Calamus in Bolton: Spirituality and Homosexual Desire in Late Victorian England

In 1885 a small group of men began to meet regularly in Bolton, England, to discuss the poetry of Walt Whitman. They thought that Whitman's writings could provide the basis of a new religion, as well as offering spiritual guidance for the people in an age of mass politics. Intense friendships developed between some of the group as well as an interest in the nature of homosexuality. In order to explain their own quasi‐homosexual attachments, they created a new understanding of spiritual love and of an alternate self. These ideas influenced and were influenced by the work of Edward Carpenter.     

Fashioning the American Man: The Arrow Collar Man, 1907–1931

This essay is about the Arrow Man, one of the most successful advertising images in early twentieth–century America, and a visual representation of the New Man. The Arrow Man was created by a noted artist, J. C. Leyendecker, to sell the Arrow collar, a new version of detachable collars, a wardrobe staple for most US men and all but working–class men in Britain and Europe since the 1840s. The Arrow Man’s story is part of the transformations in masculine ideals and physical appearance, heightened by the new visual and consumer culture. He carried messages of men’s self–management of appearance and public performance from the nineteenth century into the early twentieth, where it changed from a mark of European gentility into that of the typically American white–collar man. His story is part of fundamental shifts in the US: new occupational and social class configurations and emerging American popular culture.     

Following Suit: Men,Masculinity and Gendered Practices in the Clothing Trade in Leeds,England, 1890–1940

This paper explores the processes by which the majority of British men came to wear a suit for most occasions during the first part of the twentieth century. It examines the nature of the product and emphasises the gendered experience of making and buying suits. Using the Leeds tailoring trade as a case study, it concludes that the rise of the suit can be attributed to the gendering of production – whereby the intensification of low–paid female labour sustained profitability – and to the gendering of consumption, in which the masculinity of the shopping environment was crucial.     

Women's Talk and the Colonial State: The Wylde Scandal, 1831–1833

Between 1831 and 1833 the Chief Justice of the Cape Colony, Sir John Wylde, was involved in a scandal surrounding anonymous accusations of incest resulting from the alleged pregnancy of his unmarried daughter. The rumours led to an official inquiry by the secretary of state. The resulting political crisis took place against a background of social tension over impending slave emancipation. The records of the inquiry, together with contemporary comment, form the basis for a discussion of how gender roles, gossip and a separation between public and private spheres informed the operation of Cape colonial politics and society.     

Parishes under Pressure ‐ The Church of England in South Buckinghamshire 1913–1939

Secularisation, or the reducing social significance of religion in the twentieth century, has been widely researched in terms of “demand” factors, but less so on the “supply‐side,” considering the contributory effects of the strategies and actions of religious organisations themselves. This article explores these strategies in a group of Anglican churches in South Buckinghamshire in the period leading up to the Second World War, as industrial and population development shifted proportionally to the southeast. This rapid growth and accompanying demographic change posed major challenges to the Church of England, subjecting the parish system to severe pressure. The availability, allocation, and suitability of clergy were a constant concern. The very basis of the Church of England's “offer” to the average citizen — of being the established, national church, there for everyone — seemed under threat: in some places, there was simply no church to “belong” to. Money was in short supply — perhaps both a cause and a symptom of other problems. A general issue was how to reach young people, but a specific concern was the funding of church schools. More widely, the church seemed to be losing touch with the changing cultural and moral landscape in which it operated.