Page 41 - All About History 48 - 2017 UK

Through History

Illustrator David Lloyd gave V the mask,
GAS MASK 1915 as he thought that Guy Fawkes ought to
be celebrated instead of burned
Smoke protectors and respirators have been in
development for centuries, but it wasn’t until
World War I that gas masks were mass-produced
and made available to everyone. After the first
gas attack in Ypres in 1915, ‘black veil’ gas masks
were distributed, which consisted of woollen
pads soaked in chemicals that covered
the nose and mouth and tied
behind the head. Soon, smoke Cluny
hoods were invented, and Macpherson
CANADIAN 1879-1966
then in World War II the A military doctor from
traditional gas mask with Newfoundland, Macpherson served
the circular eye holes in Europe from March 1915. He acted as
an adviser on the use of poisonous gas
and large air filter drums
and went on to invent one of the first
attached were issued to
An Australian chaplain wearing a usable gas masks by taking a German
all British citizens during helmet, fashioning a hood with eye
“Large Box Respirator” also known as
the Blitz.
the “Respiratory Tower” during WWI holes to attach and treating it
with chlorine-absorbing
chemicals.
BEAK MASK 1619 There were two holes GUY FAWKES 1800S
The sinister-looking attire of the plague doctor was in the beak near the Since the gunpowder plot of 1605, Guy Fawkes has
designed with protection in mind. Believing that wearer’s nostrils stood as a figurehead of anarchy. Children started
theplaguespreadbymiasma,anoxiousformof wearing masks of his likeness around 5 November
‘bad air’, the beak mask was filled with pungent in the Victorian era, but the Fawkes mask has a
herbs and spices to keep the perceived threat at bay. much more modern significance. In a 1988 graphic
ThedesignhasbeencreditedtoFrenchphysician novel called V For Vendetta, the main character, V,
CharlesdeLorme,andwaswornalongwiththe wears a Fawkes mask. Made into a film in 2006, the
head-to-toewax-coatedsuitusedduringthePlague final scene inspired the activist group Anonymous
of1656.Doctorswouldalsocarryalongwooden to wear the masks to protect their identities in their
sticktoliftpatients’clothestoexaminethem. first protest in 2008. Ever since, it has become a
symbol of protest in many different movements.
“The masks enable

the wearers to not
only conceal their

identities but to
assume another

entirely”
On Easter Sunday, the Nazerenos
TORTURE MASK Luchador exclusively on women the joy of Jesus rising again
remove their masks, symbolising
The scold’s bridle
was used almost
16TH CENTURY ‘El Santo’ CAPIROTE MASK
MEXICAN 1917-84
These ‘masks’ were Real name Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta,
actually more like muzzles, ‘El Santo’ was a legendary luchador, 16TH CENTURY
a Mexican wrestler who pioneered the
used to inflict pain and To many, these pointed masks are assumed
sport worldwide and helped to bring the
punishment. Mostly vibrant spectacle of lucha libre (which to be related to the Ku Klux Klan, but they
used on people who were translates as ‘free fight’) to the world originated as part of a Roman Catholic tradition
deemed foolish, stupid or stage. Mexican wrestlers wear for Holy Week in Spain. In the 16th century, the
masks as a way to define their
dirty, the ‘mask of infamy’ church began elaborate street processions to
persona and fighting
was an iron contraption style. educate about Christ’s crucifixion. The capirote
that was placed on the head to masks cover the face as a symbol of mourning
humiliate the wearer. They were often Jesus. The KKK adopted the costumes after
staked outside for the public to see, and the iron would heat they were depicted in a 1915 Hollywood film,
up in the sun. Some masks of infamy also had elements which may have been influenced by the
that were placed into the wearer’s mouth to prevent them Nazareno processions. Prior to this, Klansmen ©Alamy,GettyImages
from speaking – this was also known as a ‘scold’s bridle’, did not wear uniform costumes.
used to punish outspoken women.
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