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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 18, 1915)
The Omaha Sunday Be Page e .MAGAZINE ; i ; ! i M!m Gladys Cooper, Whoft , 'v ' ! ::';V' -N J - '?' ' Beauty Is of the Fair Enf ' '';. " Vv';N;vS.' ' ' r''' t ' ' (Uh Type Not Infrequent Y ,". ,? ' ' V "x yVS - ' ' ' '"7 2Jt ' In American Families. '', ' -,V ': j0 ' '" JT. '' t y. ' ' jr ' --A ' A ''' ' j? . ' l. . . ' " ... ' " " '' " "' ? ' - ; ' '' b :v ' A Pose of MU ; ' V - ,' s . ' A Cassassa Showing f , Sssw ! ' fJ A' . Vf'v -.' V - ' the lines of Her . ',w-. - I : 'A .. ' 7.- Keck and Arms. !- : u ' If , ; v ! "N - .'' A Modern ' 'u'l j .v3-" - "Judgment of ;Vw Palmira ' A: V ' Ceccanl II v ' I J a Typical U , JV "Is Italian V, II Stage Beauty. V f :.5wi4 - r: I f . . . V.'-' t : fL ' v ' k V. . 1 S - ( 1 ( ' V V J York's Most Famous Artists and Why They Gave the Golden Apple to a "Melting Pot" Type Miss Florence Cassassa, Winner in the "American Beauty" Com petition for "EJectrical Prosperity Week" at the Panama Pacific Exposition. She Is Photo graphed in a Pose of MElectra," the Symbolical Figure for That Occasion. Senorita Valencia, the SpanUh Dancer, 'Shown in Turkih Cos turn. She Is a Representative euty of That Count. THE (election ot Miss Florence Css ssssa, dsosbter ot aa Amerlcsn mother and an Italian father, from a Urge number of 'bsautlful contestants to represent American beauty during "Electrical Pre.perity Week" at ths Pan ' ama Paclflo laternattonal Exposition In Ban Francisco, gives timely Interest to the question, what makes an American Beauty? Is beauty to be weighed, measured deter mined by physical standards accepted by painters and sculptors! It so. If proportions la detail and prescribed physical "lines ot beauty" hare standardised beauty, where in does American beauty differ from that of any other nation? If complexion, tints of the skin and color of the eyes and hair are factors to be considered. It will be admitted that American beauty embraces all color types, with variations virtually indigenous In the West, East, South and North ot the country. And so does beauty In other nations. What, then, differentiates the American typet Probably there are Old World Judges ef beauty who will deny the existence ot such a thing as a separate and distinct American beauty type, for the reason that there la no such thing, etbnologtcally, as an American except the American Indian, who has never entered Into such competi tions. They will remind you that "Amer icans" are a crucible product, a result of persistent and generous use of the "melt ing pot"; that they are an amalgam ot all nations under the sun, and can only be considered as such. Therefore "American Beauty" should be hyphenated in the beauty catalogues English American, German Amurlcan, French-American, Italian Amer ican, and so on. Yet "American Beauty" Is famed the world over. Yon hear the term even with Inflections ot rapture In every European capital. It Is freely acknowledged that the type Is not only distinct, but admirable, the equal ot any, ancient or modem. Why te thlst Does the answer depart from the phy sical standards, dealing with the psycho logy of the subject Is It the mind, the spirit, the moral nature, the cbaraHer of the American beauty, shining through and UlumlnaUag her physical charms which Alstlngutshee her from all other types ot beauty T Mar It not be true even so short a time as three hundred years ten generations have developed in descendants of the old Puritan stock character, Inner elements ot beauty which now express themselves out wardly? Never In history haa there been quite such an opportunity In the develop ment of a race to bring out the beauty forces of character. Do these qualities become attenuated when thrown Into the "melting pot"? Does marriage with aliens of widely differing races tend to blot out thete characteristics, or are they potent enough, like the Biblical "little leaven that leaveneth the whole lump," to persist, and even gain force, in the offspring? The facility with which the first generation born of such marriages takes on the characteristic American aem blsnce la everywhere remarked. After the first generation the "hyphen" Is obliterated. There are only Americans, and the beauty la only American beauty. Of such origin is Miss Florence Cassassa. The committee of cele-trated artists who selected her to Impersonate "Electra" during "Electrical Prosperity Week" at the Panama-Paclflo Exposition, frankly ac knowledge her to be a product of the great American "melting pot'; nevertheless she is selected for her superiority among beau ties who are America. 8he la tall and "queenly," with the artist's Ideal In ' fea tures, called "regular," and those features are animated by those beauty factors of the sout, mind and character which distinguish American beauty wherever it is seen. Of course, Mia Cassassa had to pasa the purely physical tests always applied by artists, the artistic standard being the Venus de Mllo. Here are the measurement comparisons: Venus De Mile MlasCaaaaaa Height S.4 6.S Weight 122 139 Neck 123 12J Chest SS $4.7 Cheat, full 35.1 37.4 Waist SS 28 Hip. 38 sal Thigh 221 23S Knee 134 144 Calf 13.2 14.1 Ankle .7.4 .. , . 7.S Upper Arm 12 J 13.1 Copyright llll, by the Star Company. 1 Fere Arm.... .... e.s g.a Wrist 5.9 54 Shoulder S4. 874 Foot, length 8. . Arm, outstretched . . 63 8) Mr. Alonso Kimball says that the Ameri can type must possess a beautiful mind, a pleasing temperament, without which nobody, no matter how physically perfect, can be anything but Insipid, and uninspir ing. Me believes that the true American type Is ot medium coloring, light brown hair and clear complexion, and ot medium height and figure. Hence after much men tal travail he finally-cast his vote for Miss Cassassa. Nickolakl, the artist from Greece, the very birthplace ot the beautiful, believes that the American type of beauty la In process of evolution. After the American girl haa adapted her complexion to with stand the over stimulation ot the climate, she will be even more beautiful. She Is a composite of many races, but perhaps, the most typical ta the combination of the Anglo-Italian, the resuK of the fusion ft the Teutonic and Latin races. Miss Cat sassa la a perfect example of this union, a wholesome type, athletlo of figure, with lovely teeth, and gtsat vivacity and intelli gence. She comes nearest to the American Ideal of the future. O. Warde Traver believes there eau be no beauty without refinement, character and health. She should embody the Ideal of the higher life of harmony, and must therefore possess an instinctive under standing of the laws of health and happi ness. This kind or girl by just being her self uplifts American thought: from heraelf aha evolves the flower of beauty, grace, loveliness. "That la the kind of girt," said Mr. Traver. "I like to paint 1 must fall in love with her Just a bit or how can I un derstand her? end ehe must be er sym pathetic, or how can I fall In love. It s part of the game. Miss Cassassa appeals to me aa fulfilling the moat exacting re quirements of what ehe must and must not be." Probably never again will a prise beauty of any nation enjoy such exploitation as Miae Caeaaaaa la achieving. The electrical exhibitors at the exposition are scattering postcards of "Electra" broadcat In millions. urttsia Rlshta Reaervse ' s in : 1 Mile. Renouardt, the Paris Footlight Favorite and a French Beauty Type Much Admired in That Country