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24.00 USD
Journal Entry, May 6th, 1917 (Alternate Universe A-79/B4)
"The streets are empty. Any human in a town or city shelters like me, amidst the corpses and bones of human industry.
That dessicated material, composed of window-glass and roof shingles, concrete foundations and splintered supports, all returns now to the earth. The few people who remain will be gone soon, herded like obedient cattle that follow a scattering of mown hay, gathered into one of the borderlands the Fair Ones have prepared for us.
There is something changed in the air that has caused all objects made of iron or steel to oxidize dramatically over these past months. The machines and weaponry in which we had invested so much confidence and treasure, decompose into reddish-brown powder at the barest touch.
And the ancient forests, they return so quickly. Growing at the pace of a year in a single day, the great trees push through once level floors, weakening foundations, slowly scattering walls, rooftops, entire buildings, into so much rubble.
This broken dross of civilization is so quickly overgrown by ivy and thistles, wildflowers, raspberry canes and the like, that entire city-scapes disappear in a matter of weeks, retained now only in memory--and one begins to question memory--as if tendrils of the tangled ivy have penetrated our skulls, strangling thought.
The rats too are leaving, now that we their benefactors no longer have a place here. Wolves and foxes roam the cities. They pose no danger to us, in fact, they ignore us, as if we deserve not even a footnote on a page of this world's history, and are no longer of consequence, not even as food.
These wild creatures treat us much as the Fair Ones did when they first returned, appearing suddenly from amidst the trees and brambles of tame woods and city parks. They did not even meet our eyes as they went about their business. So graceful they were, like deer at a meadow stream, so terrible and unstoppable, ever in bands of eight, gathering to dance and to sing the forests back. They filled the air with magic so thick it closed the throat as we looked on, powerless, gasping sudden amazed breaths.
It was the war between the great nations I think, that roused them, that mindless bitter conflict that seemed certain to rain the blood of our children down upon us all. It was as if the First People, the Fair Folk, knew the world had finally endured enough of our arrogance.
How certain of ourselves we were, of our place, our primacy, our gods. But we are cast out now. I cannot even remember what it felt like then, what it meant to know that I belonged, that this world was mine."
Now you tell one :)
A really remarkable image, contrasting a stark, empty, perhaps industrial landscape (or possibly an urban schoolyard) with this lovely, fragile and yet strong, circle of young dancers.
It is unfortunate that the printer offset the image on the printing paper by a bit. You will notice, by looking at the back of the card, that it was not poorly trimmed, just misprinted by a little. And speaking of the printer, an interesting point! This card was printed in "Angleterre," or England. This is interesting because so much photo printing was done in Germany, the European center of that industry during the early years of the photo image postcard, so it seems very likely that this photograph was taken by Monsieur, or Mme., Breuly in France, but sent for printing in England. Why? Because this was probably during the great war, WWI, during which so much of Germany's industry which had depended on trade with countries that were now its enemies, either lay idle, or was diverted to the war effort. And of course this clue allows us to date this precious gem with reasonable accuracy, to sometime in the mid, to late, 1910s.
A wonderfully rare and precious French RPPC (Real Photo Post Card) from the 1910s, of which, very possibly, only this single copy remains.
Please examine our high res scans for detail.
The item you are considering for purchase is, unless otherwise noted, a vintage postcard of approximately 5 and 1/2, by 3 and 1/2 inches. Postage is for fully-insured, first class shipping in a secure photo mailer (to avoid any damage to your purchase in the mails), and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, we will not charge for 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 increases in international shipping rates will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more. We do not charge for insurance or shipping materials, and as of the date of this listing are still charging below our overall cost on shipping.
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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!
