The tradition of taking a dip in the sea during the Christmas and New Year holidays is now firmly established in the seasonal calendar.

Each year, social and traditional media are swamped with images of figures dashing into the surf, many in colourful fancy dress outfits, braving the freezing temperatures for charity.

Little more than a century ago, the very idea of such a spectacle being contemplated, never mind taking place, would have seemed fanciful.

I have to thank Geoff Barker, Senior Curator of the State Library of New South Wales, for a recent LinkedIn post about a fellow Australian, who helped change public attitudes to swimwear.

Annette Kellerman (1886-1975) was a professional athlete and later vaudeville and silent film star, who helped popularise the one-piece bathing suit.

I first learned about her whilst researching my doctoral thesis on the influence of stereoscopic 3D photography on press illustration.

Among her many accomplishments, she was the first woman to attempt to swim the English Channel (only officialdom stopped her completing the crossing).

She also took part in a number of highly-publicised river races in Paris and London.

The international media devoted many column inches to reporting her exploits and press photographers followed her every move.

This 1906 report from the Daily Mirror, Britain’s first tabloid newspaper, is typical of the coverage that Annette Kellerman attracted.

The photographs reproduced in half-tone were supplied by Underwood & Underwood (U&U) whose photo agency soon became the largest in the world.

In a link with the Underwood company, the postcard of Miss Kellerman reproduced earlier in this post was published by the firm of Foulsham & Banfield.

Co-founder Frank Foulsham (1873-1939) had begun his photographic career as a stereographer.

He supplied images of politicians and music hall stars to U&U for publication in the press.

In time, Foulsham & Banfield’s name became synonymous with glossy postcard prints featuring a galaxy of music hall and vaudeville stars.

The National Portrait Gallery, London online archive features more images of Annette Kellerman including a number by H. Walter Barnett (1862-1934), a W & D. Downey alumni

https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp130903/annette-marie-sarah-kellerman

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