Sunburn Is “Made to Order” for Customers by Portrait Photographer (Sep, 1929)
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1929
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I wonder when people started using the term suntan instead of sunburn. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was invented by Coppertone to distinguish between a “good” sunburn and a “bad” sunburn.
Sunburn Is “Made to Order” for Customers by Portrait Photographer
IF A person desires to appear in a portrait with a healthy glow of tan, Preston Duncan, Hollywood photographer, satisfies that desire by using a special lamp that sheds a golden ray of sunburn over the subject when the picture is being taken. The ray is produced so that it registers perfectly on the negative. The color is contained in the glass plate through which the light is shown.
By intensifying the power of the lamp, genuine sunburn may be derived in about 30 minutes. A burn of similar nature would require several hours on the beach under the hot sun.Fashion has decreed that this season’s smartest tone in complexions is the sunburn shade. Duncan therefore devised the lamp so that screen beauties who want the fashionable tan to be apparent in their portraits may be accommodated without actually being burned. Those who wish a quick sunburn merely request that the power be turned on.
The word “suntan” was actually popularized by Coco Chanel. She popularized tanning, extreme thinness (to the point of emaciation), and heavy smoking for weight control.
Comment by Blurgle — July 23, 2007 @ 4:55 pm
I remember as a kid reading Sherlock Holmes stories where Watson was described as “sunburnt” from his years in India. I couldn’t understand how a guy who hadn’t been in India in years could still be sunburnt. I finally realized that words like “suntanned” or “tanned” hadn’t been in use when the books were written.
Comment by Chuck Norris — August 1, 2007 @ 2:14 pm