18.00 USD

Note the peaked hat! Wonderful Hallowe'en image!

Elspeth, the unhappiest of witches, was desolate at having been cast out of the Grand Coven. It seems that on Walpurgisnacht, instead of riding her usual broom to the annual witch's sabbat atop the dark mountain, she was feeling particularly innovative, and made the mistake of riding the musical instrument you see pictured in this image.
So it was that Elspeth, though previously admired in her witchy community for having a heart as hard and black as flint, and an unsurpassed talent for the casting of the blackest of spells, was undone by her own creativity.

For as she flew through the night sky and circled above that wicked convocation before descending to take her place amongst the gleefully soulless celebrants, a mischevious wind passing over her instrument's strings, brought forth a joyous Christian hymn, heard by all present, and casting a very unsabbat like, golden, glow over the otherwise darksome gathering below. Oh my! Poor, poor Elspeth.

Now you tell one :)

Wonderful image of Mary Nolan, costumed as Pierrette, and playing a long necked, mandolin, sort of instrument. If you see someone costumed as a "Pierrot/Pierrette" character, you can pretty much bet the story contains the element of heartbreak. These characters originated hundreds of years ago with the traveling Commedia dell'arte troupes in Renaissance Italy, and blended themes of the tragic lover's triangle with enough ironic, and or silly, comedy to lighten the experience.

In some ways, we could liken these productions, which remained great crowd pleasers into the 20th century, to classic blues performed by masters like Robert Johnson, that also blend the pain of loss and sorrow, with clever and often humorous word play. In both cases, these offer their audiences a way of taking the "long view" on their own personal sufferings, and who doesn't need that from time to time?

Of course this image is taken from a film. We haven't succeeded at pinning down the title, though Miss Nolan made only a handful of movies for Universal in the late 20s and early 30s.

Born Mary Imogene Robertson (1902-1948), she lost her mother at a very early age, was given up by her father shortly thereafter, and raised in a Catholic orphanage.

She worked as a model in her teens, and was a successful dancer in Flo' Ziegfeld's Follies into the early 1920s.

It was in the 1920s that she made a number of successful films in Germany, then in the late 20s, she made the move back to the USA where she appeared in several successful films as well.

Like the character in our image might have been, Miss Nolan was unlucky in love, and had relationships with abusive, sometimes brutally violent, men. These relationships, with their associated scandals, also impacted her professional life, and in the long run, ruined what from the start, might have been.a wonderful career.

The short biography at Wikipedia is richly detailed, and if you want to learn more about Miss Nolan, we encourage you to read it, but be warned, it is thoroughly depressing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Nolan

A great unposted card published by Iris Verlag, thought of by some as the Austrian "Ross Verlag."
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!

29.00 USD

Sweet image! Unfortunately no information on model or photographer. Nice, unposted condition.
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!

14.00 USD

What lovely coloration on this card, and just a generally sweet image :) Unfortunately no information on the model, or photographer. Very nice unposted condition.
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!

24.00 USD

This one is NOT a photograph. We typically deal in photographic portraits, but now and then we run across a fantastic offset lithograph like this one. This technology was a further development of the lithography process, applied to photographs in the 1870s, but in more popular use by the early 1900s.

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!

24.00 USD

How we wish our scanner would do this card justice! The colors are so much richer in person, and the metallic gold inks, particularly on the medallion behind her, really shine.

Chromolithography was the most popular method of chemical color reproduction in the late 19th, early 20th centuries. Our lovely card was produced between around 1899, and 1905. A really fine example. This card was so carefully kept, that if you were in the stationary shop that sold it at that time, it's unlikely you'd see much of a difference in its condition between then, and now.

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!

57.00 USD

As per convo.

7.00 USD

Elise de Vere (born Constance), was one of the premiere stars of her time. Born in Belgium, she was the daughter of Herbert Shakespeare Gardiner Williams (aka Charles De Vere) and Julia Ferrett, his wife. Both of them were ex-pat British stage magicians, who wandered the world, when not running magic shops! Looking at her here, it is easy to think of her as French, but she and her family maintained their "Britishness" even after years away, and never gave up their citizenship. The fact is, that a number of big French music halls were owned by English theatrical promoters during this period, some of whom exported English performers to France (early "British invasion" :), just as France exported theirs to England. After all, the channel is not so wide :)
Here she is, with her big, upswept hair, those two trademark pheasant tail-feathers jutting out of that huge chapeau. A song and dance Queen of la Belle Epoque, she graced the Paris stages of theaters like Le Moulin Rouge, Les Folies Bergere, Le Vaudeville, and others. She rubbed elbows with royalty and commoners alike, painters of the left bank, and the waiters who served them the champagne, and that green fairy, Absinthe . It is no wonder stars of the early silver screen, like Marlene Dietrich and Mae West, were able to pull off their moves so well, when they had images like this one to draw upon for inspiration. What a classic pose. Photo by the famous Reutlinger of Paris.

Early 1900s, (pre-1905), undivided back. Some hand tinting. Visible age spotting.

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!

7.00 USD

Superb image. Minor surface wear of the sort one so often sees in oranotypes, but we are only guessing that this is an oranotype. Overall a wonderful card. Magnificent coloring. 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!

17.00 USD

Picard, No Not That Picard :) Lovely Artiste Picard in Classic Art Nouveau Costume, by Reutlinger of Paris.

This fine image by Reutlinger is of a beautiful young woman in a medieval-style gown. She wears flowers in her hair in the classic Art Nouveau mode, and is just a truly delightful example of photographer's art. The image has been delicately hand-tinted, her hair auburn, and her gown decorated with pale blue to match the flowers in her hair. Such a romantic image.

A very nice card, with only minor wear to edges and 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, the price is the same as for a single 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, due to the costs of international shipping 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.

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!

9.00 USD

We have a terrible weakness for the silvering that occurs on old photo images, we admit it! There is something so magical about the effect. Plain and simply, it is just another result of aging. The light-sensitive metallic salts (typically silver bromide, hence the term "silvering," although other metallic salts were often included) used in the most common processes of photo printing are submerged in a thin, gelatinous surface layer on the photo printing paper.
Over the hundred years or so since this card was printed, tiny bits of magical, light-sensitive goodness migrated to the surface of that layer, and interacted chemically with the oxygen in air. Et voila! Silvering! Beautiful, beautiful atmospheric aura :)

We hope the scientists among you will forgive what is probably a vast oversimplification (to say nothing of our romanticizing) of this process :) Of course, "dramatic" silvering, as in the case of this card, is unusual. A little is not untypical, but this much is probably the result of a flaw in the printing process, and possibly the environment in which the image was stored (in the same way that copper goes green more quickly in some environments), but there were also some printing processes that lent themselves particularly well to later silvering. The biogravure, a process employed by N.P.G. in Berlin, was one of these that we always look for. At the time, the printer would have had no idea, of course, what chemical changes would occur on their work's surface over a hundred years, so the end result is, to some degree, removed from human interference, and it is as if Nature, herself, applied the last finishing touches.

Rotophot was a Berlin based printer and card publisher established in around 1900. The "Roto" in their name refers to the rotary printing process that made use of long rolls of printing paper, gradually unfurled, and exposed to light through the negative plate. This method, though invented and patented in America, was brought back to Germany by one of its developers, Arthur Schwartz, later of NPG, was further developed there, and as an early form of photographic mass production, was of key importance in making Germany the industrial center of the postcard printing industry.

On the reverse, you can see a very mystical looking symbol in the card's stamp box: a triangle, with what looks like a sun blazing at its center, surrounded by the letters N,B, and C. These stand for the Neue Bromsilber Convention, or "New Silver Bromide Convention." Established in 1909, the NBC was an organization of photographic postcard printers and publishers whose purpose was to maintain control over costs and pricing in order to limit negative competitive practices (and probably, like most cartels, to edge out the little guy). Incidentally, the NBC would later have as its president, none other than Heinrich Ross, who was the driving force behind Rotophot, the publisher of this postcard.

A lovely card, in very nice condition. Please examine our high res scans for detail.

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 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 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.

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!

14.00 USD

One of our favorite, and most magical, subgenres of "Lovely Lady" postcards has to be that of the marvelous maenad. These are somewhat idealized, and presumably toned down, versions of those wild maidens of ancient Greece, who in their worship of Dionysus, the god of wine and sensual abandon, got up to all kinds of mischief. The maenad, as an image, was practically the poster girl of La Belle Epoque, expressing that rich, earthy, "joie de vivre," which has come to be seen as so expressive of that era. In our Marvelous Maenad section, we're not all that particular about whether the model is depicted as a woodland sprite, a pagan priestess, or if they're just a couple of Belle Epoque chorus girls unwinding after a tough dress rehearsal. The images we list in this section might have been published anytime between the 1890s and the 1930s. Basically, if they're wearing grapes, grapevines, animal skins, or any of the other accoutrements no self respecting maenad could do without, this is the section they'll end up in. Welcome to the Bacchanal!!! :)

Absolutely gorgeous card. Turn of the century Belle Epoque dancer Mlle Archer, performer at the European Club in Paris, photographed in Art Nouveau attire by Walery the younger, aka Stanislaw Julian Ignacy, Count Ostrorog.

The use of grapes and grape leaves in the headdress worn here by Miss Archer, instead of the ubiquitous floral decorations more often seen, was still quite common, presumeably, (and in keeping with other images we've run across, including popular advertizing art of the time), to evoke a sense of Dionysian abandonment of the day to day world. Within those great music halls, wine and song, beauty and laughter, were surely the reigning deities, and these were the places people went to leave their cares behind. So it is fitting that Mlle. Archer should join the ranks of our Marvelous Maenads!

This image would have been taken very shortly after 1900, when Walery moved from London to Paris and began photographing the beautiful ladies of the Paris music halls. In the twenties, he was responsible for many of the wonderfully evocative covers on Paris Music Hall Magazine. (we're always on the look out for issues of that difficult to find periodical), His work was rich and wonderful. The hand-coloring was lovely, like icing on a cake.
Some wear to edges and 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!

7.00 USD

This image by the gifted theatrical portraitist, Henri Manuel of Paris was originally titled "Les Lumières," and shows a young woman in classical Art Nouveau dress holding a lantern just above her shoulder.

A sweet card, with minor wear to edges and corners. A small stain on the image crosses the woman's upraised arm, and there is a handwritten message across the top border.
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, the price is the same as for a single 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, due to the costs of international shipping 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.

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!

4.00 USD

This engaging, hand-tinted image by Stebbing features a lovely woman holding a basket of flowers as if she were offering them to the viewer. Someone has artfully written the message "Bonne Fete" in the upper left corner.

Minor wear to edges and corners. Please examine our high res scans for details.

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, the price is the same as for a single 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, due to the costs of international shipping 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.

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!

19.00 USD

Lovely Lorelei image! A very painterly blend of photograph and trompe l'oeil. Pure fantasy, and yes, we love it :)

Many people familiar with the name might think of Lorelei as just another name for a Siren of the kind Ulysses braved at sea, but Lorelei's story is actually specific to one geographic location, a huge outcropping of rock (also called Lorelei, or Loreley) on the Rhine river in Germany.

The river is narrow at this spot, apparently, and the currents swift, with rocks hidden just beneath the water's surface that present a danger to sailors. Also present is an echo effect, hence the name Loreley, which is said to translate as "Murmuring Rock."

Text at the base of another Lorelei card we sold not long ago:

"Und singt ein Lied dabei;
Das hat eine wundersame,
Gewaltige Melodei."

(And sings a song, also,
That has a wondrous,
Overpowering melody.)

is from the poem Lorelei by Heinrich Heine, a greatly beloved19th century German poet. According to the Wikipedia article, it was Heine's poem, drawn from an earlier work by Clemens Brentano, that immortalized this character, and not, as is widely believed, that her tale comes from old folk legend. Well, that is for the scholars to debate.We're pleased to imagine her just as she is pictured here :)

A wonderful card. Very minor wear to edges and 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!

17.00 USD

We have no history on her, but this image of Zarina is certainly one of the prettiest "theater star" images Reutlinger produced, especially when the hand-tinting is so lovely.

This is not an uncommon card, which is why we are careful to add only really very nice examples of it to our shop, and this one will make a lovely addition to someone's collection of Belle Epoque artistes.

Published by KF of Paris. The Kunzli brothers, Karl and Max, of Zurich Switzerland, were in the art publishing business as early as the 1870s. Small wonder then, that when the postcard craze occurred at the turn of the century, they jumped in with both feet. Also, their experience in art publishing (they were particularly well known for their top notch chromolithographs), gives us a better understanding of the very "pictorialist" quality of many of their photographic images.

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!

19.00 USD

Undoubtedly, the beautiful and talented Mlle. Xaviere de Léka, also De Léka, or Deleka, was far more than the corset she wore, but we titled our listing the way we did, because of a little history we were able to gather on her. See below.

We've done a good bit of digging in our attempt to provide some biographical background on this performer. She appeared at the Moulin Rouge in about 1900-1904, and also, as indicated by our card, at the Scala (not the Italian opera house, but probably the Parisian "cafe concert").

In 1907, she was mentioned in an article in the Kansas City Star, on the subject of tight-lacing, or what was often termed the "wasp-waist" fad. According to this article, Mlle. Jane Dirys (another popular Parisian performer) did not wear a tight-laced corset. Mlle. de Léka did. And famed sculptor, Auguste Rodin, did not approve! Oh well :) We thought this information particularly relevant to our image.

Thanks to a wonderful thesis for Durham University by Joseph Albert North in which Mlle. de Léka figures briefly, we know she was performing on stage a "danse d'apaches" routine, in Rome, in about 1912, and was then hired to appear in a number of Italian silent films produced that same year, before returning to Paris. There, she was contracted to appear again, onstage at the Moulin Rouge.

Finally, we came across a short obituary in Variety Magazine, for April of 1914, which states that, "Xaviere de Leka, cafe concert chanteuse, and also Mlle Lambell, comedienne, died in Paris, April 6th." Unfortunately, it says nothing about how, or if together or separately.

It always feels a little sad to us when we come across marvelous images of these brightly shining stars, but can learn so little about them. In this case we were actually luckier than in many, where virtually nothing turns up.

A gorgeously hand-colored image by Leopold Reutlinger of Paris, and published by the Kunzli brothers, Swiss art publishers, through their Paris offices, Kunzli Freres. Very nice posted condition.

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!

14.00 USD

One of our favorite, and most magical, subgenres of "Lovely Lady" postcards has to be that of the marvelous maenad. These are somewhat idealized, and presumably toned down, versions of those wild maidens of ancient Greece, who in their worship of Dionysus, the god of wine and sensual abandon, got up to all kinds of mischief. The maenad, as an image, was practically the poster girl of La Belle Epoque, expressing that rich, earthy, "joie de vivre," which has come to be seen as so expressive of that era. In our Marvelous Maenad section, we're not all that particular about whether the model is depicted as a woodland sprite, a pagan priestess, or if they're just a couple of Belle Epoque chorus girls unwinding after a tough dress rehearsal. The images we list in this section might have been published anytime between the 1890s and the 1930s. Basically, if they're wearing grapes, grapevines, animal skins, or any of the other accoutrements no self respecting maenad could do without, this is the section they'll end up in. Welcome to the Bacchanal!!! :)

This image is so rich in silver tones and shadow. Beautiful textures. The card looks to us as if it is somewhat more recent than most of our offerings, we'll guess out of the 1930s or 40s, but we cannot be at all certain. Still, we had to put this in our maenad section. She is so bewitching :) Very nice, unposted condition. 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!

18.00 USD

No history on Lily yet, but we're looking. Thus far, all the images we've found were published by G and G, and photographed by Gerlach. Corseted artistes have quite a following these days, and this is a really splendid image from that perspective...from any perspective! Nice posted condition, with minor wear to 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!

19.00 USD

Awesome image of family gathering and including a pair of chimney sweeps, like two royal coachmen in attendance, both dressed in the recognizable garb of "sweeps," all black, with the traditional stovepipe hats, and holding those long-stemmed brushes for pushing the soot down the chimneys (the fireplace would be temporarily closed off with a large open sack used for catching the soot). "...good luck wiw rub off when Oi shakes 'ands wiv you..." (Dick VanDyke as Bert the Sweep, Mary Poppins :) Well, we feel astounded at our luck, as photographs of chimney sweeps are not commonly come across. This one was taken in Poland, apparently in the 1930s. Leaning against the eaves is their ladder for climbing up onto the roof. See the poor little chap with crutches and the cast on his leg? So many wonderful details in this image, a purely magical time machine of a card.
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!

16.00 USD

Mlle. Lo in a body stocking and veil. Weirdly ethereal image with a variety of experimental coloration that was popular during that time, and which sometimes achieved amazing results. We'll place this card in our risque section. Not risque by our modern standards, of course, but certainly in its day. Very nice unposted condition.
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!