A shoeshine boy cleans the boots of a man in drag. Photographic postcard, ca. 1905.

I ought to charge her double.

The boy wears a registration number on his sleeve. In the background, a painted backdrop showing a city street. A photographic comic card produced by the firm of Bamforth, circa 1905. This genre of comic card, featuring 'Dame' type drag figures in comic situations set up in a photographic studio and bearing captions, may seem extremely misogynistic to some. They are the photographic equivalent of the seaside comic art cards (pioneered by Donald McGill) which were to remain a staple of British life for the best part of a century, and which are still produced in different forms

Part of James Gardiner Collection: photograph album labelled ‘Drag’.

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View At: https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b20643627
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Item Information:

Identifier: xw42n826g
Collection: James Gardiner 20th Century Drag Postcards
Institution: Wellcome Library
Date Issued: Jan. 1, 1905
Genre: Photographs
Prints
Topic(s): Female impersonators
Resource Type: Still Image
Analog Format: 1 photograph : photoprint ;
Rights: Copyright undetermined
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