[Scrapbook and photo album]: Alice Clarkson Cocktail Cottage

Sea Girt, New Jersey, 1940. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Quarto measuring 10.5" x 12.5". Maroon cloth over paper boards with "scrapbook" stamped in gilt on the front board. Contains ephemera and 21 black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 3.5" x 5.5". Near fine with near fine contents.

A scrapbook kept from Anthony St. Peter's lounge, Alice Clarkson Cocktail Cottage in New Jersey during the 1940s. The album begins with two variant announcements, one on blue paper, the other on yellow, which reads, "Anthony St. Peter announces the opening of the Alice Clarkson Cocktail Cottage Sea Girt, NJ Friday Evening, May 17, 1940." It continues, "the ultimate in entertainment and cozy atmosphere." The book then documents the well wishes from friends with a collection of telegrams, cards, and letters from the month leading up to the grand opening. They range from short messages to "Tony" St. Peters reading, "best of luck with lots of happy days and slap happy knights!" to longer notes such as "was glad to learn that you are opening a place in Sea Girt. Sounds to me as if it's a good spot and I trust that you will be able to do plenty of business." One typed note comes from Harold G. Hoffman from the New Jersey House of Representatives after he received an invitation to the opening. He was unable to attend but wished them well and said he hoped he could "check in" sometime soon.

The album then collects newspaper clippings and articles from the opening days and focus on the first two years of the restaurant which include sections from the opening in 1940 and the "Second Annual Opening" in 1941. The clippings include advertising and reviews for the lounge and restaurant describing it as a "smart Bistro" and calls its entertainment a "nifty show." The lounge held a variety of different shows including Ringo and Harris," a "team of smart songsters" supporting singer, Renee Renee; Ruth and Harry Gibson, a swing duo: The Hottentots, billed as "three masters of rhythm." The final pages of the album include 21 photos which show photos of people in the club, the owner Tony St. Peter and his business partner Bruce, and signed photos from the entertainers that performed. These photos also include three signed headshots of actresses that were in a production of "Early to Bed" at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City with music by Fats Waller. There are also two photos of the Harlem Highlanders, an African American male quartet performing in kilts.

One clipping focuses on a tiny write up on the owner himself with the headline, "Tony St. Peter: A Genial Host." It goes on to say "Tony St. Peter, who is operating Alice Clarkson's Cocktail Cottage at Sea Girt, is a very congenial host. Tony sees to it that his patrons get the very best available food and entertainment to wit, his new show featuring Leo Lazaro and his Continentals with vocalist Nita Sye and Reg Schury is a popular favorite."

An interesting collection of ephemera around a New Jersey World War II area club.