Pretty Things: The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens

By Liz Goldwyn

Book Overview

"The most comprehensive study on the era of burlesque." --V MagazineTraining her journalist's eye on the glitter and glamour of American burlesque's Greatest Generation, Liz Goldwyn takes readers on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060889446
• ISBN13: 9780060889449
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Dey Street Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 3.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 1.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Stunning

I just received this book in the mail, and i have only one word for it - Stunning. This book is full of beautiful photos and sketches of original costumes, and there's a wealth of written information to go with the pretty pictures! Even the presentation is lovely, i'm really impressed with the matte pink binding - it'll look great in my book case ;) Go ahead and order this book, you won't be disappointed.

A Fine Tribute

An artistic design layout provides the reader with lots of photos and scrapbook pages of original costume sketches, fabric swatches, letters, postcards, and lots more. This visual collage is a wonderful piece of film toward understanding the life these women lived. Their attitude and sex appeal as we know it only disguised the reality of their life, tough working conditions and a career contingent of youth and beauty eventually leading these women to fall on hard times and in the end forgotten.

Highly recommended!

An enlightening look at a largely misunderstood/misinterpreted art form, this book combines rigorous scholarship, engaging narrative, rare photos, and well-executed design. Liz Goldwyn's love of the subject matter is clear and infectious. Highly recommended, as is the author's HBO special of the same name.

Proving there's no 'burly' in burlesque

"Pretty Things" will make any modernist long for this by-gone era of subtle seduction and skill. The text and incorporated research are as beguiling as the photographs and innovative mix of graphics. A piece to swoon over and share with all.

A Pretty Thing Indeed!

The scholarly introduction is the first dropped shoulder strap promising all the pretty things to come. And we are carried away to behold the depths and heights and endless invention of the fine art of burlesque by the ladies who are never at a loss for a loss; creative and subtle. This book belongs in every library in every home because it is about all the things that make life worth while and it deserves recognition for its artistic and educational merit.