Ann Pennington teaching Felix the Cat how to dance the “Black Bottom” (1927)

The “Black Bottom” refers to a dance which became popular in the 1920s, originating among African Americans in the rural South. It was adopted by mainstream American culture  and became a national craze in the 1920s.

The dance was most famously performed by Ziegfeld Follies star Ann Pennington (1893 – 1971) , who danced the Black Bottom in a Broadway revue put on by Ziegfeld’s rival George White in 1926. The dance was first popularized in New York by the African American show Dinaah that had been staged in Harlem in 1924, after Pennington performed the Black Bottom on Broadway, the dance became a national phenomenon, overtaking The Charleston in popularity.

Ann Pennington teaches Felix the Cat the Black Bottom, 1927 via

Ann Pennington teaches Felix the Cat the Black Bottom, 1927 via

Ann Pennington teaches Felix the Cat the Black Bottom, 1927 via

Ann Pennington teaches Felix the Cat the Black Bottom, 1927 via

Ann Pennington teaches Felix the Cat the Black Bottom, 1927 via

Ann Pennington teaches Felix the Cat the Black Bottom, 1927 via

A Collection of Vintage Portraits by Edward Thayer Monroe

Edward Thayer Monroe was born in Jamestown, New York, in 1890, into a family of photographers. His grandfather, Myron C. Monroe, pioneered wet-plate photography, recording Civil War scenes and shooting the first American images of Jenny Lind for P.T. Barnum. E.T. Monroe turned down the opportunity to attend Yale University, choosing a technical education instead. He received extensive practical training at a photographic processing plant in Syracuse and opened a home studio. In October 1914, the Dinturff Company of Syracuse hired him as “artistic portrait photographer” and his prints began circulating among magazine editors in the Northeast.

Louise Brooks by Edward Thayer Monroe via

Dorothy Stone by Edward Thayer Monroe via

Helen Lee Worthing by Edward Thayer Monroe, 1922 via

Anastasia Reilly (Ziegfeld Follies) by Edward Thayer Monroe via

Nita Naldi by Edward Thayer Monroe, 1925 via

Mary Nolan by Edward Thayer Monroe via

Ann Pennington by Edward Thayer Monroe via