How pearly was Poll?

[Steven Russell]

The practice by East-Enders of decorating their clothes with pearly buttons was well established by the 1880s, being particularly popular with costermongers but also others including women. (This according to the Pearly King and Queen Guild). I am guessing that Mary Ann Connelly earned her nickname of Pearly Poll by indulging in such a practice. She seems just the sort of blowsy character to show off in this way and it may have helped her to stand out from the crowd. With so much competition on the streets no doubt the women did whatever they could to attract the right sort of attention.

I've not been able to find a good picture of Victorian pearly dress, but here's a good one from 1926. I wonder if our Poll looked anything like this...

Best wishes,
Steve.

[sdreid]

That little cuss looks like he's had about enough.

Are these buttons what we call "mother of pearl" here in the states? I can remember finding mussel shells with round holes punched out of them in the mixture of sand and gravel that was to be blended with cement. They were remnants from a button factory.

[Steven Russell]

I think he's practising his belligerent Cockney face. Notice also how his mother is training him to look upon a "nice cuppa tea" as the Cockney cure-all.

It's called mother of pearl here too, Stan, but I didn't know it came from mussel shells. Will have to look that up. But yes, that's what they will have been made of I think unless a cheaper alternative was available. These days they use plastic, usually called pearloid, to decorate guitars and accordions etc., often to beautiful effect.

The only other reasons I can think of for Pearly Poll being so named are that she had very good teeth or habitually wore a string of pearls. To me, these seem less likely than the button business but who knows?

Best wishes,
Steve.

[Steven Russell]

You were right, Stan. I always assumed it had to be oyster shells. This from Wikipedia:

Currently the chief sources of mother of pearl are the pearl oyster, freshwater pearl mussels, and to a lesser extent, abalone. Widely used for pearl buttons especially during the 1900s, were the shells of the great green turban snail Turbo marmoratus and the large top snail, Trochus niloticus.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[ChrisGeorge]

The practice by East-Enders of decorating their clothes with pearly buttons was well established by the 1880s, being particularly popular with costermongers but also others including women. (This according to the Pearly King and Queen Guild). I am guessing that Mary Ann Connelly earned her nickname of Pearly Poll by indulging in such a practice. She seems just the sort of blowsy character to show off in this way and it may have helped her to stand out from the crowd. With so much competition on the streets no doubt the women did whatever they could to attract the right sort of attention.

I've not been able to find a good picture of Victorian pearly dress, but here's a good one from 1926. I wonder if our Poll looked anything like this...

Best wishes,
Steve.

Pearly Poll could have been dressed like that, with the pearly buttons that the Pearly King and Queen famously wore. Or she could have worn a string of fake pearls at some time that gave her the nickname. It occurs to me though that she might not necessarily have gone around all the time in pearls. "Pearly Poll" has a nice ring to it as a nickname so it might not denote the clothing or jewelry she regularly wore.

Chris

[Steven Russell]

All true, Chris. However, I don't think it would have been too clever going around Whitechapel at night wearing pearls - even fake ones. Another point is that these poor women didn't usually have a great many outfits to choose from. Still, we'll probably never know.

Apology: not only did I spell "blowzy" wrongly in post no. 1, I misunderstood its meaning. Cocky would have been better.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[Bridewell]

Another Kind of Pearly Necklace

Pearly Poll could have been dressed like that, with the pearly buttons that the Pearly King and Queen famously wore. Or she could have worn a string of fake pearls at some time that gave her the nickname. It occurs to me though that she might not necessarily have gone around all the time in pearls. "Pearly Poll" has a nice ring to it as a nickname so it might not denote the clothing or jewelry she regularly wore.

Chris

This is a bit unpleasant but, according to the web-site "LondonSlang.com" a "pearly necklace" was the common name given to the result of ejaculating on the upper chest and neck of a woman during sex. Such an unpleasant occurrence might have befallen Nichols during the course of her activities and could have given rise to the nickname. Alternatively, it could have been used sarcastically to a woman whose front teeth were missing.

[Bridewell]

I'll Probably End Up In the Tower For This!

The practice by East-Enders of decorating their clothes with pearly buttons was well established by the 1880s, being particularly popular with costermongers but also others including women. (This according to the Pearly King and Queen Guild). I am guessing that Mary Ann Connelly earned her nickname of Pearly Poll by indulging in such a practice. She seems just the sort of blowsy character to show off in this way and it may have helped her to stand out from the crowd. With so much competition on the streets no doubt the women did whatever they could to attract the right sort of attention.

I've not been able to find a good picture of Victorian pearly dress, but here's a good one from 1926. I wonder if our Poll looked anything like this...

Best wishes,
Steve.

Is it just me, or does this lady bear an uncanny resemblance to the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother?

[ChrisGeorge]

Is it just me, or does this lady bear an uncanny resemblance to the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother?

It's just you, Bridewell.

[Cogidubnus]

Alternatively

Aincha pearlied the lidy?

Costermongers used to wear a row of pearly buttons down each side of their trousers...dunno why...but this is what started the whole pearly king/queen thing...a lad collecting the fallen pearly buttons and getting them sewn on his clothes...

Dave

[TomTomKent]

I alwas assumed that the nickname came from one of three sources:
1) A habit of wearing a bracelett or necklace, rather than a Pearly King/Queen costume. Something that was just enough to stand out, the way that a pair of eyeglasses, limp, red hair, etc would also stand out.
2) I have heard some fair haired styles to be described as pearly.
3) An act a woman of the night might be more willing to perform than the majority of unfortunates driven to the oldest profession may well be the source of the name.

After reading this thread I am willing to revise my ignorant assumptions. Thankyou.