Railroad and banking heiress Aimée Crocker (1864-1941) was a famous/infamous figure at the beginning of the twentieth century. Married five times, she decided to stick with the last name of her third husband, songwriter Jackson Gourand. They met at a Buddhist temple in New York City and became something of a power couple, known for their elaborate parties and Asian adventures.
The American press both loved and hated Crocker Gourand, with some writers admiring her adventurous spirit while others were scandalized by lack of propriety. The Philadelphia Inquirer gave her the title of “Queen of Bohemia” in 1921. Press coverage didn’t alter her free spirited behavior. For example, she got her first tattoos in 1900 and proudly displayed them in public. You can see them on her arm in the photo above. She was still getting tattoos into her sixties.
After her third husband died in 1910, she moved to Paris, where she received a warmer reception. There in 1936 she wrote her memoir And I’d Do it All Again, which chronicled her adventures in Asia, her many love affairs, and her penchant for collecting snakes. By the end of her life, even the Parisians found her to be a little too wild.
And how did she dress? The top photo, taken in 1911, shows her in a somewhat conservative but expensive looking suit. It is beautifully cut with elaborate embroidery and statement buttons. In an unusual move, she only wears a double strand of pearls. Her tattoos are covered up. But apparently she could not hide her real inclinations in her choice of hat.
What do you make of the ravished blonde woman on the left of the image advertising the book? One of the stories that didn’t make it into the book? And who are we think looms large in the darkness of the image on the left?