I’m back from a little time off to rejuvenate my passion to post. This week we are going to go all the way back to 1959 for an awesome Kiss Me Kate spanking pic.
Now normally I don’t post very many Kiss Me Kate spanking pics, mostly because to be honest they don’t really do much for me. Unless they are wearing modern dress, or perhaps a rehearsal, or at the very least the lifting of the heavy dress and petticoats, other than that I will only post the odd rare find.
So in the image below it seems pretty clear that what we are witnessing is a rehearsal spanking, in fact the page states that all photos on it were from the rehearsal in ‘Rehearsal clothes’. So for someone like me there is an awful lot to enjoy here.
Let’s start with the spankee, Nancy. Not only does she have a delightful smile for her playful spanking, but she is also wearing pedal pushers. As a big fan of the 1950’s it is such a rare treat to see a girl getting spanked on top her pedal pushers. As for the spanker, Steve, one can’t help but notice his broad chest and strong arm, and quite an impressive sized hand I must say. Again though, as a big fan of 50’s culture I can’t help but smile at the pair of Tom McAn’s on his feet.
This will be added to my personal KISS ME KATE spanking folder where I add my finds. BTW, this photo is from Fremont, California.
?I have a specific question for you, which is grounded in a broader criticism and leads on to a broader request.
This isn’t one I have tracked down for myself, which means I can’t (or at least, can’t yet) look up the context. Kudos to you for finding it.
My question: is this a rehearsal for a production of Kiss Me Kate or The Taming of the Shrew?
The underlying point, and criticism, is that you don’t seem to differentiate between the two plays: some pictures posted here are described as ‘Kiss Me Kate spankings’ but are actually from productions of Shrew (e.g. Windsor’s Sunday Candids no. 52 is not KMK as stated, it is the 1960 production of Shrew by New York’s Shakespeare in the Park project, starring J. D. Cannon and Jane White).
The key difference, of course, is that KMK has a spanking scene written into the script, whereas with Shrew it is only a matter of tradition, so when you see a spanking picture from Shrew, it is because they have actively decided to include such a scene – it’s a completely different set of circumstances from KMK, where they are simply doing a spanking scene that’s in the play already. Put another way: with KMK they have to choose to leave the spanking out; with Shrew they have to choose to put it in. So a Kiss Me Kate spanking and a Taming of the Shrew spanking are quite distinct things that shouldn’t be treated as if they are one and the same.
I appreciate that this may not be particularly important to many of your readers, but it is immensely frustrating to the minority of us who have a serious historical interest in the subject. I also think it is important that the material you are presenting should be described accurately.
The request, obviously, is that in future you take more care over this. It is a pity to see good fundamental research let down by incorrect information.
Harry,
First of all you will find the above find in the 1959 Washington HS yearbook in Fremont, CA. The usual source has the usual smaller version but the actual yearbook is online, either on Archive dot org or by searching specifically for the school.
In this particular instance the production is indeed Kiss Me Kate, and further up the page it states that the images were in rehearsal clothes.
I’m not adverse to some constructive criticism. You are indeed correct, images from both Kiss Me Kate and The Taming Of The Shrew are of lesser importance to me so I do indeed lump them into one production. With that said I would be more than happy to take on board your request and moving forward I will label each image that I find in my discoveries with the correct information.
I do try my best to leave a path in the description for people such as yourself, and like minded collectors to follow so that you are able to add them to your own personal collections.
Thank you for your feedback and by all means if you can’t find the full sized version, please feel free to use this version for your updates.
Rich
Thank you very much, Richard
Harry