History: Edwardian milliner(s) Mme. Anna Ben-Yusuf and Zaida Ben-Yusuf

Ever since my post the other day, i've been tracking down information on Mme. Anna, the Edwardian milliner who wrote one of the few surviving widely-available historical reference books on hatmaking. I'm leaning toward the theory that Madame Anna Ben-Yusuf and Zaida Ben-Yusuf were the same person, though i haven't ruled out the possibility that Madame Anna was instead Zaida's mother.

I do know that many articles on millinery techniques were published in a range of sources (from the Saturday Evening Post to the Ladies Home Journal to various millinery trade publications) credited both to Zaida Ben-Yusuf and Mme. Anna Ben-Yusuf, and that many of them had photographic illustrations by Zaida.

It's possible that Mme. Anna taught her daughter Zaida the millinery trade, and that Zaida subsequently became a skilled milliner and writer on the subject in her own right. Or, equally possible is that the unmarried Zaida operated as a milliner at times under the trade name of "Madame Anna," which was common for milliners to do--choose a pseudonym for a portion or all of their trade. Whether we're looking at one or two women's millinery careers, what details i did turn up is fascinating!

Here is a self-portrait of Zaida Ben-Yusuf:

( beautiful photograph and more biographical detail )