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July/Aug. 9, 1910: The French actress Polaire, her little blind dog and the young man she provocatively called her "slave." Newspapers of the day were a bit more circumspect. The Washington Post of April 11, 1915: "Mlle. Polaire has been chief- ly remarkable for her tiny waist, her jewels, her black footman and her dashing originality in any role of life." Full size. G.G. Bain Collection. More here.
Yeah that looks way too uncomfortable to me. I wonder how many strong men it took her to get into that corset.
If you do a Google image search on "Polaire" you'll find a few pictures of the famous Mlle. and her waist. Gotta warn you, though, that these pictures may make you a bit queasy. There's just something wrong about a waist that small.
From the newspapers of the day. Warning: Creepy objectification.
Kingston, Jamaica, Gleaner, August 15, 1910:
Mlle. Polaire, the famous French actress with the tiny waist, has left New York for Paris ... besides an abundance of American dollars, she took with her a bodyguard in the shape of a little Jamaican negro. From James George, his name has been changed to the French equivalent, and just before his departure, he was the proud possessor of a new suit of livery and a pair of gloves and a chain about his neck from which depended a silver tag. On the tag were directions for his return to Mlle. Polaire should he become lost, strayed or stolen.
Oakland Tribune, December 15, 1910:
Mlle. Polaire has a souvenir of her visit to America in the person of a small slave. It appears that while in the United States she hired a negro boy as a servant, entering into a contract to see personally that he should return to his home if he wished to. Since she has been in France the boy, who is nothing more than a child, has been giving the actress trouble by getting into mischief. The actress wants to get rid of him, but as she must see personally to his safe return, she is forced to keep him until she goes back to America. That probably will be next year.
[Regarding Polaire's "tiny waist," it was said to measure just 14 inches.]
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