Mae West: 1908

MAE WEST, with the rough baritone voice she had as a child, was often cast as a male in stock productions. She played the leading role of Little Lord Fauntleroy several times in Brooklyn theatres.
• • The British-born playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett [24 November 1849 — 29 October 1924] is best known for her children's stories, especially The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and (of course) Little Lord Fauntleroy.
• • Born in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, in England, Frances emigrated to America (Knoxville, Tennessee) after her father died in 1865.
• • Following the death of her mother in 1872, Frances became the head of the household. Pressed with the demands of supporting herself and four younger siblings, she looked for income from writing assignments.
• • Serialized in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1885, Little Lord Fauntleroy is a sentimental children's narrative that became a huge hit for the publication. In 1886, this work was separately published as a novel. The book was a commercial success for its author, and its fanciful sketches by Reginald Birch set fashion trends.
• • The Fauntleroy suit — — described by Frances Hodgson Burnett and sweetly illustrated via Reginald Birch's detailed pen-and-ink drawings — — created a major fad in formal attire for American middle-class children:
• • • • "What the Earl saw was a graceful, childish figure in a black velvet suit, with a lace collar, and with lovelocks waving about the handsome, manly little face, whose eyes met his with a look of innocent good-fellowship." — — Little Lord Fauntleroy
• • Clothing that Frances Hodgson Burnett popularized had been modeled on the garments she sewed by hand for her two sons, Vivian and Lionel. Under the influence of Birch's illustrations for Little Lord Fauntleroy, many middle-class American parents began dressing their sons in velvet suits with lace collars and sashes and short knee-pants, and to have their boys' hair curled into long ringlets like Cedric — — a mode that was considered aristocratic.
• • In 1921 a silent movie version was released starring Mary Pickford as Little Lord Fauntleroy.
• • Here is 15-year-old Mae West, costumed for the part in a theatrical production, in 1908 — — ninety-nine years ago.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1908 • •
NYC
Mae West.