Trade Catalogue of Rentable Dress Costumes
Original photograph album of a variety of costumes and accessories able to be rented from a photography studio in Derby, England, including outfits emblematic of the Imperial mindset of the 1920s.
Very good plus.
Price: $950.00
Trade Catalogue of Rentable Dress Costumes
Clowns, court pages in awfully short shorts, and a powder puff are just a few of the variety of fancy dress costumes to be rented from the County Carnival Stores (and photograph studio) in Derby – "an unlimited selection at reasonable prices" as described by the DERBY DAILY TELEGRAPH in September 1921, intended to be worn to events and celebrations. The outfits in this album range from the charming (a butterfly costume with wings and a matching hat with antennae) to the strange (who wants to dress up like a target?!) to the nationalist (the helmet, trident, and Union Flag-emblazoned shield of Britannia). Most notably, several costumes are of cultural dress, including a "Hindoo Rajah" and a "Spanish Gipsy," as well as "Scotch Dress," with a kilt and sporran. The accessories continue this theme: alongside fezzes, Native American headdresses, and turbans there are no fewer than 12 British military hats and helmets. The inclusion of these costumes speaks to the prevailing nationalism of the British Isles at the time, rebounding from the traumas of WWI while suppressing the rising volume of protests in the British Raj and elsewhere around the Empire.
The photograph studio predates the costume arm of the business, with this album likely being produced around 1920 and then stamped with the County Carnival Stores name sometime after; we find the earliest mention of the carnival name in 1924. This is reinforced by the label and price changes over the years. An attractive snapshot of both a cultural mindset and the history of having fun.
Read more: Derby Daily Telegraph, 2 September 1921.
The Object
Derby: n.p, [circa 1920]. 5.25'' x 3.25'' (most photographs); 7'' x 10.25'' (album). Original brown cloth boards with title stamped in black to front and rear. 26 photographs laid onto leaves recto and verso, 11 hand-colored, many with printed location "County Studios 1 & 2 Bold Lane Derby" printed to lower edge; 108 small black-and-white illustrated cutouts of hats and other accessories. Photos and illustrations all with captions, many on printed labels pasted over earlier captions. [8] thick leaves. Scattered pencil annotations. Binding with light edgewear, some soil; a bit shaken. Leaves with scattered faint soil, some photos with mild rubbing. Firm.
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