Sunday, September 20, 2009

A youthful Louise Brooks


This unusual though not rare image of a youthful Louise Brooks is for sale on eBay. I have seen it before, though it has been seldom reproduced. According to the seller, it comes from the September 1925 issue of Arts and Decoration magazine. The portrait of Brooks, then a showgirl and likely no older than 18 years old at the time, is by John DeMirjian - the same photographer involved in the "draped nudes" scandal & lawsuit. The image was part of an article by the famous theater critic George Jean Nathan.

7 comments:

Artman2112 said...

no doubt few women ever photographed as well as Louise did. i never saw this image before so TY for posting it!

Vanwall said...

A nice early picture of Louise, and before The Pickshas got ahold of her. 18 and a principal dancer in the Follies - pretty damn good.

Disposable Darling said...

I've never seen it before, either. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Re: Fay Lanphier ... and "Miss Bayport"
!Unable to Comment at "Flying Elephants"!

United Press had a pointed lead, eh? "The crown of 'Miss America' rests today on the blonde unbobbed head of Miss Fay Lanphier, of Oakland, Calif."

Gleaned from FultonHistory.com ... The week after The American Venus premiered in Buffalo in March, 1926, Fay Lanphier appeared at Shea's Buffalo Theater in a stage revue, "Venus of Greenwich Village". The movie on the bill was Womanhandled, with Esther Ralston (directed by onetime Rochester resident Gregory LaCava). ... The Buffalo Theater had opened in January; it was still unfinished. (The pipe organ is still going strong today -- and tonight: the opening of the musical "Chicago".)

On Thursday, April Fool's Day, Lanphier was at the Underwood office from 11:30 to 12:30 to show "for the first time in Buffalo" the New Underwood Standard Portable Typewriter (with Four Bank Keyboard). Bob or no bob: what a sheba!

As you may recall ... In June, 1934, a where-are-they-now story from United Press mentions Lanphier's vaudeville stint but says nothing of her movies. Three years later, an update on her second husband, Winfield Daniels: "He now operates a bookstore in Berkeley."
_.._ _.._

My dad had Laurel & Hardy's Two Tars on 8mm from Blackhawk Films, but I seemed to prefer the Three Stooges.
_.._ _.._

Since Louise Brooks played Miss Bayport ... Fulton reveals a Miss Bayport (Long Island) beauty contest was held at Fair Acres (estate) in 1933. The winner went on to the Miss South Shore contest; James Dunn (Borzage's "Bad Girl") was a judge, and Miss Bay Shore was victorious in "a red, biege and blue pajama ensemble and a picture hat." ... Victoria Dessart played Miss Bayport in a "three-act musical comedy and society minstrel show" in Brightwaters (Long Island) on July 4th, 1911. News of her engagement came that October: "...She has been a girl of much activity in the social world and is widely known. George Wigham is one of the best amateur dancers in society, and has figured extensively in amateur theatricals."

P.S. I hadn't seen the DeMirjian either. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Never seen it before too.

For "the draped nudes" thing.. she doesn't seem to have more than a draped and a nude on her..
¨
PascalP

Gary said...

Aaaahhh, fantastic. I love finding pics that aren't already in my collection. She is just a joy to stare at. Thanks for posting this.

doc Martens Boots said...

what I can say about this post
good work keep it up
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