The Balletomanes Scrap Book

The Balletomane’s Scrap Book (1936)
Arnold L. Haskell · A. & C. Black · Hardback, 256 pp

Step back into the golden age of Diaghilev, Pavlova, and the early Sadler’s Wells with Arnold L. Haskell’s irresistibly gossipy Balletomane’s Scrap Book—a joyous collage of backstage anecdotes, rare photographs, playful caricatures and program clippings that chart ballet’s meteoric rise between the wars.

Haskell—London’s sharp-eyed critic and indefatigable cheerleader for all things terpsichorean—opens the wings for us: Nijinska trading barbs in rehearsal, budding star Margot Fonteyn wobbling through her first Swan, society grand dames scandalised by Stravinsky’s rhythms. His scrapbook format feels delightfully modern, marrying sparkling commentary with ephemera you’d otherwise only glimpse in museum vitrines.

Our copy at Crappy Old Books still flaunts its deco-style dust-jacket (a bit chipped at the crown—think of it as a theatrical flourish) and crisp sepia plates that beg to be framed. Whether you’re a seasoned ballet nut or just dipping a toe into point-shoe history, this volume pirouettes between serious scholarship and sheer backstage fun—proof that long before Instagram, dance devotees were already curating the perfect feed.

Open the cover and let the orchestra strike up: the curtain never truly fell on 1930s ballet—and thanks to Haskell, it never will.

Boasts 193 illustrations

Obviously it has a fased cover. But it does have a flyer inside for Haagen-Dazs icream, which is apperently available from all Haagen-Dazs shops in:

• Leicester Square
• Kings Road
• Covent Garden
• Hampstead
• Heathrow
• Edinburgh
• Brighton
• Oxford
• Bath
• Windsor

Windsor is the nearest one to me.

Flyer has picture of icrecream tub on the other side to wet your appetite.

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