faerieincombatboots:

weirdvintage:

“A threatened woman wields her bumbershoot against a masher.  Here she is deftly “Stopping a blow aimed at the face,”  Swinging the umbrella up, she jabs the ruffian’s jaw.  Alternatively, she finishes him off with a well-aimed kick to the knee.“– Around the turn of the 20th century, single young women were joining the workforce as “lady typewriters.”  But being around men outside the home caused need for self-defense manuals that depicted moves such as the one above.  (From This Fabulous Century: 1900-1910, scanned by weirdvintage)

We had This Fabulous Century. I used to read them as a kid.