Bessie Collection

Elizabeth Bessie Coleman (1892-1926)
Elizabeth Bessie Coleman, 1892-1926, the first female pilot of African American descent and the first person of African American descent to hold an international pilot license. Date: 1926

Amelia Earhart with her Lockheed Vega 5b Old Bessie
Amelia Earhart with her Lockheed Vega 5b, Old Bessie, after her arrival at Culmore, near Londonderry. 21 May 1932. Date: 1932

Bessie Bonehill music hall male impersonator 1855-1902
Bessie Bonehill started on the halls as a clog dancer as part of the Sisters Bonehill act and became a male impersonator. Jaunty pose with hands in pockets

Wallis Simpson
A glamorous studio portrait of Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson, later Duchess of Windsor (1896-1986), American socialite. Born in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, she divorced her second husband

Bessie Bellwood music hall singer 1856-1896
Bessie Bellwood (Catherine Mahoney) music hall singer who engaged with her audience and had a reputation for putting down the toughest of hecklers. Carte de visite advertising Taunus table water

Bessie Love and Anita Page dancing in MGMs Broadway Melody, 1929 Date: 1929

A portrait of the Hollywood actress Bessie Love, 1930 Date: 1930

Bessie Wentworth music hall male impersonator 1873-1901
Bessie Wentworth (Elizabeth Mary Andrews) male impersonator and ?coon singer? of plantation songs - a genre which would be unacceptable today. Here wearing a naval uniform and holding a cigarette

Bessie Love, American-British film actress Date: 1931

Ethel Sidney as Bessie Brent in The Shop Girl Date: 1890s

A portrait of Bessie Love at MGM, 1930 - who appeared in Broadway Melody and will be in Good News Date: 1930

Regency Children
Bessies Bun. Symmetrical group of young boys in their Regency costumes keep their eyes on Bessie and her Bun. Artist: Hilda Dix Sandford. Date: circa 1908

Name Postcard - Bessie. Date: circa 1907

Five police officers outside Peel House, London
A group of five police officers (four women and one man) outside Peel House, a Met Police training centre in London, with a police public call box immediately behind them

Marion Terry - English actress
Marion " Bessie" Terry (1853-1930), English actress, played roles in the plays of W. S. Gilbert, Oscar Wilde, Henry James and others. Date: 1890

Women WW1 W. A. A. C
Front cover of A Transport Girl in France. A Story of the Adventures of a W.A.A.C by Bessie Marchant. Date: circa 1920

Bessie Bellwood
The late Bessie Bellwood in some of her characters. Bessie Bellwood (1856 - 1896) was a popular music hall performer. Date: C.1886

Illustration, Tommy Snooks and Bessie Brooks
Illustration, As Tommy Snooks and Bessie Brooks were walking out one Sunday, says Tommy Snooks to Bessie Brooks, Tomorrow will be Monday. Date: 1895

Woman police officer near Pall Mall, London
Woman police officer (Bessie) posing for her photo in front of an a (Automobile Association) building near Pall Mall, Central London. Date: circa 1950s

Bessie Featherstone, actress, with a flower between her teeth Date: early 20th century

Bessie Benson photographed in front of her Bathing Machine
A jolly Bessie Benson photographed in front of her Bathing Machine at a south coast resort. Date: circa 1920s

Suffragette Women Writers Suffrage League. The W.W.S.L was founded in 1908 by Cicely Hamilton and Bessie Hatton. This shows a banner designed for the league in 1909 by William Henry Margetson

Texan Movie Star Bessie Love (1898-1986) - won an Academy Award nomination for Broadway Melody - recognised with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - appeared in films between 1916 and 1983!

The Houdinis, Harry, Bessie introducing the only and original. Date ca. 1895

Return of the greatest of all magicians, the Houdinis, Harry, Bessie original introducers of metamorphosis, greatest and finest trunk mystery the world has ever seen, challenge hand-cuff act

Horse Leap Frog
Grey Bessie a mare of the Santa Fe Ranch, California, U.S.A. famous for her jumping abilities. Here she is, playing leap frog with some of her horsey friends! Date: 1930s

Gibson Girl - Bessie by Charles Dana Gibson

Wallis Simpson in 1927
Mrs Ernest Simpson (Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson), pictured in 1927 when wife of Commander Earl Wingfield Spencer of the US Navy, shortly before her divorce

Edward, Prince of Wales with Albert, Duke of York
Edward, Prince of Wales (1894-1972), later King Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor with his younger brother, Albert, Duke of York (1895-1951), later King George VI

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