Photograph by
Unidentified
Subject of
Cathrell, Laura, 1914 - 1999
Edison, Birdie Warfield, American
Unidentified Woman or Women
Unidentified Man or Men
Café St-Michel, Canadian
Date
early 20th-mid 20th century
Medium
silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions
H x W (Image): 7 11/16 × 9 5/8 in. (19.5 × 24.5 cm)
H x W (Sheet): 8 1/16 × 10 in. (20.5 × 25.4 cm)
Description
A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of five (5) performing showgirls. Each is depicted in a slightly different dance pose, caught mid-routine. The women are wearing identical costumes with short, medium-toned skirts and white bodices with beaded embellishments that decorate the front of the bodice. They each wear halo-style headdresses with sweetheart shaped front brims, decorated with feather plumes and beaded embellishments on the brim. Each dancer also wears arm-length fingerless gloves, also detailed with beading. The five (5) women dance in the foreground and mid-ground with musicians behind bandstands and audience members behind the dancers in the background. Laura Cathrell is the dancer in the right foreground and Birdie Warfield Edison is at the center. A painted wall mural in the far background depicts five (5) dancing women and one (1) kneeling man. Painted on a ceiling beam in the upper left corner of the image is block text that reads, [ST-MICHEL], followed by an octave clef, an eighth note, a sixteenth note, and a thirty-second note to the right of the text. There are no inscriptions on the front or back of the photograph.
Place captured
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, North and Central America
Collection title
The Laura Cathrell Show-Down Magazine Collection
Classification
Photographs and Still Images
Type
gelatin silver prints
portraits
Topic
Dance
Jazz (Music)
Nightlife
Photography
Theatre
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2013.46.25.61
Restrictions & Rights
Unknown - Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd523bfdd60-1e1d-48e2-a9ae-4fd0f8d3ac7b

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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