Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
England. Postmarked 1906.
Vesta Tilley (1864-1952), the greatest male impersonator in the history of the English music hall, had a career which lasted more than thirty years. Her real name was Matilda Alice Powles, and her first act of male impersonation was at the age of six. She was popular not only among English working class males, but among women as well, who saw in her an enviable independence. In 1912, she performed in America, while the height of her career came during the First World War, when she and her husband appeared together on stage in a campaign to encourage military recruitment. In this real photo postcard, Miss Tilley poses in one of her most popular personas, that of an upper class English gentleman.
