Folkestone is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. In its heyday, during the Edwardian era, Folkestone was considered the most fashionable resort of the time. Edwardian Folkestone was a place determined to make its mark on the world of entertainment in order to attract more visitors: there were theaters; the racecourse that opened in 1898; and of course bathing.
On August 14, 1908 the first International Beauty Contest was held here in Folkestone. The entrepreneur behind many of the town’s events was Robert Forsyth, the man in charge of Folkestone’s pier, and it was he who came up with the idea of a beauty pageant – not in itself new, but with a new angle in that this one was to be international.
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| Contestants in an International Beauty Show from; left to right, Misses England, France, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Spain, on Folkestone Pier. August 23, 1913. |
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| Photographers takes pictures of beauty show winners, Folkestone, England, 1913. |
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| Miss Myrtle Grove in a picture frame, winner of the International Beauty Show at Folkestone. |
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| Mdlle Simone Mariex lands a conger eel on the pier at Folkestone during the International Beauty Show. |
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| Miss Constance Clark and Miss Simone Mariex congratulating each other after the International Beauty Show at Folkestone. August 23, 1913. |
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| The prize winners at the International Beauty Show at Folkestone posing on the pier: Miss Constance Clark (top), Mlle Simone Mariex and Myrtle Grove (the winner). |