Article
Appreciating a Pretty Shoulder: The Risquie Images of Charles Ellis Johnson
Utah Historical Quarterly
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-1-2006
Disciplines
Abstract
Housed in the collections of the Special Collections and Archives at Utah State University is an intriguing set of risqué photographs dating roughly from 1890 to 1910. Some of the images are stereo-views or cabinet card portraits of burlesque actresses either in tights or displaying bare necks, shoulders, and upper bosoms. Other photographs in the collection are even more suggestive with women undressing, lounging about with dresses that reveal their thighs, wearing body suits, and removing one-another’s clothing. By today’s standards they are more comical than pornographic. Considering the conventions of the time, however, especially in conservative, turn-ofthe-century Utah they are quite shocking.
Citation Information
Davis, D. (2006). Appreciating a Pretty Shoulder: The Risquie Images of Charles Ellis Johnson. Utah Historical Quarterly, 74, 131-146.
© Copyright 2006 Utah State Historical Society