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Clip description
Against the backdrop of foliage, the first 15 contestants sit for the camera. The girls, dressed in their best attire, are seated next to large numbered cards. At what seems to be the prompt of an off-screen suggestion, some of the contestants blow kisses, smile and wave to the camera.
Curator’s notes
Early historical or newsreel material such as this is valuable for the detail it often provides about (amongst other things) social customs and the fashions of the time. Here, many of the girls wear their hair in ringlets with hats and ribbons. Chris Long’s research into this footage indicates that contestant one, Josie Pulbrook, was voted third place and Elsie Talmadge (contestant nine) was voted first. Agnes McGann (not seen in this clip) was voted second. While contestants were no older than 12 years of age, this clip reveals that the contestants’ ages clearly ranged with a noticeable difference in height and maturity amongst them.
