allgodschillun:

Harlem in the 1920s & 30s, as the circuit parties of their day, the drag balls provided a startling glimpse of the national scope of gay life. Men traveled from across the country to attend the Hamilton Lodge Ball and other cities’ signature balls, and partisans trumpeted the virtues of the New York ball over its rivals in Chicago, New Orleans, and Berlin. Those who couldn’t attend the balls were treated to detailed accounts of them in the black press and Broadway gossip sheets. 

(Source: bohemiarealtygroup.com, via godivadrippin)