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San Francisco circa 1925. "Cunningham auto and chorus girls." A little of everything going on here -- vaudeville, car trouble, assault! 6½ x 8½ inch glass negative, originally from the Wyland Stanley collection. View full size.
Outrageously Great Image, however I am perplexed by what appears to be an unusual sign? between the arms of the gal on the upper right and even more so that the lower portion is showing thru her lower left arm, which appears to be semi-transparent albeit not in motion, allowing for the common spectral effect. My only logical guess is that it might be some type of associated prop that might be attached the the radiator cap that would be hidden behind her thigh ? and what is the rest of the word that shows only US ? So who can shed some light on any of these three mysteries ?
Where does one even begin with those "amazing" costumes? The hats! The one on the bottom left looks like a black goose is sitting on her head. The top right looks like the top of a wedding cake. The patterned stockings of the French maid are awesome, and I might want a pair of those today. The batwing fur coat on the top left... she looks like she's about to take off like a flying squirrel. I don't know what to say about that cage cape contraption on the bottom right. I'm sure it was the height of theatrical fashion of the twenties, but makes for some amusing speculation. All in all, one of my favorite Shorpy photos!
Outrageously Great image, however I am perplexed by what appears to be an unusual sign? between the arms of the gal on the upper right and even more so that the lower portion is showing thru her lower left arm which appears to be semi-transparent albeit not in motion allowing for the common spectral effect. My only logical guess is that it might be some type of associated prop that might be attached to the radiator cap that would be hidden behind her thigh ? and what is the rest of the word that shows only US ? So, who can shed light on any of these three mysteries?
[There's some doubling in other areas as well, which suggests either subject movement or a partial double exposure. The sign is probably a graphic or ad for the troup, the "us" being part of "chorus". -tterrace]
Jay Leno has a 1920 Cunningham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv1-0O2RvQE
His also has the period signature aluminum steps, rather than running boards, of the Rochester New York made Cunninghams.
Hubba hubba, uh ... I suppose. I'm not convinced that this setup would have been entirely titillating even in 1925.
Is that Jack Lemmon changing the tire?
I assume Flatbush is admiring the fluffy one with a hammer.
Personally, I prefer musical notation.
As an old car buff, I couldn't help but notice one especially, ah, sweet-looking chassis.
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