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Mata Hari The Walery Series

Paris
1906 MH190610

Costume
   Haltered gown with metal breastplates, armbands, bracelets, headdress. Bra and sarong skirt with diaphanous belly cover, similar accroutrements.

   T. Bare feet.

Actions
   Shortly after Mata Hari arrives in Paris she is photographed for this postcard set by Stanislaus Walery. The postcards are hand-tinted and show two different costumes, a metal bra and flowing dress (1, 2, 3), and a bra and skirt combination (4, 5, 6, 7, 8). One picture, published as a different series, names her "Mac Leod, which is her married name."

Commentary
   Mata Hari provides an excellent witness point to understand Paris and dance costume during the first decade of the 20th century.

Source
   Postcard series 5116, by Stanislaus Julian Walery, 1906. Date as per handwriting on one of the postcards. Tallulahs.com dates at 1915, shanmonster.com dates c. 1910, but an earlier date is suspected. Collected from the Tallulahs Vintages Images CD-ROM, Tallulahs Costumes CD-ROM, www.tallulahs.com, www.shanmonster.com, www.streetswing.com, and other sources. 9 pictures.
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