{"id":4917,"date":"2017-06-21T14:41:09","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T21:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/?p=4917"},"modified":"2017-06-22T23:43:18","modified_gmt":"2017-06-23T06:43:18","slug":"salome-postcards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/2017\/06\/salome-postcards\/","title":{"rendered":"Salome – a postcard collection"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Costuming of Salome – Ephemera <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Hello gang! I just wanted to take a moment to share with you some of my growing collection of Salome images. Over the past 15 years or so, I\u2019ve been hunting postcards and other ephemera from the years 1890 – 1930. My goal is to trace the evolution of the image of Salome on stage, and later 0n screen. My goal is to one day write a book on the subject, and this collection will illustrate that publication. In addition, I\u2019m also collecting images of ethnic belly dancers from around the Mediterranean as well as European and American orientalist dancers.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Passion for Costume History<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

I am fascinated by the subject of Salome in early modern dance, theater, and opera costumes. Theatrical costuming, regardless of discipline, exists outside of the flow of fashion. Stage costumes, unlike daily clothing, are character defining, larger than life, and visually stunning. During the first 30 years of the 20th century, Salome’s \u201ccostume\u201d became very codified with specific design elements that defined who she was to the audience. Dozens of different Salomes graced the stage throughout Europe, the US, and Canada. It was a cultural phenomenon!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Merch isn\u2019t a new concept<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Late 19th century entertainers recognized the potential power of the new and modern art of photography for both advertising their shows and building their personal fame. What we call \u201cmerch\u201d today, began with theatrical cabinet cards and early postcards sold in theater lobbies. A patron of the theater could purchase a card of the cast and take it away, a keepsake and memory. These cards were produced in great quantity and saved as treasured mementos. This is a boon to historical researchers like myself, who can find them in the vintage ephemera market.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Salome in Post Cards & Ephemera <\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Of course, my mission will be to take these postcards and ephemera and to trace the evolution of the costume for Salome, using primary newspapers and journals for quotes about the shows, and how the spectacle of the\u00a0Salome\u00a0costume impacted the audience.\u00a0 <\/span>Over the next few weeks, I\u2019ll be filling in a spreadsheet with names of dancers, singers, and actresses who played Salome and when and where they performed. There were hundreds! \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"That’s not Salome!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the challenges I face as a researcher is identifying the women in these postcards. \u00a0As I populate my spreadsheet, I’m taking the time to seek out the information about this performer, the name of the play or opera, and what role she actually played. \u00a0This will allow me to separate the dancers from the singers, the Salomes from the Herodias. \u00a0Across the web, there are hundreds of misidentified images. \u00a0Not every picture that “looks” like Salome is actually her! \u00a0So when I find a postcard that appears to be Salome, but is actually a different role, I make note of that too. Sometimes, it looks like Salome and she’s actually Cleopatra in a recycled Salome\u00a0costume!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Will this be a book?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Though narrow in scope, I\u2019m finding more and more Salomes. I\u2019ll be continuing this research project for a few more years. When I have enough images in my collection to support the growing body of research, the transformation from notes and pictures, to an illustrated book will begin. \u00a0When I look at future projects, this is a 5-7 year project from this moment. With perseverance in research, and lots of luck in finding postcards and other ephemera this will be a lovely and fun read. \u00a0In the meantime, here are a few photos from my collection to enjoy!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To Research Projects!
\n<\/span>Dawn Devine ~ Davina
\n<\/span>6-20-2017<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>PS. Read More About Salome Today<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Wanna do some research of your own check out \u201cSisters of Salome\u201d by Toni Bentley, \u00a0a retired ballerina and dance researcher. Explores the lives of four women who embraced the character of Salome. Bentley explores their motivation and mindset behind the dance. She focusses on Maud Allen, Mata Hari, Ida Rubenstein & Colette. This book is filled with lots of juicy facts about these four infamous performers, and how playing the role of Salome impacted their life. Available on Amazon.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"<\/a>

The Costuming of Salome – Ephemera Hello gang! I just wanted to take a moment to share with you some of my growing collection of Salome images. Over the past 15 years or so, I\u2019ve been hunting postcards and other ephemera from the years 1890 – 1930. My goal is to trace the evolution of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-pubs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Salome-2.jpg?fit=700%2C1030&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YZtR-1hj","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4917"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4941,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917\/revisions\/4941"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davina.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}