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19.00 USD
Wonderful image of that infamous and irrepressible adventuress, Clara Ward, while engaged in the performance art she called "Poses Plastiques." Published, or photographed (sorry, but neither is specified, and we are unfamiliar with this particular image of her), by F. Schüler in Berlin, during the late 1890s, or circa 1900.
La Princesse de Caraman-Chimay, aka Clara Ward (17 June 1873 – 9 December 1916), was an American lumber and steel heiress from Michigan who became a society darling in all the American papers when in 1890 she married Marie Joseph Anatole Pierre Alphonse de Riquet, Prince de Caraman-Chimay, a Belgian prince more than twice her age, becoming herself, an honest to goodness princess. Yes, we in the USA have always loved thumbing our noses at monarchy, but boy, do we ever love it when one of our own becomes a member of a royal family (case in point: Grace Kelly :).
By 1895, the Princess of Chimay, had given birth to two children, a son and daughter, but any hopes dedicated "royal watchers" may have had for the happiness of this little family were soon to be dashed.
Clara and her husband the prince, loved eating out at the fancier dining spots in Paris. In fact, famed chef, Escoffier named two dishes after Princess Clara.
One evening in 1896, the Prince and Princess were dining out in Paris at a favorite restaurant where a Hungarian Gypsy violinist by the name of Rigó Jancsi happened to be providing the entertainment. Apparently some form of irresistible electrical attraction passed between the Princess and the violinist, because shortly thereafter, their hearts afire, they began a torrid affair, culminating in their running off together in December of 1896.
The prince was furious.The runaway couple escaped to Budapest, Hungary, where another dish, this time a chocolate sponge cake, was named in honor of Rigó Jancsi!
The Prince of Chimay divorced Clara. She and Rigó Jancsi were then married, and traveled to Egypt, where according to newspaper accounts, she embarked on the adventure of teaching Jancsi to read and write.
Times soon got tough for the couple, however. The prince was certainly not offering them any charity, and Clara's family back home in America were furious, and had apparently cut her off completely.
She had her good looks though, and imagination, so the couple returned to Paris, where Clara, still often called the Princess of Chimay, began performing, or at least posing, in flesh-toned body stockings on the stages of various Parisian music halls, and perhaps, given our card, in Berlin also.
By the way, French Post Impressionist and all around "bon-vivant," Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec produced a lithograph of Clara and Rigó in 1897, entitled "Idylle Princière." We include an image of it above (for your pleasure, though clearly Not For Sale).
Of course, high society generally despised Clara, while no doubt almost everyone else in Paris (and Gypsy violinists everywhere) loved her, for the incomparably flamboyant and carelessly romantic quality of her life choices.
***WARNING*** It might not be safe for you to gaze too long upon this image!!! Kaiser Wilhelm II was said to have forbidden publication of her images within the borders of the German Empire, as he found her beauty "disturbing." (Yes, really!) Since this card was published there, its appearance must have predated the Kaiser's fear of her barely concealed naughty bits :)
Clara soon met another lover, either before or after, her divorce from Jancsi. She married this one too! This third husband was one Signore Peppino Ricciardo, a waiter whom she had met on a train. Might the moral of this story be, that like sprinkling salt on a sparrow's tail, if you can catch a princess at table, when she is being well fed and entertained, she cannot possibly say no to you? Food for thought :)
Finally, and apparently not too long after her third marriage, Clara met her fourth and last husband, Signore Cassalota, a station manager for a small Italian Railway line. According to the Wikipedia article from which we drew all of our biographical information (Thanks Wikipedia!), Clara was still married (we would like to think blissfully) to her fourth husband, when she passed away in 1916 at age 43, in Padua Italy. In Pace Requiescat.
Okay, so it's kind of a sad story, or kind of a funny story, or a bit of both, but either way, certainly a remarkable bit of history for a remarkable card :) Very nice condition overall, but with minor foxing and rounding of the corners. Please examine our high res scans for detail.
Postage is for first class shipping in a secure photo mailer, and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, we will refund the postage on the second card, and when you purchase three or more cards from us at the same time, your shipping will be entirely free, except for international orders which, because of sudden increases in international shipping rates will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more.
And please come visit our blog at:
redpoulaine.blogspot.com
where we post biographical and historical tidbits, images of cards and photographs for sale, some already sold but remembered fondly, related images of historical interest and sometimes even images of items that have not yet arrived in the shop, but that are expected to arrive soon, as well as coupon codes, links to other related sites, and more!
