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Not currently on display at the V&A

Costume design by Ronald Cobb

Costume Design
1946 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This design is for a show-girl's costume in Glamour of the Veils, a revue produced by ENSA, or the Entertainments National Service Association, in 1946. Glamorous numbers with exotic dancers were a popular aspect of the light-hearted wartime revues frequently produced at the time at London's Windmill Theatre, in West End theatres, and around the country. Ronald Cobb was something of a specialist in witty designs for show-girls' costumes, and in the early 1950s produced even more elaborate designs for costumes at the London nightclubs Eve's and Murray's Cabaret Club.

Glamour of the Veils starred Marqueez, the stage name of Marqueez Alkin, an exotic dancer who had previously appeared in several large West End revues including Strike a New Note1943, Strike It Again!,1944, The Night and the Music1945, and Fine Feathers, 1945. The show was produced by John C. Mather, who devised his first show to entertain the Kinross Home Guards in his home town of Kinross, near Perth, Scotland, in 1941.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleCostume design by Ronald Cobb (generic title)
Materials and techniques
pencil, pen and ink, watercolour and bodycolour on cartridge paper
Brief description
Costume design for one of five girls in Glamour of the Veils, 'the Wonder Show' produced by John C. Mather for ENSA, 1946. Signed and dated Ronald Cobb 46. Watercolour and pencil on card. Given by Rose-Mary McClory.
Physical description
Costume design by Ronald Cobb for one of five girls in an unspecified scene in Glamour of the Veils of a blonde girl standing, full-length, her right hand pointing at shoulder height to her neck, her left hand on her hip, with three bunches of red grapes decorating her pink, veiled headdress. She wears a black and green top with short sleeves, cut off under the bust, a bare midriff and a green leaf-inspired motif on her black briefs. Designed for 'The Wonder Show', 'the Finest Dressed Show on Tour', produced by John C. Mather for ENSA, 1946. Signed and dated Ronald Cobb 46. Signed and dated Ronald Cobb 46. With slight pencil sketches verso of bodices and the word 'Pink'.
Dimensions
  • Height: 50.8cm
  • Width: 33.0cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'ORIGINAL DESIGN - GLAMOUR OF THE VEILS' Marqueez THE FINEST DRESSED SHOW TODAY (Inscribed in white, orange and green paint in a box shape with a black background, lower left)
  • RONALD COBB 46 (Inscribed in pale brown paint, bottom right-hand corner)
  • '5 GIRLS' (Inscribed in brown paint, bottom left-hand corner)
Credit line
Given by Rose-Mary McClory
Subjects depicted
Summary
This design is for a show-girl's costume in Glamour of the Veils, a revue produced by ENSA, or the Entertainments National Service Association, in 1946. Glamorous numbers with exotic dancers were a popular aspect of the light-hearted wartime revues frequently produced at the time at London's Windmill Theatre, in West End theatres, and around the country. Ronald Cobb was something of a specialist in witty designs for show-girls' costumes, and in the early 1950s produced even more elaborate designs for costumes at the London nightclubs Eve's and Murray's Cabaret Club.

Glamour of the Veils starred Marqueez, the stage name of Marqueez Alkin, an exotic dancer who had previously appeared in several large West End revues including Strike a New Note1943, Strike It Again!,1944, The Night and the Music1945, and Fine Feathers, 1945. The show was produced by John C. Mather, who devised his first show to entertain the Kinross Home Guards in his home town of Kinross, near Perth, Scotland, in 1941.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
S.169-2007

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Record createdNovember 6, 2007
Record URL
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