This lot consists of a 1948 – 49 photo album and two photo folders from the Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada. In the photo album are original photos of the Flamingo Hotel and the Helldorado Parades in 1948 and 1949, along with photos of other travel destinations during this trip, a total of approximately 170 photos.ALBUM PHOTOS:
HELLDORADO PARADE PHOTOS - There are 17 photos of the 1948 parade and 7 of the 1949 parade. Parade photos include Bob Hope riding a horse, great floats featuring beauty queens, lots of cowboys and Indians, “Future Bathing Beauties”(little girls on swings posing in bathing suits) various casino floats, even the US Naval Air Station in San Diego sent a float. Great background street scenes.
LAS VEGAS PHOTOS – There are at least 11 photos of Las Vegas: three of a heavy snow fall in Las Vegas in January, 1949, at least 8 photos of the Flamingo Hotel in 1949 (others obviously taken there but not labeled as such.) The hotel was only three years old at the time, the landscaping looks new . Other scenic views in the area (“Las Vegas Sky”).
OTHER DESTINATIONS - Also featured in the album are photos of: Sun Valley, Idaho; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; El Paso, Texas; Deming and Lordsburg, New Mexico; Lake Mead, Grand Canyon and Benson Arizona; Henderson, Goldfield, and Beatty Nevada; Death Valley, California; Bryce, Zion Park, Cedar Breaks, Navajo Lake, Utah. There are photos of the travelers, including their dog “Lady”, various friends they visited along the way, one photo of their Christmas tree in 1949.
The cover of the album is hand painted with flamingos and is embossed “Flamingo Hotel”, string binding. It measures approx. 9” x 12” x 5/8”. The front right corner has been singed, affecting only the first two album pages and the tips of a few of the lower right photos – the album has no smoke smell at all. Most images are labeled in white ink. Most of the photos are black and white, some are early color (Death Valley, Grand Canyon), the color in these photos has turned yellowish. The album is in good, tight condition with some aging, wear, handling, crackles in paint on the front. Some of the corner mounts on the photos are missing or have come loose, but as far as I can tell all of the photos are there. There is fading on some of the captions.
PHOTO FOLDERS: There are two matching photo folders, one aqua, one yellow, with the Flamingo logo on the front and a picture of the hotel on the back. Inside are two different black and white enlargements of happy diners inside a restaurant at the hotel. Folders measure approx. 6 ½” x 8 ½” with some aging, wear, blue folder has a name written in ink on the front; yellow one has a stain on one corner. Photos approx. 5” x 7” in good condition.
HELLDORADO DAYS: Starting in 1934 Helldorado Days recaptured the spirit of the Old West and celebrated Las Vegas’ western traditions. The parade attracted tourists from all over the world. The Helldorado Queen contest began in 1936 as a beauty contest, with Helldorado Queens representing the Helldorado Rodeo at the Miss Nevada pageant in Reno.
FLAMINGO HOTEL: Las Vegas didn’t have any quality casinos before gangster Bugsy Siegel came to town in the late ‘30’s. When he planned to build his dream casino on a vacant lot, he used the money of mob backers, but when costs reached the exorbitant figure of $6 million, they figured that Bugsy was skimming cash off the contracting costs and demanded their money back. Siegel’s solution was to rush the grand opening , turn a profit, and pay the investors back, Unfortunately the opening took place during the ‘dead’ period between Xmas and New Year and the new casino flopped, dooming Siegel. The mob put out a contract on his life and he was murdered a short time later. The mob then claimed the Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas as their own, installed new management and began turning a profit. Soon there were casinos popping up all over Las Vegas. The Flamingo changed hands many times. In 1994 the old building was knocked down and a new complex, still known as the Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas was built.
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