All posts by Jazz Age Club

The Fascination of Mah Jong

The Fascination of Mah Jong

One of the more curious fads that took America and then Europe by storm in the Jazz Age was the Chinese game of Mah Jong – the result of a long history of the West’s cultural assimilation of many aspects of Chinese culture.

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Queer Paris

Queer Paris

Paris had gained a reputation for the variety of its nighttime pleasures and for its free and easy attitude toward life in general. Within this climate of relative tolerance many specialised same-sex establishments were opened and a gay sub-culture thrived in the 1920s.

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The Mountain Resort of Aix-Le-Bains

The Mountain Resort of Aix-Le-Bains

Established by the Romans, Aix-Le-Bains became the most famous of the French ‘cure’ towns and made the most fashionable mountain resort by European society in the 1920s.

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British Couture vs. Paris Couture

British Couture vs. Paris Couture

It has always been accepted that Paris was and still is the centre of haute couture; and that Parisian couturiers were and still are the most artistic and innovative. This is largely true, but what is often not stressed enough is that during the Jazz Age many of the major couturiers active in Paris were British and that London has always been equally at the forefront of fashion, but was simply not as visible.

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Who was Snow Ball?

Who was Snow Ball?

Snowball (Boule de Neige) gained a fabulous entre into the Parisian music hall by appearing with the glamorous Dolly Sisters in their 1927 revue at the Casino de Paris, Paris-New York. He appeared in several numbers including one where he partnered the Dolly Sisters and in another playing the banjo. He was described as an artist aged nine years old. A few years later Snowball re-surfaces in C.B Cochran’s show Wake Up and Dream at the London Pavilion in 1929.

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The Parisian Institution of Maxims Restaurant

The Parisian Institution of Maxim’s Restaurant

One of the most important additions to the Parisian landscape in the late Nineteenth Century was the legendary Maxim’s restaurant. It has continued to shine as a beacon of excellence for over a century and has become a symbol of Parisian elegance and chic.

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Murrays River Club: A Rendezvous of Ragtime and Romance

Murray’s River Club: A Rendezvous of Ragtime and Romance

The American Jack May was instrumental in developing the nightclub scene in London shortly before the First World War and famously opened the legendary Murray’s Club in Beak Street in 1913. At about the same time, or shortly afterward. he opened a summer resort – Murray’s River Club – at Maidenhead that became the playground for the rich and famous.

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The Hengler Sisters

The Hengler Sisters

At the turn of the century the Hengler Sisters (May and Flora) were child protegees of society who became stars on both sides of the Atlantic, famous for their singing and dancing act. But gossip suggested that huge bills for their stage dresses and transatlantic fares consumed nearly all they earned. They were one of the first trail-blazing sister acts that would later become such a popular feature of the Jazz Age.

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Edmund Sayag

Edmund Sayag’s Extravaganza’s

Variously described as the ‘liveliest man in show business’, ‘showman par excellence’ and ‘the Florenz Ziegfeld of Europe,’ Edmund Sayag arose to prominence in the mid 1920s owning or managing several prestigious European venues. He was hailed for putting Ostend back on the map and making Les Amabassadeur café-restaurant in Paris, the world’s most famous night-time rendezvous for the rich and famous.

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The Magic of The Windmill Man

The Magic of The Windmill Man

At Christmas, traditional pantomime ruled theatres nationwide, but some interesting and curious Christmas fairy plays also emerged after the turn of the century including such delights as Peter Pan, Where the Rainbow Ends, The Blue Bird and Make Believe. Another big success was the charming production of The Windmill Man, which at its heart was a quaint moral tale condeming selfishness. Produced by the actor Bert Coote it was given its first performance on 26th December 1921 at the Victoria Palace Theatre.

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