In the early 1750s, Jonas Hanway, recently returned from France, became the first man to parade an umbrella unashamed in 18th-century England—a time and place in which umbrellas were strictly taboo. In the minds of many Brits, umbrella usage was symptomatic of a weakness of character, particularly among men. Few people ever dared to be seen with such a detestable, effeminate contraption. But Hanway, always stubborn, paid little attention to the social stigma. |
