Skip to main content
Hilda Wetton A large group of costume designs for showgirls, circa 1930's, Qty image 1
Hilda Wetton A large group of costume designs for showgirls, circa 1930's, Qty image 2
Hilda Wetton A large group of costume designs for showgirls, circa 1930's, Qty image 3
Hilda Wetton A large group of costume designs for showgirls, circa 1930's, Qty image 4
The Murray's Cabaret Club Archive
Lot 52AR

Hilda Wetton: A large group of costume designs for showgirls,
circa 1930's, Qty

13 October 2020, 13:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £1,785 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Popular Culture specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

Hilda Wetton: A large group of costume designs for showgirls,

circa 1930's,
approximately 27 designs, each handpainted gouache, watercolour and pencil on paper, featuring showgirls and dancers in costumes for various different sequences including some in Spanish dresses, top-hats, feathers/fur, sailor's outfits, capes, bell-girl outfits, foliage, etc, two with fabric swatches, some with annotations, unsigned, various sizes, designs approx. 12in x 6in (30cm x 15cm) (Qty)

Footnotes

Hilda Wetton's 'fan dancers' extended a form of entertainment seen at the popular Windmill Theatre to the nightclub scene; historically, the dancers dodged censorship laws that forbade nudes to move on stage by skilfully manipulating a set of ostrich feathers so as to titillate though never reveal all. Hilda also designed for the notorious Murray's Cabaret Club. Her designs are immediately recognisable from their showgirls' long eye-lashes, rouged lips and coy expressions.

Literature:
Levy, Benjamin, 'Murray's Cabaret Club: Discovering Soho's Secret', (The History Press), 2019. Foreward by Dita Von Teese.

Additional information

Bid now on these items

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...