For years, the photo below has circulated among F. Scott Fitzgerald, (author of the Great Gatsby) fans leaving them without any type of descriptive information concerning this wonderful family portrait.
Today, we are happy to finally give this photo the proper credits and to provide fans of the Fitzgerald’s with some additional information.
The photo was taken by the Tidewater photo service in Virginia Beach at the Cavalier Hotel swimming pool in July of 1927 and first published in the Norfolk Ledger Dispatch on July 18, 1927.
Here is a close-up of the photo as it ran in the newspaper 85 years ago yesterday afternoon –
The Tidewater photo service was based at 207 Granby St. in Norfolk, Va. and had a branch office at 205 17th St. in Virginia Beach. Their motto was “Portraits that Please”.
Here are telegrams sent to and from F. Scott Fitzgerald while he, Zelda and Scottie Fitzgerald were visiting Hampton Roads. They are dated between the 14th of July and the 21st of July.
Some were sent to and from the Cavalier Hotel and another to a wire office in Norfolk. It is possible that F. Scott and his family were visiting one of his favorite cousins in Norfolk- ''Cousin Cecie'' (Mrs. Richard Calvert Taylor) who lived on the corner of Gosnold and Carolina streets in Norfolk’s Colonial Place.
The Fitzgerald’s returned to America from France in December of 1926 with F. Scott spending some time in Hollywood beginning in January of 1927. They began renting their mansion “Ellerslie,” near Wilmington, Delaware in March of 1927 – so a quick vacation down to the Cavalier in July would be quite convenient.
The Cavalier Hotel had its grand opening in April of 1927 – so the Fitzgerald’s were some of the first celebrities to stay at this grand hotel on the Atlantic.
