I’m selling these Valentine’s Day cards on Etsy!

The illustrations are also available as regular prints on my art site.

The final showgirl post, with some photos from the actual shows! I love the photos of the neon signs.

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More photos of the showgirls hanging out on the beach. Lots of great bikinis and swimsuits!

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Yesterday I came across this set of photos at the Google LIFE archives and was just enchanted. They show a troup of showgirls, probably on tour, in Florida. They hang out on the beach, go for a boat ride, do their laundry, shop and of course perform in their show. Apparently Danny Kaye was part of the show as he appears in quite a lot of the photos (though not in this post). There’s just something wonderful about these photos that makes you want to be there.

The only information listed was the name of the set, “Showgirls in Florida”, that they were taken in 1947 and that the photographer was called Allan Grant (!?). I wish I could read the article they were taken for, if they were ever used. There are tons of photos so I’ve broken them up into three posts. This first one has photos of the girls just generally hanging out in Florida.

Many of the photos show beautiful buildings and places, and lots of Art Deco design. Any Floridian readers that recognise the locations?

While I’m on the subject of Florida: I would love to visit Miami sometime in the not too distant future, for the Art Deco architecture and also because it’s such an iconic 80s city. However, besides going on some kind of architecture tour I really have no idea what to do there (combining it with a Disney World trip goes without saying), so I would love tips! Perhaps going to the Everglades? I love swamps.

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