Vintage Black Glamour is my new favorite blog, here's why it could be yours too

What do you think of when you hear the words "Old Hollywood"? I think of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's or that picture of Marilyn Monroe wearing her white swimsuit on the beach. But those glamorous times of years long by consisted of more than just those lovely, but monochrome faces. There were also equally lovely ebony toned figures. And they have been missing from the dialogue.

Where is Dorothy Dandridge, Nina Simone, Josephine Baker, Lena Horne? Why had they and so many other beautiful starlets, princesses, and social figures been forgotten? 

Maybe they weren't forgotten at all.

Today, New York Magazine's blog, The Cut, posted Beyond Jean Harlow; Rarely Seen Photos of Glamourous Black Women by writer Allison P. Davis, and I had to not only read through it, but included it in today's Readables.

This post led me to Vintage Black Glamour, a Tumblr blog by Nichelle Gainer. For three years now, Gainer has maintained a virtual collection of some of the most exquisite photographs of Black Hollywood, Brown Washington, and global Ebony glamour that time almost forgot.

In my humble opinion, this has to be one of the most beautiful blogs I've seen/ read in a very long time. I am absolutely captivated. While other bloggers are taking selfies or writing about a new lip balm, Gainer curates the forgotten ossuaries of history to recover these lovely relics of our oh so glamorous past and brings them to light for later generations to see, to remember, to fall in love with. 

My personal favorite (thus far!) is the very top photo of the incomparable Hazel Scott, whose hands were once insured by Lloyd's of London and whose diva status is so off the charts, just looking at the photo made me search to find more about her. 

But there are many many more photos to choose from (tons of which I've never seen, this blog is an ocular gorge fest). I can't even fit all of the ones that made me gasp and and fall deeply for the vintage flair and panache that used to be.

In flipping through some of the photographs, my breath is taken away. Even in black and white, these men and women shine with unprecedented brilliance, illuminating the way for all of those who would come after them.

These photos are now available not only in digital form, but soon in a hardback coffee table book. (Geeks out) Discover more about Nichelle Gainer and the Vintage Black Glamour book here. I personally look forward to watching what other pictorial treasures she finds to share with us all.