A Date Please for this Unidentified Foursome on the Beach

[DrDude45]

In fact I've just found an article on the BBC website stating that bathing machines were in use until the 1930's in Torbay.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features/2004/bathing_machines.shtml

The evidence and opinion seems to be in favour of a date in the late 1920's /early 1930's.
So, as my grandparents (the photo belonged to them) were born in the early to mid 1900's and the beachgoers seem to be same generation, I'm going to have to look at brothers, sisters and cousins of theirs for identification.
It could of course just be some friends of theirs in which case it's probably a lost cause 
 

Indeed I did some more digging and found that while being "out of fashion" in much of the UK, they were still in limited use in many places for various reasons.

Found this video too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgJZc_cP9w8

Hope I've helped somewhat.

Dr. Dude

[CorleyMiller]

Yes, thank you DrDude45. To be honest I'd never really noticed them in the photo before and wouldn't have known that's what they were, I can even make out the wheels now.

Regards   

[DrDude45]

Yes, thank you DrDude45. To be honest I'd never really noticed them in the photo before and wouldn't have known that's what they were, I can even make out the wheels now.

Regards

I'm a bit of a nerd for knowledge of all kinds. Most see these as an oddity or just something that needs to be there because it was in old photos, but have no idea what they are. Heck, they're even depicted in the video game Bioshock: Infinite.

Post WW2 some beaches put them out as changing rooms, having removed the wheels, remodeling them and making them interlinked and/or on a raised stationary platform. You may see them in beach movies of the 1960s. These days, you will see some throwback items like this:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6169/6174813308_6496f4b29f_b.jpg
or
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/seaside-changing-room-bath-car-hut-wooden-wheels-yellow-blue-brightly-coloured-48071434.jpg

But mostly in heavily monitored tourist spots to limit the destruction by vandals.

[Greensleeves]

I must say, I feel so sorry for the poor chaps in the photo.  On a sunny beach with suits, waistcoats, collars, ties, socks, shoes.....  Reminds me of the early 1950s when my father would go on the beach in flannels and a sports jacket - minus the waistcoat.  The ladies look much more comfortable.  At first glance I thought 1930s, but was surprised by the very large hat worn by the lady at the back (rhs).  However, as a sun hat, it might not have been this year's model since sun hats hang around for years.  The ones I have currently are each at least a decade old and possibly even older.

[DrDude45]

Cleaned it a bit and added some color to make the photo a bit more vibrant. Hope you enjoy!

Note: Photo updated 08-30-18, towel woman was holding on the right was incorrectly finished.

[alpinecottage]

That restore really brings the picture to life! 

I had noticed that the two ladies at the front were showing quite a lot of leg for the early years of the century, but the restore drew my attention to the lady behind in the big hat - her dress barely covers her knees, which further convinces me that this photo is later rather than earlier.

[DrDude45]

That restore really brings the picture to life! 

I had noticed that the two ladies at the front were showing quite a lot of leg for the early years of the century, but the restore drew my attention to the lady behind in the big hat - her dress barely covers her knees, which further convinces me that this photo is later rather than earlier.

It's plausible that this is later, but it's a bathing scene, not a swimming scene. Of the 4 showing, I think only the 3 on the right were going to be bathing or had bathed, mostly due to their outfits, condition of the mans suit (more wrinkled in the legs) and lack of socks. Due to the fact the bathing machines were not anchored down, but simply held back by a rope, I'd say they were still in use.

Here's a pic of a measurement being taken in the 1920s:

http://funnypicsonly.weebly.com/uploads/4/3/6/7/43673897/7099341_orig.jpg

or a bathing suit contest in 1922:

http://pixdaus.com/files/items/pics/8/12/22812_5c09890d29bdb6b717af90f905fecb98_large.jpg

The full covering of leg was very much out of fashion by the roaring 20s, though some covering of the thigh was still legally mandated, above the knee was not unheard of even in the very early 1900s.

My two cents.

[CorleyMiller]

Thanks for the colouring, it certainly does bring a lot more life to the scene.

Strangely, I've looked at this photo many times and always thought that the two ladies were wearing white stockings and the gentleman on the right had light coloured socks, possibly beige. It never occurred to me that they were pre- or post-bathe. Just goes to show what another pair of eyes can do.


 

[Milliepede]

but the restore drew my attention to the lady behind in the big hat - her dress barely covers her knees, which further convinces me that this photo is later rather than earlier.

Things "ride up" when you sit in a low deckchair