Costume design by Ronald Cobb thumbnail 1
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 Lee Hamilton as Ice 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 for Lee Hamilton as ‘Ice’ in Glamour of the Veils, of a girl standing full-length, her arms held out by her sides, wearing a silver-grey high-necked bolero-style jacket with jagged ‘icicle’ sleeves over voluminous under-sleeves gathered at the wrists. She wears silver briefs and silver high-heeled shoes, and a tall headdress with an icicle coxcomb and jagged icicle ear pieces. Designed for ‘The Wonder Show’, ‘the Finest Dressed Show on Tour’, produced by John C. Mather for ENSA, 1946. Inscribed in paint: ‘FINALE ICE’, ‘ORIGINAL FASHION PLATE for LEE HAMILTON in GLAMOUR OF THE VEILS’, and in ink: ‘A JOHN L. MATHER PRODUCTION’. Signed and dated in paint ‘Ronald Cobb 46’.
Dimensions
  • Height: 50.4cm
  • Width: 32.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • ‘FINALE ICE’' (Inscribed in brown paint bottom left-hand corner)
  • ‘ORIGINAL FASHION PLATE for LEE HAMILTON in GLAMOUR OF THE VEILS’ (Inscribed in white, green and orange paint in a box shape with black background, right side of design)
  • 'RONALD COBB 46' (Signed and dated in brown paint, bottom right hand corner)
  • ‘A JOHN L. MATHER PRODUCTION’ (Inscribed in ink, lower right, under text in box)
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.171-2007

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdNovember 7, 2007
Record URL
Download as: JSON