The International Pageant of Pulchritude , also known as the "International Beauty Contest" or the "Miss Universe Contest," was a beauty contest that began in 1926 featuring contestants from multiple nations. The last pageant event in the U.S. was held in 1931 although additional "Miss Universe" events were held until 1935. The pageant was the first international contest and served as a model for modern contests.
The contest originated in Galveston, Texas, United States. The last "Miss Universe" event of this pre-World War II era was held in Brussels, Belgium.
History
During the early 20th century, the island city of Galveston, still recovering from the devasting Hurricane of 1900, launched efforts to strengthen its tourism industry building new venues such as the famed Hotel Galvez and organizing regular waterfront events.
Beauty contests had existed around the U.S. since the 19th century as a means to build tourism for local communities. These events were generally local affairs featuring women from the communities themselves. In 1920 promoter C.E. Barfield organized a new event in Galveston known as "Splash Day." The event featured a "Bathing Girl Revue" competition as the centerpiece of its attractions. "Spash Day" was the kick-off of the summer tourist season in the city and was carried forward annually. At its height the event was one of the largest beauty contests and would literally triple the island's population during the weekend when it ran attracting spectators from around the nation.
A trend toward national beauty contests developed in many nations such as Turkey, France, and Brazil, as well as the U.S. where both the Galveston event and the younger Miss America event in Atlantic City attracted contestants from around the nation. In 1926, taking advantage of this trend, the Galveston event became an international competition known as the "International Pageant of Pulchritude." The winner of the contest was awarded the title of "Miss Universe." In 1927 the contest became two separate events held over two days: one to award the title of "Miss United States" and one to award "Miss Universe." The "Miss United States" pageant drew contestants from as far away as New York and Utah. The "Miss Universe" pageant included contestants from a variety of countries including England, Russia, Turkey, Austria, and many others. Prizes were given to the top competitors. In 1929, for example, "Miss Universe" was given $2000 (US) in gold (equivalent to approximately $25,000 in 2008 dollars) and a silver plaque.
The event became an international sensation although, ironically, the national media in the U.S. gave the event far less attention. The media in Brazil was particularly enamored with the 1929 contest. Huge crowds were reported near the offices of Brazil's major newspapers awaiting word of the fate of Miss Brazil. She did not, however, even place in the contest. Angered, Brazil hosted its own "Miss Universe" contest in 1930 leading to two separate titleholders in that year. In the Brazilian event, "Miss United States" was unable to place in the competition.
The event in Galveston was discontinued in 1932 because of the Great Depression. "Miss Universe" events were instead held in Belgium in 1932 and 1935. After 1935 international competitions were discontinued until the modern Miss Universe contest was created in 1952 in California.
Titleholders
The following were the titleholders for the annual pageants.
Miss United States
Miss Universe
Legacy
The Pageant of Pulchritude served as a model for modern pageants. Though beauty contests were common even in the 19th century the Galveston event was one of the first national and the first international contest.
A 2006 documentary entitled "Miss Universe 1929 - Lisl Goldarbeiter. A Queen in Wien" was released in Hungary detailing the life of the 1929 "Miss Universe." That year is regarded by some as the first truly international event as it became the first year to garner substantial worldwide media attention and was the first year a non-American won the title. Additionally, Goldarbeiter's win is considered historically notable because she was a Jew in an era when antisemitism was popular in the U.S. and Europe.
In 2009 a local Galveston organization known as "Islander By Choice" resurrected the pageant on a much smaller scale. The contest featured local contestants in 1920s-era swimwear as well as contemporary swimwear.
See also
- Free State of Galveston
- Galveston, Texas
- Miss America
- Miss United States
- Miss Universe
- Miss USA
- Seawall Boulevard
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Miss United States Began In Galveston". The Islander Magazine . 2006 . http://www.theislandermagazine.com/history/february2008/missus.html .
- ^ Stein (2006), pg. 37
- ^ a b c Cherry, Bill (25 October 2004). "Miss America was once Pageant of Pulchritude". Galveston Daily News . http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=623557678868710e&-session=TheDailyNews:4A0612E91631c3859FiIR3DFCB8A .
- ^ "Revues and other Vanities: The Commodification of Fantasy in the 1920s". Assumption College . http://www1.assumption.edu/ahc/vanities/ . Retrieved 2 Oct 2009 .
- ^ The Billboard : 49. 25 Sept 1948. http://books.google.com/books?id=Tx4EAAAAMBAJ.
- ^ a b "INTERNATIONAL: Lovely Lisl". Time Magazine . 24 June 1929 . http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732515-1,00.html .
- ^ "BRAZIL: Revenge". Time Magazine . 22 Sept 1930 . http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,740338,00.html .
- ^ "Miss Universe 1920s". Donald West . http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/universe_1920.htm . Retrieved 5 Oct 2009 .
- ^ a b "Miss Universe 1929 (2007)". New York Times . http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/392229/Miss-Universe-1929/overview . Retrieved 2 Oct 2009 .
- ^
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