In the days when the January sales were a significant event, Madeline Linford covered them for The Manchester Guardian's women's page. In language which resembles that of the stock market, she produced lively and meticulously researched reports on the best buys in shops such as Lewis's. On 8 January 1924 she wrote, "More ordinary coats have made slighter drops...Frocks of all kinds are cheaper...Short-sleeved gowns in chiffon velvet or velveteen are very reasonably priced...Marocain is still fairly dear...Blouses and jumpers keep pretty much where they were, that is to say, the inferior qualities are cheap and the others are not". Good market advice for shrewd shoppers. 

Happy New Year! We begin 2024 with Madeline Linford, author of Out of the Window, who was appointed in 1922 by CP Scott to edit the newly launched women's page of The Manchester Guardian. When interviewed in 1963 she explained "My briefing was lucid and firm. The page must be readable, varied and aimed always at the intelligent woman." As a result, Miss Linford, as she was known to all, paved the way for outstanding Guardian writers such as Mary Stott, Jill Tweedie and Liz Forgan. (The photo, which speaks volumes, shows the newspaper's editorial team in 1921.)

We end the week with this beautiful painting of the artist's wife: Die Lesende (1911, private collection) by Lovis Corinth (1858-1925). Charlotte Berend-Corinth later said, "I didn't notice that Lovis was painting me. I was so absorbed in my book that I heard him set up the easel and sit down to paint, but I thought he was going to paint the flowers on the table next to the sofa. Then I immersed myself in my book again". We wish all our readers many equally happy reading moments over the festive period. The Post will return on 2nd January.

La liseuse (1950-52, Birmingham Museums Trust) by French artist Roger Chapelain-Midy (1904-92) is all about the reader's concentration and self-containment. As the model is probably also French, her book could be Maman, What We Are Called Now? or Dimanche and Other Stories.

The Artist's Wife (1933, Tate) by Henry Lamb (1883-1960), with the jug of winter pansies and forced hyacinths, more books on the table and shelves, and a large armchair, exudes warmth and comfort. It conveys the unselfconsciousness of a reader who is engrossed in a good book. She is holding a sizeable volume, perhaps something extremely readable such as Greenbanks ('Choice of the Book Society’ in the summer of 1932), or highly entertaining such as the classic Diary of a Provincial Lady (1930).

Reading (c1946, Wolverhampton Art Gallery) by Ethel Gabain (1883-1950) captures the absorption of a reader who is oblivious to chores and any need to tidy up the pile of objects behind her armchair. She could be reading To Bed with Grand Music or Miss Ranskill Comes Home, both first published in 1946, and both page-turners set in the then very recent past.

This week we consider the sacrosanct activity of reading for pleasure, something we hope will be possible for all our readers over the festive season. This is A Quiet Half-Hour (1876, National Trust Hilton Ampner) by Lionel Charles Henley (b1843). Although the reader's dress is heavy and tightly fitted, she has managed to achieve a high degree of comfort with tea, cushions, a footstool, and is clearly not to be disturbed. She could, perhaps, be reading The New Magdalen (1873), one of our Victoriana titles.