A web log, an æthereal scrap-book if you will, with a somewhat vintage flavour. News items, occurrences, experiences, thoughts and opinions related to Victoriana through to Fifties Americana can all be found here.
Since restarting Eclectic Ephemera in March this year I haven't been able to help but perceive a dispiriting trend within the vintage blogosphere - something that I first began to notice a few years prior but which has now reached such a point that I feel moved to record my own thoughts on the matter. It is simply this - there seems to be far fewer active vintage blogs (and by blogs I mean the traditional written "web logs" hosted by the likes of Blogger, Wordpress and LiveJournal) than there once were. So many vintage bloggers appear to have vanished into the æther that it seems as though there are only a handful of us left. My blog roll and reading list of what I call "vintage lifestyle blogs" are now at least two-thirds smaller than they were ten years ago.
This is something that I'm glad to note I am not alone in observing, as fellow bloggers Harlow Darling and RetroCat have both mentioned the fact in recent posts of their own and it is that which has also inspired me to write this post (and I apologise for the stream of consciousness that is about to follow!).
What, then, may be the reasons behind the demise of so many once excellent vintage blogs and the dearth of any new ones? Well I think HD and RetroCat both touch upon the main one in their posts - the inexorable rise of social media sites and apps such as FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and in particular the instant, quick-hit, image-heavy element therein that seems to appeal to so many people these days. RetroCat hits the nail on the head in describing this as "rapid consumption" - the internet equivalent of "fast food".
This links to my next theory on why classic blogs might be declining - a generational shift. Now on the face of it this might seem at odds with the whole vintage blogosphere ethos, inasmuch as those of us (of any age) with an abiding interest in vintage would - if we dip our toes in the online world at all - tend to be the sort who gravitate to the more traditional media such as blogs like these. But in line with the decline in traditional bloggers comes the thought that the next generation - the teenagers and those in their early twenties who, although they may well be genuinely interested and enthusiastic about vintage, are much more tech-savvy and have, dare I say it, been brought up like so many of their generation on instantaneous online gratification - are generally less interested in writing long or even middling posts about their lifestyles, their vintage finds, their thoughts and feelings on the subject; preferring instead to simply post picture after picture, "tagging", "liking" and thumbs-upping" all and sundry - they are the so-called "influencers" that HD and RetroCat so rightly mention.
I have seen a similar situation affecting another once-thriving but now seriously under threat corner of the internet - the online chat-room. Now almost an extinct species, the chat-rooms I still visit that were once teeming with interesting discussion almost all lie largely silent and dormant as everyone seems to have migrated to the behemoth that is FaceBook, with the rise in modern technology - specifically smartphones - aiding this move away from the traditional online media. In either case there sadly seems little that one can do to stem the tide, except to keep plugging away making regular appearances in the forlorn hope that it inspires others to engage in online conversation of more than a few letters and symbols. Of course every now and again one of the younger generation comes along who will embrace these older internet ways and it is up to us to encourage them where we encounter them in the hope that they will inject new blood into what is fast becoming a dying art form.
A further thought in a similar vein is the simple fact that as people age (sorry to have to bring it up, but there it is) they do change. Their views may alter over time; their likes and interests change and evolve to the point where they may no longer have the desire to follow a certain lifestyle. New paths may open up for them to explore, and who are we to begrudge them that? Family life, work commitments, or other changes in personal life may all conspire to alter someone's personality to the extent that they don't want to blog about their lives any more or if they do they do so through more modern social media because of the aforementioned instantaneousness and ease of use.
The other thing I have noticed, which may be in part linked to the above but which in fact I do feel has more to do with other factors, is the apparent decline in friendly camaraderie and interaction that used to so characterise the vintage blogosphere. Looking back to when I - and many others - started blogging 11 years ago it seems to me that we were writing in a much more positive and upbeat style, as well as commenting freely on posts, linking to each others' blogs and generally making encouraging noises to one another. Now I'm not saying this has stopped being the case entirely, nor do I mean to shame anyone into feeling that they're "not doing enough" - far from it! However I cannot get away from the fact that there does seem to have been a drop off in online interaction between remaining bloggers and while the reasons outlined above are likely involved I am given to wonder if society as a whole may not be playing a part as well.
No-one can deny that we have seen massive social as well as technological changes in the last decade and, sad to say, some of them (especially the former) have not always been positive. In the four years alone that this blog was on hiatus there have been some sea changes throughout the world, the ripples of which will have been felt by all and sundry. We only have to look at the current Covid crisis and the deplorable situation in America to note but two recent areas of massively negative social upheaval. How could one not expect that to have a wider influence on people's interactions, views, health and happiness? Who would want to blog about, say, 1930s fashion, or a classic film, when the world is in such a mess? Even when we do, it would be unreasonable not to expect some negativity to make its way - even subconsciously - into our posts.
That, however, is what I created Eclectic Ephemera for and although I still find myself at times wondering if I ought to put this place to bed once and for all I do genuinely enjoy stretching my writing muscles on here in combating the all-pervading media negativity with vintage-inspired items that interest me (and, I hope, by extension, you the readers) and I hope to be able to continue doing so for a long time to come, instant social media or not. I also hope and look forward to reading many an absorbing vintage blog both old and - hopefully! - new, with the fervent wish and belief that tomorrow will be a good day and that with everyone's help the vintage blogosphere will continue to flourish.
***What are your thoughts on the state of the vintage blogging scene? Let me know in the comments below.***
Hello All! Well, another busy start to the month has seen ten days fly by but now here I am again with a new post. I say "new" but the subject was first reported on as far back as January-February.
The 100-year old diary of Olive Higgins, a teenage girl from Kent studying in Paris, has recently come to light after over ten years in the possession of a London journalist & writer, who spent that time researching the girl's tragically short life following the discovery that they both happened to come from the same area.
To celebrate the centenary of Olive's writings the journalist, Rob McGibbon, came up with the splendid idea of publishing the daily entries on Twitter (@OlivesDiary1914) - as well as creating a website with every day reproduced in full as well as further information about Olive Higgins, her family and how Mr McGibbon came to be interested.
The diary and the project it inspired have a poignant ending, however. Barely two months in to her Paris adventure Olive Higgins was struck down by double influenza and sadly died on the 25th February. Consequently her diary entries stop halfway through that month, as she struggled to recover.
Nevertheless her record of those first few weeks in Paris make for fascinating reading - a real insight into the thoughts of a 16-year-old student one hundred years ago, yet revealing teenage feelings and insecurities still familiar a century on. Mr McGibbon's project has certainly been a worthwhile one not only from his personal point of view but also as a valuable piece of social history and a fitting & timely tribute to Olive Higgins' life.
As promised here is the post all about player-pianos and bicycles that I had planned. Just as I had hoped (and half-expected, as it often seems to happen this way) as soon as I had something to blog about after a relatively dry month a couple more interesting things come along out of which I can fashion a post.
I came across these two fascinating takes on traditional machinery a week or so ago (from the excellent blog Laughing Squid) and thought I'd - what's the word... reblog(?) them to my readers here, so much did they tickle my fancy. They are not related to each other in any way, so no bicycle-powered player-piano I'm afraid (although I still maintain this would be a good idea and formally lay claim to it) but I decided in that I'd get one good post out of the pair of them rather than two lesser posts.
First up is the player-piano. Stanley. I like the sound of him already. Literally. Stanley isn't just any old player-piano, though. Thanks to a "creative agency" (whatever that is) and the wonders of modern technology, Stanley has been retro-fitted with a computer and associated electrickery which allows it to... play any song, requested by anyone, via Twitter (I knew there'd be a use found for Twitter one of these days - lo and behold a piano-player remote control). Of course to get the full effect one really needs to be at Stanley's location in Seattle but still, it's a clever little bit of retro-technology fun for a Sunday I thought.
The bicycle of the title is a far more serious, practical proposition that deserves to do well. The Faraday Porteur may at first glance look like a reasonably ordinary bicycle but upon closer inspection it reveals itself to be anything but. For one thing it is electrically-assisted but, unlike current electric bicycles with their thick heavy battery packs bolted onto the diagonal down tube, the Faraday's state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries are integrated into the standard-sized double top tubes. This makes it light enough to carry and less ungainly to look at, while still providing up to 15 miles of assisted travel. It has a few other deft little touches too, like the integrated LED lamps and - on this Porteur model - a handlebar-mounted rack capable of carrying up to 30lbs.
Forgive me if I sound like an advertisement for that is not my intention (although if they want to send me one over for evaluation I won't say no!) but the Faraday appears to me to be possibly the best execution of an electric bike I've seen so far - and by Jove do I like the look of it! Wonderful vintage touches abound, from the basket-holder at the front through the wooden mudguards to the beautiful leather on the handlebars, top tubes and saddle.
Both of these machines are yet more sterling examples of tried and tested technology updated for the 21st century but where Stanley is no more than an amusing - albeit appealingly clever - oddity the Faraday has true potential, successfully and completely merging the best of past and future. I hear good things about Kickstarter and in fact I see that the company has already raised more than the $100,000 it needs to begin the first production run. I wish them every success and would love to see more stylish Faradays not just in America but all over the world. Good luck, chaps, and well done!
At the end of last year I blogged about Little Printer, a miniature printer that I felt owed much to the tickertape machines of the early 20th Century and which can run off strips containing news items, lists, addresses and tweets. At the time I wondered to myself why someone had not taken the idea a step further, or a step backwards rather, and rigged up a proper piece of vintage kit to work with the likes of Twitter. It surely wasn't beyond the wit of the technically-minded vintagista - no doubt we would see something before too long, I thought.
Well, I was right. Doubly so, as it happens. Firstly - and just yesterday - I came across the Tweephone, the product of young minds from the Ukraine who have come up with the wizard idea of converting an old rotary-dial telephone to be able to send tweets over the Internet. Even today telephone keypads still have corresponding letters assigned to each number - now only used for text-messaging (so at least the concept should be familiar) and those funny aide-memoires more popular in the United States, "'phone 1-800 CONTRIVED" - so the principle is exactly the same. Digital meets analogue! At the moment merely a one-off design study, but with enough interest - who knows? Even the oldest rotary-dialler could send tweets! (I should mention at this point that I don't tweet and to be honest find the whole thing a bit silly, but if you're going to do it best do it properly - and tweeting from an old GPO 200 series would seem about right!).
The unseen chap in this next clip has gone one better, though, and produced almost exactly what I was thinking of when first I saw the Little Printer - an actual tickertape machine wired up to tap out tweets!
The Twittertape Machine is also in the prototype stage but simply uses an old tickertape machine rigged up to the Internet and which will tap out your tweets in much the same way as it would have spewed out important stock movements a century ago. The Mark II will apparently go one better - wi-fi and Farcebook-compatible (again, if that's your sort of thing - it isn't mine, I don't even have an account - then again this seems like the proper way to go about it: if I got my hands on one even I would reconsider my stance on social networking!).
Nevertheless, these vintage takes on modern communication are most welcome and a wonderful way to indulge in 21st Century correspondence while adding a decidedly 20th Century flavour. As I said with the Little Printer it even adds more of a personal and tangible touch to messaging. I also happen to love the way it makes a mockery of Twitter's USPs - speed and compactness. But as I've said before, anything that gives these old devices a new lease of life is OK in my book and I hope success attends both enterprises as I would really like to see more of the two in the future.
You may notice at the end of this and, now, all other blog posts the presence of a "share" button with a few options to pick from to aid in the dissemination of my writings. (Although quite why anyone would choose to forward on my ramblings is beyond me!).
The omission of this function was kindly brought to my attention by the Idle Historian in my previous post and it struck me as odd, as I was sure I had the facility enabled. After a quick rummage around in the æther, I've managed to reactive said button (I think Blogger and its templates were to blame, or something; anyway, it wouldn't have happened with a typewriter!) so if you're on the likes of Twitter or Farcebook it should now be easier for you pass on anything you see here, if you so wish. Personally I'm involved in neither of those places; it's enough that I've got this blog what with my Ludditism! Still, it gives me the opportunity to include the above little ditty, ably helped along by Mr Bertie Wooster, which I feel could easily be applied to a certain modern-day social network...
