A CARVED AND PAINTED 'BATHING BEAUTY' LAMP BASE

One of three known examples, this lamp base is thought to have been displayed in Atlantic City, host of the Miss America Pageants from 1921 to 1927. Contestants were referred to as "bathing beauties" and these lamps may have adorned one of the venues, such as the Million Dollar Hotel on the city's boardwalk. For the two other examples see Roger Ricco and Frank Maresca, American Primitive (New York, 1988), p. 17, figs. 7 and 8.