.

The American dance idols, Vernon and Irene Castle, influenced early 20th century fashion. Hemlines went up, and ankles were exposed to accommodate the new Fox Trots and ragtime dances. Satin slippers with sexy ankle straps accessorized the outfit.

These energetic dances were best performed in fitting dresses with long side slits that allowed for dramatic movements. This type of dancing required a new closeness and a certain intimacy between partners, so it was inevitably frowned upon by less liberal people still locked in Victorian mores and customs. ~ Fashion Era

I can't leave out the Art Deco movement--which started in 1900 and peaked in the 1920's. During the early Art Deco period, skirts became tubular and straight, relaxed and with a semi-fitted silhouette, reminiscent of the Empire period. This silhouette no longer required the stiff corsets, hemlines went up, as well as the waist, which rose higher and eventually disappeared.

From the Beginner's Guide to Art Deco:

What is Art Deco design? French romance, fruit filled cornucopias, images of still fountains, Oriental rugs. Coco Chanel, Egyptian tapestries, Jazz inspired pottery, lightning bolts and Zig Zags! Modernized chrome and steel home appliances, running Gazelles, pink flamingos and straight, clean lined furniture. Enameled vases, wrought iron tables, copper kitchenware, Lalique glass, and chrome ashtrays. Colorful, sexy, sleek and modern! That is Art Deco in a nutshell.

Happy Reading!
Vicki