This photo tumbled out of an old book I had purchased at a Memphis estate sale.
I love the composition. It perfectly captures the “moment” — an old-time audition, with a pretty girl on a fancy stage, dressed in a sexy costume, and singing her heart out, a piano in view in the bottom corner of the image. No bored piano player visible; that would have spoiled the effect.
The 5×7 photo has a rubber stamp on the back (see below), indicated it had been carefully inspected (I’ll bet!) and approved by U.S. Army censors, so this must have been mailed to, or from, somebody in the armed forces during World War II.
But who is she? Where is she performing? When did this take place?
We’ll probably never know. But I sure hope she got the part.
