What Makes A Legacy?
At some point or another, everyone thinks about the legacy that they will leave behind. Some people worry about what they will be remembered for, or if they we remembered at all. I think about this in relation to art and design quite often. Did Van Gogh know that we would be talking about his work and his life for years to come? Did Harry Beck realize he had set a new standard when he redesigned the London Underground Tube map in 1931?
Florence Broadhurst lived a life more elaborate than most people can dream up. Some might say she even lived several, adventurous lives, making up a new and exciting personality for each city and occupation she took on. So would it be all these personalities, names, business successes, business failures, and adventures she would be remembered for…or her murder? *cue Forensic Files theme*
Now that that cat is out of the bag, it’s safe to say that we’re doing something a little different today. I learned about Florence Broadhurst on a true crime podcast (s/o Ash, Alaina, and Crime Countdown for inspiring today’s blog) and thought her story was very interesting. When I learned of her artistic endeavors, I thought it would be fun to delve deeper into her tale and change things up a bit on the ol’ blog.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t as much information as I had hope about her creative side, but there was plenty of general “uh, what” to make for an interesting post, and frankly I was past the point of no return. We’re going to do our best. So strap in and try to keep up with the twisty, turn, and ultimately tragic tale of Florence Broadhurst.
Florence Maud Broadhurst was born in 1899 in a remote part of Queensland, Australia. I believe it’s what the Aussies refer to as the outback. From an early age her father supplied her with a “if you want it, go get it” attitude. At the age of ten she began making her own dresses, a skill that would prove to be a benefit to her in the future. She also enjoyed singing, and this was to become her first profession.
She joined a local group called The Diggers, and soon after began moving from group to group as she traveled around Asia. Between 1922 and 1926, she was a part of the Broadcasters, Carlton Follies, and Carlton Sparklers, and the Globe Trotters. Probably not the Harlem ones though. During this time she was Miss Bobby Broadhurst, leaving the name Florence behind in Australia.
After several years of travel around Asia, she settle in Shanghai and opened a school in 1926. It was a finishing school for daughters of British and American expatriates living in the city. She, along with a few other teachers, taught violin, pianoforte, voice, banjolele, modern ballroom dancing, classical dancing, musical culture, and journalism.
After less than a year with the finishing school, Florence moved back home to Queensland in 1927. There she was exalted as a hometown hero, having gone out and seen the world. But praise from her community couldn’t keep her happy in a small town. She was used to the hustle and bustle of being on the road, and then being in the much larger city of Shanghai. She soon grew bored, and did what we all do when we get a little bored.
She moved to England. Okay, so we don’t all move to England on whim, but don’t tell me you haven’t dreamed of dropping everything and heading off to that dream destination for life. The grass is always greener, right?
So she moved to England and met Percy Walter Gladstone Kann (probably no relation to the prolific Joey Gladstone), and they were quickly wed. It was now time for Florence to once again assume a new identity, and Florence Broadhurst became Madame Pellier, couturier and shop owner. Very fancy. She and her new husband opened Pellier Ltd, Robes & Modes in London, which sounds like a place Chrissy Teigen would just adore.
She did achieve some success during her time as Madame Pellier. She was able to bring in many wealthy clients, and even had designs featured in Vogue. Unfortunately, it’s hard to maintain an expensive business venture such as this in the midst of a depression. Most people can’t rationalize buying fancy clothes when money is tight.
Percy and Florence divorced, and she began a new relationship with Leonard Lloyd Lewis. The two never married, but she did refer to him as her husband and took his name. When she found out that Leonard was less than faithful, she shipped him off to Australia, packed up their son, and followed close behind.
Guess what! Now she’s an English aristocrat. That’s right, she spent enough time in England to pick up the accent and when she moved to Sydney she decided to play the part. She took up painting, and produced nearly 114 pieces of work in two years. She held solo exhibitions in 1954 and 1955, and she really made a place for herself in the Sydney art community.
You may be thinking, “At last! The art blog finally got to the art stuff!” Florence wasn’t done changing it up, however. You see, good ol’ Leonard had a bit of a gambling problem and as a result Florence had begun to run out of money for the family. They had a shed at the back of their property, and Florence decided to rent it to a screen printer.
This would have been a good idea, except the screen printer wasn’t very good. He didn’t sell anything and was unable to pay his rent to Florence. She realized that they would both be better off if she took advantage of his artistic skill and offered him her business wisdom. She encouraged him to produce bolder designs and use bolder colors.
Soon she opened Australian Hand Printed Wallpapers Pty Ltd. She handled the business end, and the screen printer handled the drawing and color mixing. She hired a small staff who designed, manufactured, and marketed the wallpapers. Many young women were brought on staff for whom the wallpaper company was their first job. Florence liked their energy, and liked that they were moldable, forming them into the employees that she wanted them to be.
The little group created a vast variety of wallpapers. Most were colorful and bold with vivid and loud designs that demanded attention - just like Florence. She allowed her many lives and travels to influence the designs, giving many a distinctly Eastern style. The designs were all hand drawn and hand printed, making them a luxury item. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen wallpaper being hand printed, but it is quite satisfying. I recommend that you check it out. Bradbury & Bradbury Wallpaper is a great follow on Instagram.
Many of Florence’s designs included cranes
Florence also thought up a variety of innovations to keep her products cutting edge and modern. She was one of the first to print wallpaper onto metallic surfaces, taking advantage of the finish. She produced wallpaper with a vinyl coated finish, allowing it to be washable. She also had drying racks made that allowed for larger production batches in the studio.
The company continued to thrive and expand, and moved to Paddington in 1969 where the company was renamed Florence Broadhurst Wallpapers Pty Ltd. This space was marketed as ‘the only studio of its kind in the world’. They began making fabrics so customers could purchase upholstery to complement their wallpap er. They exported products to North America, England, Hawaii, Kuwait, Peru, Norway, and France. Everything was going quite well.
Here is a shot inside the studio. You see designs out on the table, and it appears that the person in the back is in the process of printing wallpaper. Also notice the number of screens kept on racks in the background. I can't imagine how many screens a studio with this many designs had.
Now, this is where I must warn you to proceed with caution, reader. The Florence we’ve gotten to know, and then gotten to know again, and then gotten to know again is about to meet her unfortunate end. While I won’t be going into any morbid details, if you aren’t interested in this part of her tale, I encourage you to skip a few paragraphs.
On a Saturday morning in 1977, a neighbor noticed that the lights in Florence’s studio were still on as if they had been left on from the night before and the front door was open. They decided to call the police. So, the police showed up and entered the premises. Nothing seemed odd or out of place on the factory floor.
It wasn’t until they climbed the stairs to the second floor that they began to find evidence that something had gone awry. There was a trail of bloody handprints that lead to the body of Florence Broadhurst. Her fingers had been broken and her rings removed. It was for this reason that the police initially suspected a robbery.
Over the next several months, the police investigated a ton of people who knew Florence, but they didn’t really get anywhere and by the time a year had passed the case had gone cold.
Many years later, the police were on the hunt for a man who had killed six elderly women between 1989 and 1990. They were calling him the “Granny Killer”, which is kind of messed up. Well, it wasn’t until an elderly patient at a hospital accused a traveling pie salesman of attacking her in her room that police discovered the most likely culprit in the Granny Killer case was a man by the name of John Wayne Glover. Now, I know the times have changed, but if a man knocked on my door claiming to be a traveling pie salesman, I am going to automatically assume that he is up to some sort of nefarious activity. Maybe it was different in the 90s.
So, they began following Glover, and it wasn’t long before they caught him in the act. He was arrested and sent to prison. While he was in prison, an officer noticed that this guy’s modus operandi matched what appeared to have happened in Florence’s murder. The officer went to the prison and asked Glover about it straight up. I don’t really know what the officer was expecting. I guess he assumed that Glover had nothing left to lose, but he denied killing Florence. Surprise, surprise.
The officer continued to visit the prison and grill this guy on Florence’s murder for years to come, but Glover continued to deny it. He died in 2005 and took the truth with him. Florence’s case remains unsolved, though most people believe that she died at the hands of John Wayne Glover.
After Florence’s death, her studio disbanded and her son sold the company in 1979. Within ten years, Florence and her wallpapers were largely forgotten. In recent years, however, her designs have been reprinted, and gained popularity. Kate Spade even used some of the prints in a recent collection.
So, what makes up Florence Broadhurst’s legacy? Was it her wildly adventurous and ever changing life? Was it her successful wallpaper business and her contribution to pattern and design in the 60s and 70s? Or is it because she was murdered by the Granny Killer? Sure, she isn’t incredibly famous, but her story has been told enough times that I heard about her on a podcast, and I was able to go online and find numerous articles about her. There is a book about her, as well as a documentary.
I’m itching to know why her story gets told. If she hadn’t been murdered, would her wallpapers have made a resurgence? If she hadn’t had a successful wallpaper business, would her name be totally forgotten, just another on the list of those slain by John Wayne Glover? What was the thing that made her mark in history? Are you sick of my questions? Has anyone even made it this far or am I shouting into the void? This one really had me thinking.
So, there you have it, the life and tragic end of Florence Broadhurst. This isn’t quite what I set out to do. I was looking for much more detail on wallpaper business, as I was interested in both the design and manufacturing process. I just couldn’t find as much information as I had hoped I would. Hopefully you didn’t mind this change of pace. Let me know if you liked this true crime moment we’ve spent together, and maybe I’ll sprinkle in some art heists in the future, as I find those particularly interesting as well.
Sources
About Florence, Florence Broadhurst http://www.florencebroadhurst.com/about
Florence Broadurst | The Life, The Enigma, The Icon, The Legacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp-KOYhHi_g&t=208s
Florence Maud Broadhurst, Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/broadhurst-florence-maud-12818
Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories, Parcast Network, Episode 230 and 231
