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English Flappers in the 1930s, an Appealing Glimpse

 

(WOMEN). (ART). Large 4to Holograph Letter Extensively Illustrated, Signed by "Vivien" to ?��Dear Sir James?��. Ca. 1920s-1930s). Illustrated holograph ?��thank you?�� letter with 2 additional hand colored illustrations. Letter 8.5 x 10.5". On blue paper with inked illustration of woman in rags and then in fur coat, 2 pp. Illus. 4 x6". Ink and wash. ?��At Chapmans Point 1934. W.G. Haselden?��. Plus, ink and wash, 2.75 x 10," three glamorously dressed women, mostly reds & blacks, with scribblings of words on verso. Letter has a few water spots at bottom. $350.00

 

Delightful letter from gadabout ?��Vivien?�� written to a ?��Sir James?��; ?��Oh I was so pleased to get that lovely present. Thanks a thousand times. The first thing we did was to rush off to Nice and to buy a lovely fur coat! So I go swaggering about with it on--all the way to �?Caramellos!! Were (sic) I sit on a high stool and help Kit drink a glass of sherry!!?�� The ?��Caramellos?�� reference may be to a bakery in London.

The letter is illustrated with black pen drawings of a young woman (Vivien, last name unknown) wearing rags and then shown in a fur coat. She is dressed in the manner of a flapper from the twenties or early thirties, sporting a short bob and silk stockings. The verso shows two more illustrations by Vivien, two lounging semi-nudes and two heads. Vivien is obviously a somewhat wealthy young woman of leisure; ?��I have to go and have my hair washed?Ķsee you in London I expect." She also refers to relatives (?) ?��Darling Kit?��s portrait is getting on very well?�� and ?��Daddy is going to paint Poppette this morning in a large straw hat."

The 4 x 6 illustration ?��At Chapmans Point?�� is a watercolor by W.G. Haselden, done in 1934, possibly in December, since he adds ?��And wishing you all a Merrie Christmas?��. There is a man holding the hands of three children all in swim suits on a sandy beach. The scene could be Chapmans Point in Australia. Whether W.G. Haselden has any relation to the London Mirror cartoonist W.K. Haselden is unknown. The third illustration (pen and ink) is of three very fashionable women in twenties garb, one holding a parasol. It is signed ?��P.Mc?�� on the right side and ?��P.Q. Mc?�� at left. W.K. Haselden had McLeod relatives, so there may be a possible connection.