{{Short description|International beauty pageant contest}} {{about | the 1920s and 30s contest| the modern contest| Miss Universe}} {{Infobox historical event |Event_Name = <br>''Miss Universe'' |Image_Name = Miss Universe 1930 Winners.jpg |Image_Alt = Lineup of the winners at the 1930 competition. |Image_Caption = The winners of the 1930 competition. |AKA = Miss Universe |Location = Galveston, Texas, U.S. |Date = {{Start date|1926}}–{{End date|1935}} }}
The '''International Pageant of Pulchritude''', also known as '''Miss Universe''' or the '''International Beauty Contest''', was a [[beauty contest]] that began in 1920, featuring contestants from multiple nations. This '''pageant''' originated the title "Miss Universe" and was the first [[List of beauty contests|international contest]]. The last pageant event in the United States was held in 1931 and additional Miss Universe events were held until 1935. The contest served as a model for modern contests that began after [[World War II]].
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]]. Though this contest served as a model and inspiration for the modern [[Miss Universe]] contests, the modern organization has no direct affiliation with these older contests.
==History== [[File:BeachBoulevardGalvestonPostcard.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Seawall Boulevard and the Hotel Galvez in the 1940s|Postcard view of Galveston where the pageant originated]]
During the early 20th century, the island city of Galveston, still recovering from the devastating [[1900 Galveston Hurricane|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.<ref name="Miss United States">{{cite magazine | title=Miss United States Began In Galveston | magazine=The Islander Magazine | year=2006 | url=http://www.theislandermagazine.com/history/february2008/missus.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20091019112900/http://www.theislandermagazine.com/history/february2008/missus.html | archive-date=19 October 2009 | access-date=2 October 2009 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Stein (2006), pg. 37</ref><ref name="GDN: Pulchritude">{{cite news|title=Miss America was once Pageant of Pulchritude |author=Cherry, Bill |date=25 October 2004 |work=Galveston Daily News |url=http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=623557678868710e&-session=TheDailyNews:4A0612E91631c3859FiIR3DFCB8A |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021044033/http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=623557678868710e&-session=TheDailyNews%3A4A0612E91631c3859FiIR3DFCB8A |archive-date=21 October 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Sloan Collection, no. 4 - Galveston Bathing Girl Revue (1925)|url=https://texasarchive.org/2011_01517|website=Texas Archive of the Moving Image|language=en|access-date=2020-05-14}}</ref> "Splash 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 nation's largest beauty contests and would virtually triple the island's population during the weekend when it ran, attracting spectators from around the nation.<ref name="Miss United States"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www1.assumption.edu/ahc/vanities/ | publisher=Assumption College | title=Revues and other Vanities: The Commodification of Fantasy in the 1920s | accessdate=2 Oct 2009 | archive-date=22 February 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222004146/http://www1.assumption.edu/ahc/vanities/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
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A trend toward national beauty contests developed in many nations such as [[Turkey]], France, and [[Brazil]], as well as the United States 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''.<ref name="Miss United States"/> 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, Egypt, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil and many others.<ref name="GDN: Pulchritude"/><ref>{{cite journal | title=Booked Mae West | journal=The Billboard | date=25 Sep 1948 | page=49 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tx4EAAAAMBAJ}}</ref> Prizes were given to the top competitors. In 1929, for example, "Miss Universe" was given US$2000 in [[gold]] (US${{inflation|US|2|1929}},000 in today's terms) and a [[silver]] plaque.<ref name="Time: Lisl"/>
The event became an international sensation although, ironically, the [[mass media|national media]] in the United States gave the event far less attention than the press in some other countries.<ref name="Time: Lisl">{{cite journal | title=INTERNATIONAL: Lovely Lisl | journal=Time Magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732515-1,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127024021/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732515-1,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 27, 2011 | date=24 June 1929}}</ref> The media in Brazil was particularly enamored with the 1929 contest. Huge crowds were reported near the offices of Brazil's major [[newspaper]]s 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.<ref>{{cite journal | title=BRAZIL: Revenge | journal=Time Magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,740338,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127024026/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,740338,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 27, 2011 | date=22 Sep 1930}}</ref> 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]].
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==Titleholders== The following were the titleholders for the annual pageants.<ref name="Miss United States"/>
===Miss United States=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:80%; text-align:center;" |- ! Year ! Name ! Home |- | [[1926 International Pageant of Pulchritude|1926]] | [[Catherine Moylan]] | Dallas |- | [[1927 International Pageant of Pulchritude|1927]] | Dorothy Britton | New York City |- | [[1928 International Pageant of Pulchritude|1928]] | Ella Van Hueson | Chicago |- | 1929 | [[Irene Ware|Irene Ahlberg]] | New York City |- | 1930 | [[Dorothy Dell|Dorothy Dell Goff]] | New Orleans |- | 1931 | Ann Lee Patterson | [[Northern Kentucky]] |}
===Miss Universe=== The pageant was not held during 1933 and 1934. {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:80%; text-align:center;" |- ! width="50px" | Edition ! width="50px" | Year ! width="50px" | Date ! width="200px" | Miss Universe ! width="150px" | Location ! width="50px" | Entrants
|- | 1st | [[1926 International Pageant of Pulchritude|1926]] | May 17, 1926 | [[:fr:Catherine Moylan|Catherine Moylan]]<br />{{flag|United States|1912}} | rowspan="5" | [[Galveston, Texas]], United States |37 USA & 2 foreign |- | 2nd | [[1927 International Pageant of Pulchritude|1927]] | May 23, 1927 | Dorothy Britton<br />{{flag|United States|1912}} |29 USA & 8 foreign |- | 3rd | [[1928 International Pageant of Pulchritude|1928]] | June 4, 1928 | Ella Van Hueson<br />{{flag|United States|1912}} |32 USA & 10 foreign |- | 4th | 1929 | June 11, 1929 | [[Lisl Goldarbeiter]]<ref name="Miss Universe 1929" /><br />{{flag|Austria}} |34 USA & 10 foreign |- | 5th | 1930 (1) | August 5, 1930 | [[Dorothy Dell|Dorothy Dell Goff]]<br />{{flag|United States|1912}} |32 USA & 7 foreign |- | 6th | 1930 (2) | September 7, 1930 | Yolanda Pereira<br />{{flag|Brazil|1889}} |[[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil | |- | 6th | 1931 | June 16, 1931 | [[:fr:Netta Duchâteau|Netta Duchâteau]]<ref>{{cite news | title=Belgian Entrant Wins Contest as 'Miss Universe' | work=The Evening Independent (St. Petersburg, Florida) | date=17 June 1931 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19310617&id=WssLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=glQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4466,3215044}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Rosenberg Library Collection - Pageant of Pulchritude and Oleanders (1931)|url=https://texasarchive.org/2015_01971|website=Texas Archive of the Moving Image|language=en|access-date=2020-05-14}}</ref><br />{{flag|Belgium}} | Galveston, Texas, United States |28 USA & 8 foreign |- | 7th | 1932 | July 31, 1932 | [[Keriman Halis Ece]]<ref>{{cite book | title=The making of modern Turkey | author=Ahmad, Feroz | year=1993 | publisher=Routledge | page=87 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ghl5GPHDPPQC | isbn=978-0-415-07836-8}}</ref><br />{{flag|Turkey}} | [[Spa, Belgium]] | |- | 8th | 1935 | September 29, 1935 | [[Charlotte Wassef]]<ref>{{cite book | title=Doria Shafik, Egyptian feminist: a woman apart | author=Nelson, Cynthia | year=1996 | publisher=American University in Cairo Press | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qGy0OIUH2RkC | isbn=978-977-424-413-1}}</ref><br />{{flag|Egypt|1922}} | [[Brussels, Belgium]] | |}
==Legacy== The Pageant of Pulchritude served as a model for modern pageants.<ref name="GDN: Pulchritude"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Isle bathing beauty tradition reborn |author=Brown, Bridget |work=Galveston Daily News |date=17 May 2009 |url=http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=ca097dc8342ddcc5 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716231544/http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=ca097dc8342ddcc5 |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref><ref>Savage (1998), pg. 33</ref> Though beauty contests were common even in the 19th century, the Galveston event was the first international contest. It was also one of the first national contests in the United States.
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.<ref name="Miss Universe 1929">{{cite news | title=Miss Universe 1929 (2007) | accessdate=2 Oct 2009 | url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/392229/Miss-Universe-1929/overview| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081018190556/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/392229/Miss-Universe-1929/overview| url-status=dead| department=Movies & TV Dept. | work=[[The New York Times]] | author=Nathan Southern | date=2008 | archive-date=18 October 2008}}</ref> 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 historically notable because she was a [[Jew]] in an era when [[antisemitism]] was popular in the U.S. and Europe.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Miss Universe 1929 | author=SCHEIB, RONNIE | journal=Variety | publisher=Reed Elsevier Inc. | date=6 Jun 2007 | url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933843.html?categoryid=31&cs=1}}</ref>
The title of the pageant was parodied by science-fiction author [[Keith Laumer]] in his story "Retief and the Pangalactic Pageant of Pulchritude".
In 2009, a local Galveston organization known as "Islander By Choice" resurrected the pageant on a much smaller scale. The new contest, known as the Galveston Island Beach Revue, features local contestants in 1920s-era swimwear as well as contemporary swimwear.<ref>{{cite news | title=Group bringing back 1920s beauty pageant | author=Cempa, Joe | date=24 April 2009 | work=Galveston County Daily News | url=http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=d1afdd366b6ac934 | access-date=8 October 2009 | archive-date=28 September 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928061014/http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=d1afdd366b6ac934 | url-status=dead }}</ref> {{As of|2022}}, the contest has continued to be an annual event.<ref>{{cite book | title=Galveston Seawall Chronicles | author=Fountain, Kimber | publisher=Arcadia | year=2017 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UDFDgAAQBAJ | page=120| isbn=9781439660539 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gonzales |first=J. R. |date=2022-05-23 |title=Galveston Island Beach Revue gives city a chance to celebrate its place in pageant history |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/galveston/article/Galveston-Island-beach-revue-pageant-history-17190085.php |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Houston Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref>
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==Gallery== [[File:International Pageant of Pulchritude 1927 2.jpg|800px|alt=Showcase on the beach|1927 contestants]] <br> [[File:Fourth International Pageant of Pulchritude and Tenth Annual Bathing Girl Revue, Galveston, Texas, June 8-12, 1929.jpg|800px|alt=1929 photo|1929 contestants]] {{-}}
==See also== * [[List of beauty contests]]
==Notes== {{reflist|35em}}
==References== * {{cite book | title=Beauty queens: a playful history | author=Savage, Candace | publisher=Abbeville | year=1998 | url=https://archive.org/details/beautyqueensplay0000sava | url-access=registration | isbn=978-1-55054-618-7}} * {{cite book | title=Beauty Queen: Here She Comes... | author=Stein, Elissa | publisher=Chronicle Books | year=2006 | url=https://archive.org/details/beautyqueenheres0000stei | url-access=registration | isbn=978-0-8118-4864-0}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [http://www.forgacspeter.hu/english/films/Miss+Universe+1929/2 Miss Universe 1929] * [http://www.galvestonbeachrevue.com/ Galveston Island Beach Revue] (2009 revival) * [https://texasarchive.org/2015_01971 Home movie of the 1931 Pageant of Pulchritude] - [[Dorothy Lamour]] appears as Miss New Orleans * [https://texasarchive.org/2011_01517 1925 Film of the Galveston Bathing Girl Revue] * [https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/MVTN/id/6415/rec/2 Fox Movietone News Story 2-941, "Miss Universe" beauty contest--outtakes] * [https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/MVTN/id/7307/rec/1 Fox Movietone News Story 2-942, "Miss Universe" beauty contest--outtakes] {{International Pageant of Pulchritude}} {{Galveston, Texas}} {{Texas History Navbox}}
[[Category:International Pageant of Pulchritude| ]] [[Category:Beauty pageants in the United States]] [[Category:History of Galveston, Texas]] [[Category:Culture of Galveston, Texas]] [[Category:1926 establishments in Texas]] [[Category:1936 disestablishments in the United States]] [[Category:International beauty pageants]]