23 Issues of “Cabaret” Magazine, May 1955-Sept. 1957, Plus 2 Quarterleys and a Yearbook.
Lot 747. 23 Issues of “Cabaret” Magazine, May 1955-Sept. 1957, Plus 2 Quarterleys and a Yearbook. Burlesque and jazz are the focus of this publication. Issues are for 1955: May (Vol. 1, No. 1), June, Aug., Nov., Dec., four ex, one vg-ex. 1956: Jan.-April, June-Aug. and Oct.-Dec., one nm, one ex-m, one ex+, four ex, two vg+ to ex and one vg. 1957: Jan.-May and July-Sept., one nm, two ex-m+, one ex-m, two ex+, one ex and one vg+ to ex. Among the cover girls are Marlene Dietrich (and Bettie Page on the inside of the cover), Sheree North, Lilly Christine, June Allyson, Meg Myles, Denise Darcel, Tempest Storm, Jayne Mansfield, Jennie Lee and Joan Bradshaw. Jayne Mansfield is on the covers of two Quarterleys, Volumes 5 and 7 for 1956, vg+ and vg+ to ex, respectively. The 1955 Yearbook (Volume 2) has Gwen Verdon on the front cover, vg+. These Quarterleys are spiral-bound. Most regular issues contain one or more articles on night clubs with photos of celebrities, musicians or singers, typically jazz, strip clubs and burlesque entertainers. In the inaugural issue, for example, Peggy Lee, Kay Star, Eartha Kitt, Rosemary Clooney, Dorothy Dandridge, Betty Hutton, Sophie Tucker, Dorothy Shay, Lena Horne and Hildegarde are presented as “American’s Top Ten Café Singers.” Articles in other issues deal with Muggsy Spanier; Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, Paul Desmond and others; the “Night Club of the Stars”; Sammy Davis Jr.; Julie Wilson, the “queen of cabaret”; Elvis, in a four-page article that asks “Who the Hell is Elvis Presley?; Louis Armstrong; Eartha Kitt; “Jazz Joints”; Ella Fitzgerald; Lionel Hampton; Rosemary Clooney and others. Each issue has an article and photo spread on one or more cabarets. And each edition, all with 48 pages or more, has an abundance of photos of popular dancers - new and established stars. Starting with the Aug. 1956 issue, each edition has a color centerfold “Queen of the Month,” including: Dixie Evans, the “Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque”; Jennie Lee, Lili St. Cyr, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Tura Satana, and Joy Reynolds. The Yearbook contains 74 pages on New York night life, with six pages of Jayne Mansfield photos and 10 pages of “Glamour Queens.” Volume 5 provides burlesque scenes of Honolulu, Miami, New Orleans and Havana, and Volume 7, Denver, Border Towns, Las Vegas and Honolulu. Winning Bid $55.
