Shorty's Place: The Old Kentucky Home Situated at Boqueron Just Across the Bay.
Boqueron, Puerto Rico: Shorty's Place, n.y. [ca. 1930?]. Handbill. 5 3/4" X 7". Near fine. Single light horizontal fold (not weakened). Fascinating small handbill advertising what purports to be a posh resort -- but couched in such euphemistic, charged language it's been suggested that what's being advertised is actually something less wholesome, such as a house of prostitution. Headlined "Shorty's Place: The Old Kentucky Home Situated at Boqueron Just Across the Bay" and subtitled "A Newly Devised and Modeled Pleasure Resort, of Entirely New Management, Catering Exclusively to the Select." Four stanzas of verse of varying length follow. "Ideally situated by the side," it begins, "Of a dreamy Garden of Stately Palms. / Comfortably and Enchantingly Furnished and Decorated, / So Befitting for all Entrancing Occasions. / Affording an Atmosphere of Relaxation and Freedom / Its so different...... / With its added Rarity of Quiet and Blissful Privacy. / Having Bath and other Immaculate Sanitary Conveniences; / Boasting too a Spacious, Cool and Polished Dance Hall, / Where One may whirl One's-self into Ecstatic Forgetfullness." Stanza two: "Then there are also / The Best and Choicest of Liqueus, 'Wintry' Beers, / And the ever Cheering Daiquiri, / All longing for the privilege of doing justice / To their Distinguished Patrons." Stanza three: "Likewise, the Daintiest Dishes can be had / On very short notice. / With Piquant Flavors for Weary Palates, / Without sacrifice to American habits of eating." Stanza four: "Its simply the finest spot there be / To gather, to sip, to dance, to dine, / Where from worry and nuisances you're free / To have a reeling, rollicking, happy time." And in closing: "Costs have been tuned to the economical spirit of the day" -- apparently a reference to the sluggish Depression economy. Straightforward resort ad -- or subtle sexual innuendo? Item #17282
Price: $40.00