Herstory Book Review
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by Penny Simpson
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A HISTORY OF WOMEN IN 101 OBJECTS
Annabelle Hirsch’s book is a paperback translation published in 2023 of an original book written and copyrighted by Eleanor Updegraff, first published by Kein & Aber AG Zurich-Berlin (2022). Herstory is seen from a female social perspective without the ‘drum-rolling of big-picture history’ as noted in the introduction.
Written in the tradition of art history which has been, at times, summed up in five famous images -- that is, Neanderthal cave paintings through to ‘you-name-it’ any famous Renaissance painting to Picasso’s Guernica, Hirsch/Updegraff invites us to consider women’s history based on 101 everyday objects which bear witness to the female in “body, sex, love, art and politics”.
Written in an engaging and witty style, the book is evidence of much research and know-how. Objects from daily life are selected to narrate women’s roles in a historical context, described in an anecdotal yet meaningful way, and which carry meanings beyond their daily usage.
One example is the chapter on women’s corsets. These originated in the Renaissance, and were devised in mid-16th century Spain, although I think further digging into women’s clothing history, their origins might be seen in the use of whalebone supports in the Tudor era. Corsets became very popular throughout Europe, especially in Spain and Italy and were absolutely de rigeur in the European Courts. Who knew! Yes, there is a West European bias in the 101 objects selected, with some exceptions, notably Japan and South America, but this does not detract from the significance of the 101 selection.
One chapter discusses and illustrates a metal corset.
It is important to note that all the book illustrations are in black/white and often appear as photocopies, almost as if they were newspaper articles; this unfortunately somewhat lessens their visual impact.
Annabelle Hirsch’s book is a paperback translation published in 2023 of an original book written and copyrighted by Eleanor Updegraff, first published by Kein & Aber AG Zurich-Berlin (2022). Herstory is seen from a female social perspective without the ‘drum-rolling of big-picture history’ as noted in the introduction.
Written in the tradition of art history which has been, at times, summed up in five famous images -- that is, Neanderthal cave paintings through to ‘you-name-it’ any famous Renaissance painting to Picasso’s Guernica, Hirsch/Updegraff invites us to consider women’s history based on 101 everyday objects which bear witness to the female in “body, sex, love, art and politics”.
Written in an engaging and witty style, the book is evidence of much research and know-how. Objects from daily life are selected to narrate women’s roles in a historical context, described in an anecdotal yet meaningful way, and which carry meanings beyond their daily usage.
One example is the chapter on women’s corsets. These originated in the Renaissance, and were devised in mid-16th century Spain, although I think further digging into women’s clothing history, their origins might be seen in the use of whalebone supports in the Tudor era. Corsets became very popular throughout Europe, especially in Spain and Italy and were absolutely de rigeur in the European Courts. Who knew! Yes, there is a West European bias in the 101 objects selected, with some exceptions, notably Japan and South America, but this does not detract from the significance of the 101 selection.
One chapter discusses and illustrates a metal corset.
It is important to note that all the book illustrations are in black/white and often appear as photocopies, almost as if they were newspaper articles; this unfortunately somewhat lessens their visual impact.
(Page 102 illustration)
I found another illustration on PinInterest which shows a clearer picture and slightly different version of this metal underwear item, most likely (hopefully) worn over a cotton undergarment!
I found another illustration on PinInterest which shows a clearer picture and slightly different version of this metal underwear item, most likely (hopefully) worn over a cotton undergarment!
The chapter details how the corset was wound around the female torso and tightened; it would seriously limit any physical movement including running, any fast arm movements, or to easily swing yourself up onto a horse. The lungs are encased, breathing becomes limited and controlled, and as the author points out, it was probably “best to avoid laughter altogether”. Perhaps this explains why those women look so serious or have only the faintest of smiles in Renaissance portraiture. These corsets seem superficially like body armour, their first origin might have been for medical purposes, or to correct poor posture. However, and this becomes the bigger issue, Updegraff details how they become fashion items giving women of the court “a proud bearing” presumably making them feel more majestic, superior, and enforcing their aristocratic class. Women’s body silhouettes could be altered, especially when waists became more tightly cinched, busts enhanced and bottoms re-shaped. Over time, and well into the 18th century, the naturalness of the female body is altered, to the point where if a female complained of corset pain, this was seen as a sign of female weakness!
Nothing seems comfortable with this type of garment even with its transition into the 20th century with softer materials, such as elasticated girdles and body-shaping underwear. The 21st century versions appear in the form of shape-wear, ‘sculpting tanks’, miracle-suits, and of course, more extreme forms of plastic surgery--body sculpting and bottom lifting. Updegraff offers some reasoning aside from any psychological insights about wearing girdles to make oneself feel more attractive or sexy, to makes fat disappear, or boobs to look bigger, and not the often posited interpretation of some deep-down form of body shame. The author concludes that it is a complex female issue that seemingly goes back to how the Spanish court ladies used the corset as “a fortifying item of clothing”. They demonstrated their social class in their clothing; this begs the question that today’s women are keeping up with the aesthetic appeal of a fashionable figure for a more generalised social class, as defined by advertising, models and Hollywood stars.
An incredible variety of objects is discussed, presented in chronological order, ranging from a healed female femur dating back to 30,000 BC, suggesting that human care existed long ago, an Isis statuette dating to c.330 BC, a 13th century ivory mirror showing women playing chess, and a 17th century Genji scroll written by a Japanese woman, thought to be one of the world’s first novels.
Notably, mention is made of the recamier (1800) made famous by the portrait of Madame Juillet Recamier. One might ask, a lounge settee, what significance is that for women? The names of Madame de Stael and Madame de Rambouillet are referred to, that is, women lounging on settees in the tradition of the salonnière. This suggests that women converse, support the arts, engage in the talk and politics of the day, not just in the housework of cooking and cleaning, darning or minding children, but in intellectual thought and conversation. A first sign in the domestic spatial environment that women did something other than sit and embroider or wait for the arrival of a suitable marriage partner.
Jumping to the 20th century, the book itemises the significance of hatpins, red lipstick (not about Hollywood!), the ‘Red Sticker Resistance Movement’ initiated by Liane Berkowitz against the Nazis in 1942, and then works through women’s connections with bicycles, dance-card fans, Tupperware, and many, many more objects of interest.
The selected list of 101 items seems endless and yet the narrative remains fascinating. Despite their apparent mundanity, each object reflects a social and political history for women. There is always the point to make about these objects mostly appearing to be in the realm of middle or upper class women, but thumbscrews, hatpins, the women workers’ parade photograph of 1926, scissors and sewing machines, and many other items are not just ‘white middle class’ objects. My only criticism of this paperback translation therefore is that the typeface is quite small and the illustrations are small and only black/white imprints, otherwise, this is a fantastic compendium of objects, each of which has a herstory to tell.
(Note: all items in quotations are taken from the 2025 paperback translation).
TUDOR WOMEN'S CLOTHING
https://hathawaysofhaworth.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/the-tudor-legacy-the-advent-of-deadly-fashion/
Nothing seems comfortable with this type of garment even with its transition into the 20th century with softer materials, such as elasticated girdles and body-shaping underwear. The 21st century versions appear in the form of shape-wear, ‘sculpting tanks’, miracle-suits, and of course, more extreme forms of plastic surgery--body sculpting and bottom lifting. Updegraff offers some reasoning aside from any psychological insights about wearing girdles to make oneself feel more attractive or sexy, to makes fat disappear, or boobs to look bigger, and not the often posited interpretation of some deep-down form of body shame. The author concludes that it is a complex female issue that seemingly goes back to how the Spanish court ladies used the corset as “a fortifying item of clothing”. They demonstrated their social class in their clothing; this begs the question that today’s women are keeping up with the aesthetic appeal of a fashionable figure for a more generalised social class, as defined by advertising, models and Hollywood stars.
An incredible variety of objects is discussed, presented in chronological order, ranging from a healed female femur dating back to 30,000 BC, suggesting that human care existed long ago, an Isis statuette dating to c.330 BC, a 13th century ivory mirror showing women playing chess, and a 17th century Genji scroll written by a Japanese woman, thought to be one of the world’s first novels.
Notably, mention is made of the recamier (1800) made famous by the portrait of Madame Juillet Recamier. One might ask, a lounge settee, what significance is that for women? The names of Madame de Stael and Madame de Rambouillet are referred to, that is, women lounging on settees in the tradition of the salonnière. This suggests that women converse, support the arts, engage in the talk and politics of the day, not just in the housework of cooking and cleaning, darning or minding children, but in intellectual thought and conversation. A first sign in the domestic spatial environment that women did something other than sit and embroider or wait for the arrival of a suitable marriage partner.
Jumping to the 20th century, the book itemises the significance of hatpins, red lipstick (not about Hollywood!), the ‘Red Sticker Resistance Movement’ initiated by Liane Berkowitz against the Nazis in 1942, and then works through women’s connections with bicycles, dance-card fans, Tupperware, and many, many more objects of interest.
The selected list of 101 items seems endless and yet the narrative remains fascinating. Despite their apparent mundanity, each object reflects a social and political history for women. There is always the point to make about these objects mostly appearing to be in the realm of middle or upper class women, but thumbscrews, hatpins, the women workers’ parade photograph of 1926, scissors and sewing machines, and many other items are not just ‘white middle class’ objects. My only criticism of this paperback translation therefore is that the typeface is quite small and the illustrations are small and only black/white imprints, otherwise, this is a fantastic compendium of objects, each of which has a herstory to tell.
(Note: all items in quotations are taken from the 2025 paperback translation).
TUDOR WOMEN'S CLOTHING
https://hathawaysofhaworth.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/the-tudor-legacy-the-advent-of-deadly-fashion/