Cross-Dressing Photo Archive Spanning Decades of Queer Resistance to Gender Roles and Anti-Masquerading Laws, 1860s-1940s

Cross-Dressing

Photograph

[Drag and Cross-Dressing] Vernacular cross-dressing photo archive spanning from the 1860s to 1940s, and chronicling decades of cross-dressing in portraits, theatrics, and candid self expression, with direct relevance to LGBTQ+ visual history and the history of gendered fashion in everyday life. The archive preserves images of women posing in men's suits and military style clothing, men wearing dresses, ladies' hats, bathing attire, and performers posing in costume. This group documents transgressive gender play circulated through studio photography, postcards, social outings, family gathering, and private parties long before the modern visibility and acceptance of drag and trans communities in the United States.

Archive of 23 photographs, including mostly silver gelatin snapshots, five real photo postcards, two cartes de visite, and one tintype measuring approximately 2 x 2 inches to 4.5 x 6.5 inches. ca. 1880s-1950s. Early images include a mounted oval studio portrait of three women in profile, the central figure in bowler hat, jacket, tie, and spectacles; an 1860s carte de visite of an elderly figure with a mustache in a bonnet and dress and a tintype of two sitters in which a man wears a women's hat. A studio postcard from 1905 shows two women posed romantically in 18th century costume captioned “Misses. Grieve & May.” and “Gainsboro Series,” with the caption on verso addressed to "Miss L. Wheelman" reading "Picture Girls as promised. Hope you like it, from your brother, Charlie". Another theatrical image show a group of 16 men in late 18th century costume including boys in wigs and dresses. Two snapshots show women in overalls and men's hats. Another real photo postcard a full-length portrait of a performer in an Edwardian riding outfit and a full face of feminine kabuki-style makeup. One small snapshot shows a young Asian woman with bobbed hair posing seriously in a suit and tie. A 1940-stamped snapshot with the verso mark “Riley’s Perfect Prints / May 18 1940” shows a man and a woman both cross-dressing and posed together with a handwritten caption "June Has her birthday the same day Dave has / Here they are / Howdy". Other images from the 40s include a snapshot of a man in a floral headpiece, women's sweater, and skirt striking a comic pose, and a comedic portrait of a man wearing a wig and skirt and holding a doll beside a young girl in an oversized suit and hat captioned "March 20 - '48 / Luela".
These photographs show a long tradition of cross-dressing and queer spaces, and preserves several exceptional images with a serious and deliberate air of self expression rather than comedy or theatrics. Many sitters present themselves with poise over humor, and several paired portraits carry the visual language of same-sex flirtation, or companionship. Visible wear includes toning, edge wear, creasing, silvering, small abrasions, a few corner losses, and one area of emulsion loss obscuring part of a figure. Overall very good condition. A varied record of gender nonconformity and queer self-expression across more than half a century.

Item #23159

Price: $3,800.00