Louise Brooks included in early Ted Shawn book

Another of my recent eBay wins is Shawn Der Tanzer, by Katherine S. Drier. This pictorial book, which surveys the artistry of one of the founders of the Denishawn Dance Company, was published in Berlin, Germany in 1933 by Drei Masken Verlag. I really didn't know much of anything about this book, aside from having seen it listed in various bibliographies. Nevertheless, I thought I would take a chance on it and bid. Fortunately, I won the auction for a modest amount.

Though she is not mentioned by name, I was pleased to find four images in the book of the Denishawn company which include Louise Brooks. (There may be two others.) This publication does not mark the actress' first pictorial representation in a book, as that distinction belongs to Picture Show Annual 1928, a book about the movies published in London, England. It does mark her earliest pictorial representation as a dancer. (Brooks time as a member of the Denishawn Dance Company was seldom mentioned in books or scholarly publications until the 1980s.)

The book includes photographs by Ralph Hawkins, along with Rudolf, Robertson, Binder, Does, Hirano, Mortensen, Townsend, Hiller, Muray, Sunami, Snyder, White Studios, Selby Studios, Bigelow und Arthur Kales

Notably, the author, Katherine S. Drier, was an American artist and important art collector and co-founder of the Société Anonyme, as well as a friend and associate of Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray. The latter was a fan of Louise Brooks.

What's also notable and intersting about this particular copy of the book is that it was distributed in the United States. On its front endpapers, the book bears a trade label for the B. Westerman Co of New York City. I don't know if they were a book distributor or book shop or both. Nevertheless, one wonders if Louise Brooks herself or denizens of New York or fans of Denishawn or modern dance noticed the images of Brooks in this early book. (Though admittedly you have to know its her to pick her out. The images are not very well reproduced. Hence, my four or maybe six notation.) 

Here is one of the pages from Shawn Der Tanzer which includes a picture of Denishawn from the time Louise Brooks was a member. The teen aged dancer and future actress can be seen on the second level of the structure on the left. She is sitting in the image on the top, and standing along side Ted Shawn in the image on the bottom.

Louise Brooks envelope

Like other Louise Brooks fans, I keep an eye on eBay, where I occasionally have the luck to win something I've bid on. Recently, I won a batch of Louise Brooks clippings, some of which came from a vintage scrapbook. Good stuff.

To my surprise, the clipping arrived in a hand drawn envelope featuring a delightful image of Louise Brooks. I like it so much I had to share it. Thank you to the artist, who I assume was the eBay seller.

Oh, and here is one of the clippings I won, a photo spread for The Canary Murder Case (1929) in which Brooks starred as the Canary. What's unusual about this clipping is that it contains an image (middle right) of the actress smiling.

Louise Brooks Society on Twitter

The Louise Brooks Society Twitter account ( @LB_Society) is located at https://twitter.com/LB_Society   To date, the LBS has tweeted 1,775 times and has nearly 1,400 followers. Check it out. And be sure and follow the LBS on Twitter!

Street of Forgotten Men inspires illustrated sermon lecture

The Street of Forgotten Men (1925) is the first film in which Louise Brooks had a role. Its realistic treatment of the down and out moved many and inspired at least a few, including this Brooklyn pastor who gave an illustrated sermon lecture not long after the film was released.

The Original Lassie, surprise star of The Street of Forgotten Men

A dog named Lassie appeared in The Street of Forgotten Men (1925), the first film in which Louise Brooks had a role. This, of course, is not the Lassie of later film and television fame. Here's the story behind the original Lassie's once famous role in that sensational film.

Welsh National Opera stages Berg’s Lulu, screens Pandora's Box starring Louise Brooks

Welsh writer and Louise Brooks fan Dilwyn Roberts-Young has let me know that the Welsh National Opera will be staging Alban Berg’s 1937 opera Lulu, as well as screening the 1929 silent film  Pandora's Box with live musical accompaniment on February 20th. The opera and screening of Blwch Pandora (the Welsh title of Pandora's Box) are part of the Welsh National Opera season devoted to "Free Spirits." Here is what their website has to say:

"Free Spirits is the first of our themed seasons. It brings together two of the greatest operas of the 20th century, Janáček’s The Cunning little Vixen and Berg’s Lulu. Both pieces pose profound questions about how much freedom we desire and how much we can tolerate and still remain a functioning society.

She is a vision of freedom too pure to be allowed to last. Everyone is drawn to Lulu, intoxicated by her; those in her thrall are like moths to a flame. Her flame burns bright and fast but sooner or later it will be extinguished by the very things it once fed upon.

Berg’s second and final opera is a masterpiece – total theatre. Anyone wishing to see the greatest works in the repertoire must include Lulu in their list. Few composers invite their audiences unflinchingly to confront humanity’s darkest regions in the way that Berg does here. Lulu promises a shattering but rewarding experience for those who encounter it.

Welsh National Opera has an important association with this great composer’s work: WNO gave the first British performances of Lulu in the 1970s and won acclaim and awards for our 2005 production of Wozzeck. David Pountney is one of the world’s most influential opera directors. This production of Lulu is his first new production in his role as our Chief Executive and Artistic Director."

The cast includes:
Lulu - Marie Arnet / Countess Geschwitz - Natascha Petrinsky / Wardrobe Mistress/Schoolboy - Patricia Orr / Doctor Schön/Jack the Ripper - Ashley Holland / Alwa - Peter Hoare / Artist/Negro - Mark le Brocq / Schigolch - Richard Angas / Prince/Manservant/Marquis - Alan Oke / Athlete / Acrobat - Julian Close

Conductor - Lothar Koenigs / Director - David Pountney / Set Designer - Johan Engels / Costume Designer - Marie Jeanne Lecca / Lighting Designer - Mark Jonathan

Lulu is a co-production with the National Theatre in Prague. The running time is approximately 3 hours 30 minutes including two intervals. The opera will be sung in German with surtitles in English (and Welsh in Cardiff and Llandudno). Download the 2012/2013 season brochure by clicking here. It contains an image of Louise Brooks, and links the actress to the character of Lulu.

Gayle Forman's New Novel, Just One Day, has a Character Named Lulu

Gayle Forman's new novel, Just One Day (Dutton Juvenile), has been getting a lot of attention lately. It's a teen romance described as a journey toward self-discovery and true love. 

"When sheltered American good girl Allyson Lulu Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines."

MTV's Hollywood Crush website calls Just One Day "Part romance, part travelogue, part coming-of-age tale" and notes that  Lulu is the name Willem bestows upon Allyson thanks to her likeness to Louise Brooks.Similarly, the New York Times noted "He calls her Lulu, the nickname of the silent film actress Louise Brooks, and neither asks her real name nor discloses much about himself." 

I haven't read the book, but would be curious to hear from anyone who has if there are any other allusions or references to Louise Brooks. For more on the actress and her influence on 20th century literature, see my Huffington Post article, "Louise Brooks - Cover Girl and Secret Muse of the 20th Century."

More about Gayle Forman can be found on her website at www.gayleforman.com/.