Miss
Florrie Tilton
In 1911 Miss Florrie Tilton, a lady with entrepreneurial
flair was living at the Barton Street Baths in Gloucester, with her mother and
father who were the superintendents of the establishment. Florrie had succeeded
in turning her exhibitions of natation for the local swimming club into a
profitable business; thus, she had progressed from local performer to
professional aquatic artiste. The family had moved from Salford in Lancashire
in about 1906 in order for Frank and Louisa Tilton to take up their posts at
the Barton Street Baths. By 1911 the National Census declares twenty year-old
Florrie to be a ‘professional swimmer’.[1]
Florrie had had a picture postcard of herself taken in order to sell copies to
spectators at her exhibitions.
The written comment by one purchaser of a postcard
demonstrates not only the entertainment value of ornamental swimming but also
the special status such exhibitors had in the eyes of the public. A public, who
generally could not swim as was the case with the owners of this card. The card
reads:
Dear
Rhoda,
In
one of your letters you told us you could swim, we are so shameful to hear of
it. There are some large swimming baths here, and we went to see this girl
swim, it was last summer she was so clever, and we are sending you the program
for you to see what she did. Bertie tells us he can swim; it must be lovely we
think.[2]
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