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He is dressed in drag as a dowager, including accessories and jewellery, holding a black and white striped umbrella.

The James Gardiner Collection. Photographs.

James Gardiner Collection: photograph album labelled Drag. 

James Gardiner Collection: photograph album labelled ‘Drag’.

1 print : process print, printed in blue ;  13.9 x 8.9 cm

A man in drag, wearing a large hat and veil, posing in a garden. 

Actors in an amateur theatrical performance in Brighton; Remlaf is a palindrome of Falmer, a place near Brighton. Identities of cast members are inscribed in pencil on verso of the postcard.

Actors in pantomime in Brighton: S. West playing King Robert of Remlaf and H. Taylor in drag as Queen Aggie of Remlaf. Photographic postcard.

He has dark styled hair and wears a feathered garment; he is posing face-on looking just above the line of the viewer

1 print : process print ; sheet 13.7 x 8.8 cm

Louis Hayden in drag. Process print, 1946.

Photograph of a man wearing a white summer dress with a ruffled skirt, a silk rose at the waist, and beret, holding a white umbrella, in front of a grotto. The man is possibly a British soldier participating in a concert party in France during World War One.

A man wearing a white dress at "Jays concert party".

"Derkas?" wears the towering feathered showgirl headdress pioneered by Gaby Deslys in the 1910s, and developed by Mistinguett in the Folies Bergères shows of the 1920s. Long afterwards It remained an integral part of costuming in spectacular revues, particularly in Paris and Las Vegas. The inscription on this card includes a question mark after the name 'Derkas', suggesting a nonbinary gender identity or expression as a performer. As this card is autographed and inscribed London 1928, it shows that there was sufficient interest in this form of entertainment in the 1920s for successful drag acts to be imported.

"Derkas ?", dressed in drag, on stage. Photographic postcard, 1928.

The man is dressed as an old woman and is holding a lighter for two men who lean in with cigarettes in their mouths. An unidentified music-hall trio, possibly three brothers named George, Joey and Joel Preston.

Three actors, one in drag, pose lighting cigarettes.

1 print : process print ; sheet 13.3 x 8.3 cm

Bert Errol, in character, wearing an elaborate white dress. Process print, 1925.

An unidentified concert party performer at Weston-super-Mare, early 1920s. Possibly the 'Mr. Wilfred Hatwell' named in pencil inscription on the verso of the item catalogued

A man in drag playing the piano. Photographic postcard by Legg (?) & Co., 192-.

Photograph of Gus Garrick wearing a checked dress, standing and looking at the viewer holding some knitting.
Gus Garrick was an actor who appeared at the Cambridge Theatre of Varieties in 1898, in Leeds in 1900, and in Sunderland in November 1914; he is also one of the people portrayed in Walter Lambert's painting 'Popularity' at the Museum of London (190-).

Gus Garrick in drag as a pantomime dame. 

Manders is shown seated holding a large feathery fan; and also standing, leaning on the bench gazing down at himself in drag. A clever photo-montage published as publicity for Willie Manders's concert appearances in Scarborough. Manders maintained a very youthful appearance into middle age

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A man in drag, wearing a large hat and veil, posing in a garden.

Actors in pantomime in Brighton: S. West playing King Robert of Remlaf and H. Taylor in drag as Queen Aggie of Remlaf. Photographic postcard.

Louis Hayden in drag. Process print, 1946.

A man wearing a white dress at "Jays concert party".

"Derkas ?", dressed in drag, on stage. Photographic postcard, 1928.

Three actors, one in drag, pose lighting cigarettes.

Bert Errol, in character, wearing an elaborate white dress. Process print, 1925.

A man in drag playing the piano. Photographic postcard by Legg (?) & Co., 192-.

Gus Garrick in drag as a pantomime dame.

Willie Manders in drag and in men's attire. Photographic postcard, 1914.

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A man in drag, wearing a large hat and veil, posing in a garden.

Actors in pantomime in Brighton: S. West playing King Robert of Remlaf and H. Taylor in drag as Queen Aggie of Remlaf. Photographic postcard.

Louis Hayden in drag. Process print, 1946.

A man wearing a white dress at "Jays concert party".

"Derkas ?", dressed in drag, on stage. Photographic postcard, 1928.

Three actors, one in drag, pose lighting cigarettes.

Bert Errol, in character, wearing an elaborate white dress. Process print, 1925.

A man in drag playing the piano. Photographic postcard by Legg (?) & Co., 192-.

Gus Garrick in drag as a pantomime dame.

Willie Manders in drag and in men's attire. Photographic postcard, 1914.

Stay in the know

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