Small women wanted
1903
In this witty 1903 illustration by Fernand Louis Gottlob, we witness a classic Belle Époque casting call gone wrong. A theater manager inspects a voluptuous actress, gesturing towards her figure while a poster for an 'Opéra-Bouffe' titled 'A Gousse de Vanille' looms behind them. The handwritten caption at the bottom delivers the punchline: the theater is looking for 'thin women' to play male roles (travestis), and suggests this curvy lady is better suited for the massive open-air Theater of Orange—essentially a polite 1903 way of telling her she's too big for the part!
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