Evelyn Nesbit

 

Evelyn Nesbit (December 25, 1884 – January 17, 1967) was an American artists' model and chorus girl, noted for her entanglement in the murder of her ex-lover, architect Stanford White, by her first husband, Harry Kendall Thaw.  A stunning beauty.

 

First heard of her when I saw the movie "Ragtime" when I was a kid. Not a a very accurate portrait of her in the movie. And Elizabeth McGovern did not look like the original at all...

The Lovely Miss Nesbit

The also lovely Miss McGovern in "Ragtime"

Not very similar, huh?

Anyway, saw Evelyn on the internet, read about her and found that her beauty was timeless. Some 1900's beauties look cute now, but dated. Evelyn doesn't. She would be an "it" girl right here right now if she was alive.

She was the original "It" girl, of course. The first supermodel, if you will. At only 16 years old, she was the most photographed woman of her time; the epitome of female beauty in 1900.

Read this book some years ago:

ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! Loved to know her history, how she was not a Salome, a femme fatale, but a naive and innocent girl dragged into a Greek tragedy...

Author Paula Uruburu's research is meticulous and the portrait of New York society at the turn of the century is stark and real.

Well, then I HAD to have one of her famous postcards... Turned to my dear "friend": EBAY!

Thought they would be super expensive, but no!

I do have a collection of three of them (these are internet stock photos of them - just have to have the patience to photograph and post mine... But these are the postcards I have:

Amazing, no? Love them. I was very surprised that I could find these for such good prices. Thought they would be rare and pricey... What a great surprise!

Of course I also had to see the movie "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing" - a 1950's Hollywood rendering of the "Crime of the Century".

Well, the movie was not as good as I thought... And besides, I've never liked Joan Collins that much...

The good thing (or not) is that Evely was still alive then and gave some guidance. But it really did not help. The 50's were puritan in a manner that the real story could never really be shown... just implied.

Well, got so interested in this story that bought this book about Stanford White's family:

Written by Ms. Lessard (White's great-granddaughter) has written a brilliant family history, showing how White's death affected the family through 4 generations. I will read this asap = as soon as I finish "Five Sisters" - the Langhornes...