Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20082 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Synopsis
This is a visual and narrative tour through the last, greatest generation of American burlesque queens. Liz Goldwyn's lifelong fascination with the inimitable glamour of classic burlesque inspired her to spend the past eight years corresponding with, visiting, interviewing, receiving striptease lessons from, and forming close relationships with the last generation of the great American burlesque queens. The author invites us to step back into an era when the hourglass figure was in vogue and striptease was a true art form. Goldwyn draws back the curtain to reveal the personal journeys of yesteryear's icons of female sexuality and power, restoring their legacy to an age that has all but forgotten them, despite today's resurgence of burlesque. Drawing from hundreds of archival photographs, costume sketches, newspaper clippings, and mementoes that Golwyn has collected along the way, "Pretty Things" is at once a feast for the eyes, a history of the art of burlesque, and a lovingly documented tale of fleeting stardom and self-discovery.

Customer Reviews

Best present ever!
I was given this beautiful book after my friend discovered I had my own wish list. It really is a wonderful collection of photographs and stories from an enchanted era. I know I will look at this book for inspiration again and again. Truly fabulous!

Pretty things indeed
This book is beautifully presented and contains a fantastic amount of information on the burlesque queens, their costumes and their lives.

A Beautiful Book
This is a beautiful book and would make a gorgeous present or look good on your coffee table- the cover itself is lovely. It is packed full of amazing pictures of burlesque queens and their costumes with great detail- copies of photos, handwritten notes and scraps of material. My only criticism is that the author sometimes appears quite naive and narcissistic- with a few photos of herself wearing the queens costumes- why? Apart from this it is a very sumptuous, glamorous, escapist book that you can loose yourself in.