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Rene Irene Grage Photograph and Ephemera Collection, 1921-1930s

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Grage, Rene Irene
Title
Rene Irene Grage Photograph and Ephemera Collection
Dates
1921-1930s (inclusive)
1928 (bulk)
Quantity
1 album of 82 photographic prints (1 box) ; various sizes
14 photographic prints (2 folders) ; 8 x 10 in.
8 items of ephemera (1 folders) ; various sizes
Collection Number
PH1229
Summary
Rene Irene Grage album, loose photographs and ephemera documenting her stage career and Mikado of Jazztour
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Rene Irene Grage (1904-1989) was the daughter of George and Hannah Grage who were both from Germany and later moved to llinois. Rene Irene Grage was one of the Abbott Dancers in the Mikado of Jazz production.

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Historical Background

In 1927, movie moguls Adolf Zukor and Jesse Lasky re-named the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation as the Paramount Publix Corporation, a nod to the Publix Theatres Corporation, Zukor's successful chain of movie theaters. Paramount-Publix Theatres commonly presented a film as well as a stage show such as The Mikado of Jazz.

The Mikado of Jazz was Paul Ash's updated version of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado. The show mixed jazz with opera and included comedians, singers, dancers, acrobats and the Mikado Geisha girls. Some of the company included Arch Cannon, Willard Audeline, Bob LaSalle and Evelyn Vee. The show was produced in Chicago and toured the United States for four months including a stop in Seattle on March 24, 1928. A 1928 newspaper article described the show in the following terms: "Image Yum-Yum, Koko, and Nanki-Poo alternating their stuff to modern tunes, and strutting the black bottom. Liquid hot syncopation trills from their weird-sounding instruments, and clever alternations from the serious to the ridiculous, feature this production."

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Content Description

Includes album created by Rene Irene Grage to document the Mikado of Jazz tour from Chicago, Illinois through Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. Also includes loose publicity photographs of performers. Ephemeral items include programs for dance performances presented by Chicago dance instructor Edna Lucille Baum, summer class announcements from the Pavley-Oukrainsky Ballet School, and other ephemera from the Chicago performing arts scene in the 1920s.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Selections of collection available on digital site. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Source: The Book Shop, 2013.

Processing Note

Processed by Elizabeth Russell, Susan Fitch, Stefanie Terasaki 2014.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

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Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographic prints

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Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)


2014 (Last modified: 4/13/2018)

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