May 12, 2008 - Sale 2145

Sale 2145 - Lot 51

Price Realized: $ 3,600
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
JOSEPH W. JICHA (1901-1960) KOKOON BAL MASQUE. 1925.
40x26 1/4 inches, 101x66 cm. The Otis Lithograph Co. Cleveland.
Condition B+: repaired tears and restoration along vertical and horizontal folds; stain in upper left corner.
These costumed balls were so renowned for their debauchery that, in 1923, the city of Cleveland actually banned the ball based on charges of "immorality" and "drunkenness." The following year, the city reinstated the event with the stipulation that attendees wear decent clothing. Here, costumed figures are involved in a wild dance within the glare of two spotlights.