Between the Covers

Unbound. An archive of 97 black and white or sepia-toned gelatin silver photographs and real photo postcards measuring between 2" x 3" and 8" x 10" with some captions. All items very good with paper remnants from photo album pages on the versos.

An archive of photographs following Katherine “Kay” La Rose, a dance marathon competitor in the 1930s. This collection includes photographs and real photo post cards of various marathon dance couples, most signed in the negative by the various dancers. Many of them include handwritten messages to Kay on the versos. Kay is seen posed with her dance partner in a number of images and with their trainer. She also listed marathons she participated in on the back of a magazine photo of Clara Bow. The list includes the place, the number of days the event lasted, number of hours danced, and prizes won. The first marathon dance she listed was at Old Orchard, Maine, which lasted 77 days from June to September 1933, from which she emerged in 2nd place. Other dances listed took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (where she finished 4th), Vermilion, Ohio (where she finished 2nd) Revere Beach, Massachusetts (placing 3rd), and finally 1st prize at a Youngstown, Ohio dance that went on for 120 days.

La Rose was also a singer in addition to her dance talents and would occasionally perform at the dance marathons. Some of the inscriptions featured here mention her singing, with compliments such as, “a real marathon dancer and a voice of a nightingale,” “to the Kay Songster and Nightingale of the Marathon,” and “best torch singer ever.” Additional images of marathon couples' weddings are seen, a gimmick often employed during the events.

The dance marathon craze started with dance contests in the 1920s and developed into wildly popular entertainment events during the Great Depression. Audiences paid to watch the grueling endurance contests which sometimes lasted for over 100 days. Their popularity peaked during the 1930s, when they provided contestants and spectators with both food and shelter and the opportunity to win large cash prizes during the economic uncertainty of that decade.

A remarkable collection of photographs documenting a woman’s experience during the dance marathon craze of the 1930s.

Item #455444