Finding aid for the Dancing Cansinos photograph album 8000
Bo Doub -- with collection-level notes adapted from the seller, Kate Mitas, Bookseller.
USC Libraries Music Library
2022 November
Doheny Memorial Library, G-24
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-1822
music@usc.edu
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Music Library
Title: Dancing Cansinos photograph album
Creator:
Cansino family
Identifier/Call Number: 8000
Physical Description:
0.69 Linear Feet
1 box
Date (inclusive): 1920-1939
Abstract: The Dancing Cansinos photograph album consists of photographs and ephemera relating to the Dancing Cansinos, a family of professional
dancers who emigrated from Spain and eventually settled in Los Angeles. The troupe consisted of Antonio, Sr. and Carmen Cansino;
their children Eduardo, Elisa, Paco, Jose, Antonio, Jr., Rafael, and Angel; Gabriel Cansino, a cousin; and, briefly in the
1930s, Margarita Carmen Cansino, who later became known as the actress Rita Hayworth. Rita Hayworth's parents were Eduardo
Cansino and Volga Hayworth. The Dancing Cansinos, and Elisa in particular, played a major role in bringing Spanish and Romani
dances to the United States. The album primarily comprises professional posed images of the Cansino dancers, including real
photo postcard (RPPC) portraits of of Eduardo and Elisa, a backstage photograph of Gabriel and other dancers (possibly including
Elisa) at a theatre, and several RPPCs of the Cansinos striking dance poses and in costume. Other images of the Cansinos include
a handful of vernacular snapshots of several members of the family on a boat, and one of what appears to be Gabriel on a horse.
Additional images include a group portrait photo of a party in what appears to be Seville, images of other dancers and performers
that either performed with the Cansinos or, possibly, were students. The album also contains various ephemera that primarily
relate to Gabriel Cansino. Included is a 1927 holograph note for a monetary transaction in Madrid between Antonio and Gabriel;
two promotional cards from 1925 and circa 1930; a program for a celebration of Mexico's independence held in San Francisco
in 1931, at which Gabriel performed; a mockup of an advertisement featuring Elisa and Gabriel in
Who's Who in Music and Dance in Southern California; a flyer for an appearance by Elisa in Toronto; and programs for California performances by Gabriel.
Physical Description: 7 x 11 inch photo album and assorted ephemera and snapshots. Photo album: commercial black string-bound album with black construction
paper leaves; 27 leaves used, recto only. Fold lines and light wear, foxing and soiling to ephemera; small ink stain to corner
of one flyer; ink signatures to some of the photographs; a few photographs creased; one piece of ephemera nearly split at
a fold line; tear to one leaf. Several items neatly removed from other photo albums or scrapbooks and still pasted to those
original pages, with the latter then pasted into this album. Good to Very Good condition overall.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: 1
The Dancing Cansinos photograph album consists of photographs and ephemera relating to the Dancing Cansinos, a family of professional
dancers who emigrated from Spain and eventually settled in Los Angeles. The troupe consisted of Antonio, Sr. and Carmen Cansino;
their children Eduardo, Elisa, Paco, Jose, Antonio, Jr., Rafael, and Angel; Gabriel Cansino, a cousin; and, briefly in the
1930s, Margarita Carmen Cansino, who later became known as the actress Rita Hayworth. Rita Hayworth's parents were Eduardo
Cansino and Volga Hayworth. The Dancing Cansinos, and Elisa in particular, played a major role in bringing Spanish and Romani
dances to the United States.
The album primarily comprises professional posed images of the Cansino dancers. A real photo postcard (RPPC) portrait of Eduardo
and Elisa opens the album, soon followed by a backstage photograph of Gabriel and other dancers (possibly including Elisa)
at a theatre, several RPPCs of the Cansinos striking dance poses and in costume, and an inscribed photograph of Gabriel. Other
images of the Cansinos include a handful of vernacular snapshots of several members of the family on a boat, and one of what
appears to Gabriel on a horse.
Additional images include a group portrait photo of a party in what appears to be Seville, images of other dancers and performers
that either performed with the Cansinos or, possibly, were students. The former include Nicholas Tsoukalas and Carmen and
Pepe Guerrero, while the latter are a woman identified only as Coco, pictured in San Francisco (where Carmen opened a studio),
and an unidentified woman in a swimsuit.
The album also contains various ephemera that primarily relate to Gabriel Cansino. Included is a 1927 holograph note for a
monetary transaction in Madrid between Antonio and Gabriel; two promotional cards from 1925 and circa 1930; a program for
a celebration of Mexico's independence held in San Francisco in 1931, at which Gabriel performed; a mockup of an advertisement
featuring Elisa and Gabriel in
Who's Who in Music and Dance in Southern California; a flyer for an appearance by Elisa in Toronto; and programs for California performances by Gabriel.
The album measures 7 by 11 inches: commercial black string-bound album with black construction paper leaves; 27 leaves used,
recto only. The album contains 9 black and white photographs and 17 real photo postcards (most affixed with corner mounts,
but a few pasted in), two laid-in real photo postcards of Rita Hayworth, and 5 mounted or pasted-in pieces of ephemera. An
additional 11 pieces of ephemera are laid in, mostly programs, as well as 10 black and white snapshots and real photo postcards
of what appear to be unidentified members of the Cansino family. Lastly, the album contains six copies of a blank consent
form for the Cansino Studio to use the name of the student, presumably in its programs and promotional material.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Music Library at music@usc.edu.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Music Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Kate Mitas, Bookseller, October 3, 2022.
[Box/folder no. or item name], Dancing Cansinos photograph album, Collection no. 8000, Music Library, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Dance -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Dance companies -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Dancers -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Dancers -- United States -- 20th century -- Photographs
Folk dancing, Romani -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Folk dancing, Spanish -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Ephemera
Fliers (printed matter)
Photograph albums
Photographic postcards
Programs (documents)
Promotional materials
Scrapbooks
Cansino family -- Archives
Cansino, Eduardo, 1893-1968 -- Photographs
Cansino, Elisa, 1894- -- Photographs
Cansino, Gabriel, 1913?-1963 -- Photographs
Hayworth, Rita, 1918-1987 -- Photographs