Bidding For Stardom

The new year is fast approaching and we are excited to be selling a collection of photographs in our upcoming Design sale on 26 January. The collection comprises approximately 180 images of starlets from the early 1950's, including 23 images of the recently deceased Barbara Windsor, then known as Barbara Deeks and 22 photos of the James Bond Goldfinger actress, Shirley Eaton. 


 

The new year is fast approaching and we are excited to be selling a collection of photographs in our upcoming Design sale on 26 January. The collection comprises approximately 180 images of starlets from the early 1950's, including 23 images of the recently deceased Barbara Windsor, then known as Barbara Deeks and 22 photos of the James Bond Goldfinger actress, Shirley Eaton. The photographs were acquired by the seller in the 1970's during the closure of the Aida Foster Theatre School in Golders Green. 

 

 

Lot 257

A collection of photographs of young starlets from the Aida Foster Theatre School
Estimate - £400 - 600

 

 

The school was founded by Aida Foster in 1929 as a hobby to teach dancing but expanded over the years to become one of Britain's foremost stage schools. Many stage and film personalities of the 20th century received their professional education and arranged their first employment through the school including Elaine Paige, Jean Simmons and Marti Webb. 

Run by Aida, and later by her daughter Anita Foster, the school catered for three different groups of students:

Those that undertook dance training only, younger pupils that had full education plus both dancing and drama training, and older students taking drama training only.

 

 

Further images from the collection

 

 

The school supplied many of the pantomime ‘babes’ (children's choruses and parts) for the West End Christmas shows of the 1950's and they also obtained modelling contracts for many of the juveniles. Foster started a theatrical agency associated with the school in 1944 that continued after the school closed in 1970.

Other stars in the lot include Shirley Burniston and Lynda Hayden. Scenes of ballet stage and film productions can also be found in the collection and most of the images are stamped Aida Foster and inscribed with the name of the sitter.

 

For more information about this lot, please contact John Black 

 

T | 01279 817778

E | johnblack@sworder.co.uk 

 

 

 

 


 

Recent News

 

John Ruskin | A Remarkable Archive Comes to Auction at Sworders

A major highlight of our forthcoming Dreams – A Unique Private Collection sale on 9 July is a remarkable archive of letters and manuscripts by John Ruskin (1819–1900), the celebrated Victorian polymath. This unparalleled group – numbering in the hundreds – is believed to be the largest collection of Ruskin correspondence in private hands and spans a vast range of topics from art and architecture to politics, religion, and personal reflection.

2 July 2025

Valuation Day Discovery

'The Scented Garden of Abdullah the Satirist of Shiraz' - also known as 'The Bagh-i-Muattar' - quickly caught the attention of our book specialists, when a copy bound in full vellum was brought in by a local client to our weekly valuation day.

2 July 2025

The Glass Sale | A Medium of Light, Form and Infinite Expression

We are thrilled to launch The Glass Sale - a brand-new addition to our auction calendar! The inaugural sale will take place on Tuesday 28 October and will become a biannual fixture in our calendar going forward.

20 June 2025

 


 

Get Sworders News