A Significant Discovery - Louise Brooks First Ever Pic in a European Publication

Lately, I have been updating, revising, and adding pages to the Louise Brooks Society website. One of the pages I just added, "Louise Brooks at the Café de Paris in London",  focused on the few months the future actress spent in London, England in late 1924 and early 1925. I thought the page was done, and that nothing more might be added, when I made a significant discovery -- thanks to the assistance of my super sister-in-law, Becca. (Becca is not only my wife's sister, but she is also a longtime contributor to & member of the Louise Brooks Society. You can find her name on the LBS website, and in the acknowledgements of the four books I have authored.)

Following her suggestion, I decided to take one more look at the British newspaper databases, something I have looked at a few times before, but not recently. And BOOM, there it was, a mention of Louise Brooks' debut at the Café de Paris in London. This captioned photo appeared on the back page -- the picture page of the Monday, October 20, 1924 London Daily Chronicle. I was bowled over, as this marks the earliest mention and earliest depiction of Brooks in any European publication. Wowza!

After having researched this period in Brooks' life in every which way I thought I might -- from perusing British newspaper databases to visiting the British National Library while I was in London -- I never thought I would find any mention in a British publication of the future actress. After all, as others have pointed out, she was merely an American chorus girl who luckily landed a job in London as a supporting act at an up-and-coming nightclub. Though well known now, the Café de Paris had opened only a few months before Brooks landed there.

My webpage,"Louise Brooks at the Café de Paris in London", details how Brooks got there, and a little of what her life was like in London. On the page, there is another early picture of Brooks which mentions the Café de Paris, which was published in a German magazine in January, 1925. It is Brooks' second mention/depiction in a European publication. Remember, at this time, Louise Brooks hadn't yet appeared in a film, let alone stood in front of a camera.

I looked through the London Daily Chronicle for the next few days, hoping to find some kind of mention as to how things went at the nightclub -- even without a mention of Brooks -- but could find nothing. Here is a screen grab of the page on which Brooks appeared.

I am still a but stunned by having found this image, even if it is just a little something. My quest to find anything related to Brooks time at the Café de Paris has been long in the works. Below is a picture of me at the British Library some ten years ago. It's followed by another of me at the now closed nightclub. Be sure and check out "Louise Brooks at the Café de Paris in London". Thank you Becca!

 

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