Tag Archives: Jazz Age

This 'n' That

The bizarre tale of Mrs Smith Wilkinson

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The bizarre tale of Mrs Smith Wilkinson

Described variously as ‘The Countess of Monte Cristo’, ‘The Queen of Diamonds’ and ‘Madame Aladdin’, Mrs Smith Wilkinson can be seen as a society con-artist and one of the first wannabe celebrities. She made a rather big splash in Paris in the summer of 1921 causing much debate and gossip in the press thereafter. Whatever was all the fuss about?

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Art & Decor

Charles Gesmar

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Charles Gesmar by Angelo Luerti

Charles Ges(i)mar, simply known as Gesmar, was one of the greatest designers of costumes and posters during the golden age of the Paris music hall during the Jazz Age and was primarily renowned for his work for the great Parisian star Mistinguett. Although his tenure was short, his output was prolific and his creativity and talent unrivalled.

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Art & Decor

Hugh Willoughby

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The British artist Hugh Willoughby rose to prominence in the new wave of costume designers and illustrators that emerged after the First World War during the Jazz Age. He made a name for himself in London and Paris before moving to the USA in the mid 1920s.

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Cabaret

Welcome to the Cabaret

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Welcome to the Cabaret

Cabaret was one of the defining features of the Jazz Age and these supper entertainments were staged in a venue other than a theatre all over the world. Besides providing food, drink, jazz music and an entertainment, customers could also dance. Indeed dancing was the key to the 20th century cabaret craze. Continue reading Welcome to the Cabaret →

Dancing Duos

Moss and Fontana

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Moss and Fontana

Marjorie Moss and Georges Fontana were the most graceful and sought after British dancing duo in the Jazz Age. They secured high praise in London and Paris in the 1920s before conquering New York in the late 1920s and were regarded by some as ‘the greatest pair of dancers since the Vernon Castles.’

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Art & Decor

Einer Nerman

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Einer Nerman

The artist simply known as Nerman rose to stardom creating charming caricatures of theatrical and musical celebrities in the Jazz Age of the 1920s and Hollywood stars in the 1930s. But Einer Nerman also did much advertising work, book illustration and was an accomplished painter.

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Art & Decor, Dolly Tree

Dolly Tree illustrations

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Dolly Tree’s Jazz Age illustrations

Before she became an international renowned costume designer for stage and screen in the early 1920s, Dolly Tree excelled as an illustrator.

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Venues

The Classy Ciro’s Restaurant Chain

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The Classy Ciro’s Restaurant Chain

Among European high society Ciro’s became an institution and perhaps the first classy restaurant chain in Europe with main branches in Monte Carlo, Paris, London and Biarritz. Each venue was regarded as far more than a restaurant but the very centre of fashionable life.

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