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VINTAGRAPH • WPA • WWII • YOU MEAN A WOMAN CAN OPEN IT?

Volley of the Dolls: 1943

October 1943. Washington, D.C. "Sally Dessez, a student at Woodrow Wilson High School, playing a tennis match." Along with This Girl. Photo by Esther Bubley for the Office of War Information. View full size.

October 1943. Washington, D.C. "Sally Dessez, a student at Woodrow Wilson High School, playing a tennis match." Along with This Girl. Photo by Esther Bubley for the Office of War Information. View full size.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Before there were miniskirts

There were tennis dresses.

[The appear to be pleated shorts. -tterrace]

Swingtown

It's no accident that Esther Bubley took dozens of photos of Sally. Her father was John Harrison Semmes Dessez, a captain in the US Navy, and her grandfather was noted Washington-area architect Leon Emil Dessez. Leon's wife Eliza "Bessie" Semmes was the daughter of prominent DC businessman John Harrison Semmes (1823-1898). In short, these were people of substance.

Miniskirt in 1943?

I didn't know that. Now, I'm impressed!

Double take

At first glance I thought "This Girl" was Madonna given her hair & glasses. The sweater and skirt confirmed it isn't her though.

Real Men

... avoid the two-handed backhand, and so does this comely blonde! Of course, that innovation hadn't yet been devised.

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