This collection consists of photos, cabinet cards and tobacco cards from the Charles H. McCaghy Collection of Exotic Dance from Burlesque to Clubs. The McCaghy Collection spans the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, and explores early burlesque/vaudeville to modern strip clubs and the neo-burlesque movement.

The images open a window to the theatrical entertainment of burlesque of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as well as to exploration of feminine beauty, socially acceptable behavior, cross-dressing and gender issues, and exoticism.

This collection can also be viewed on flickr.

Logo image is "The Devil's Auction" by J. Gurney & Son, 1867.