Alfred Cheney Johnston: The Photographer Who Glorified the Ziegfeld Girl
Alfred Cheney Johnston photographed the Ziegfeld Follies for a dozen years. His studio method, his letters, his failures, and why his pictures outlived him.
What Was Salomania? America’s Salome Dance Craze
Salomania was the Salome dance craze that swept American and European stages between 1907 and the mid-1920s.
What Is the Story of Salome?
Who was Salome, and why won’t she leave us alone? The full story—from a nameless dancing girl in the Gospels to the femme fatale of Wilde, Strauss, and the modern stage.
Edythe Baker: The Ragtime Piano Prodigy Linked to Two Royal Brothers
Edythe Baker (1899–1971) was an American pianist and recording artist who rose from a Kansas City music-store counter to London stardom. She was also linked to romance in high places: King Edward VIII, along with his playboy brother the Duke of Kent. And, of all people, Winston Churchill. At 19 the trade press hailed her…
Ziegfeld Girls: Beauty, Fame, and Life in the Follies
The Ziegfeld Girls were showgirls selected for Florenz Ziegfeld’s Broadway revues and promoted as ideals of American beauty, glamour, and modern womanhood. A century ago, a line of women glided languidly into the glow of the footlights on a Broadway stage. Some nearly nude, they shimmered with feathers, jewels, satin, and sequins. The audience watched…
