18.00USD

This lovely image of Rose Clark tangled in vines, probably taken in conjunction with a performance, was taken by Schloss of New York and published by the French company, S.I.P. There is just the hint of a thin tree in the darkness behind her, giving the suggestion of a mystical nighttime realm. We love the way in which the magical is suggested in images of La Belle Époque—or, since this is an American photograph, The Gilded Age, without the introduction of a single truly fantastic element. These images make us feel much as we might when reading a fairy tale, that at any moment something truly marvelous will happen.

Photographer Jacob Schloss is a great favorite of ours. Born in 1856, he was a New York City native who specialized in portraiture, in particular of people associated with the performing arts, especially beautiful women, although his photographic work also extended to society portraits. Technically skilled, he was on top of new advances in the field, was considered a master of both natural and artificial lighting, and was active in professional associations of photographers. Schloss photographed such notables as Isadora Duncan, multi-talented Dorothy Donnelly, and actress Kate Claxton (who, after escaping from a theater fire, and another in a hotel, shortly thereafter, was seen by her fellow thesbians as a jinx and treated as a pariah, though the town of Claxton, Georgia was named after her). This might give one the idea that theater people are a superstitious lot. Nothing could be further from the truth! That is, as long as you don't say the name of the "Scottish play" outloud, and as long as you don't cough outloud during the third act of... :) His work can be found in art collections held by NYC’s Museum of Modern Art, available through the NY Public Library Digital Gallery, and the NYPL’s Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs.

Sources:
Archives of American Art http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/images/detail/isadora-duncan-2072
Broadway Photographs, Jacob Schloss http://broadway.cas.sc.edu/content/jacob-schloss
The Cabinet Card Gallery http://cabinetcardgallery.wordpress.com/category/photographer-schloss/
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs (NY Public Library) http://wallachprintsandphotos.nypl.org/catalog
New York (City) Museum of Modern Art (NY Public Library Digital Gallery) http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm

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!

11.00USD

Very nice Mignon image. We're pleased to add this one to the other Mignons in our shop. Very nice condition. Please examine our high res scans for detail.

Card is in very nice condition, with 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!

And please come visit our brand new 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!

12.00USD

Wonderful pink-tinted romance fantaisie! Ooh la la! The writing on the back in a beautiful hand, and in violet ink, we might add, is saying something about a thousand kisses. We stopped reading there...blush...doesn't mean you have to! :) Very nice condition, but with some gentle creasing in the center to the right of the man. 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!

And please come visit our brand new 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!

18.00USD

Welcome to "Idols of the 1920s," where we hope to provide a special, cozy place for those of you who long to linger among the stars of the early silver screen, the hoofers and songbirds of dear old vaudeville's fading hours, a few divas of the grand opera, and of the operetta too, flappers, flappers, more flappers, and of course, and perhaps especially, those femmes fatales who with one smoldering glance can melt a heart, or break it in two. Have fun!

Born Grafin Josika von Branyitska in Klausenburg, in what was formerly Transylvania (Yes, a real Transylvanian Countess! :) but was by that time a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and is now Romania, Agnes Esterhazy (1891-1956), was a quiet, unassuming girl, pale and thirsty by nature, who bathed in the blood of maidens and...oh....that was so wrong. Sorry :)
She left her home, which following World War One, had become Romania, and relocated to Budapest, Hungary where she studied stagecraft, performed at the State Theater, and in 1920 made her first appearance in a Hungarian film. She soon received an offer from a film production company in Vienna, moved to Austria, and then on to Germany, where she became quite popular, playing mostly supporting, but some leading roles as well. Her film career lasted only for about ten years, until the talkies made their appearance. Though she did make a couple of sound pictures, she was unable to satisfactorily make that transition, and "silently" retired from the motion picture business, appearing in one film later in her life, in 1943. She was married to actor Fritz Schultz. In 1956 she passed away, either in Budapest Hungary, or Munich Germany. Sources are not in agreement on this.
Hmm...as to that...there is actually a third source, perhaps not so reliable, which reports that following her death, her coffin was placed aboard a small merchant ship, which mysteriously went off course and arrived one night in Whitby Harbor on the coast of Yorkshire, in England. When port authorities boarded the vessel, not a single member of the crew was to be found (a veritable ghost ship!), save the captain himself, who was lashed to the ship's helm, but unable to give an account of the journey, as he was a corpse, and when eventually they opened the crate which was supposed to have contained the remains of the countess, the crate was...EMPTY!!! Creepy, huh, and weirdly familiar too...but as we said, this version comes to us from an unreliable source.
A very nice card, posted, we believe, in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, in what looks like 1925.
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!

17.00USD

Here at Red Poulaine, we have a special place in our hearts for the Italian actress images of the early 1900s and into the 1920s. The quality of the portrait photography and subsequent postcard publication was particularly rich, with a flair for the dramatic and mysterious. Many of our favorites, like Anna Fougez and Nella Regini, began their careers as sciantose, a variation on the French term chanteuse, meaning female singer, but bringing to it other meanings, and implying a dark, mysterious, exotic quality that appealed to the theater going public at the time, and certainly appeals to us :) Naturally we love all of our images or we probably wouldn't purchase them for our shop, and feel an almost filial affection for the performers onto whom we project imagined personalities and traits (is that weird? :), but there is something about what seems to have been at the time a very Italian penchant for carrying the illusion of the stage and screen out into the public venue, a tendency to make even larger, the already "larger than life" persona of the theatrical personality, that we really love. So we have decided to open a new section devoted exclusively to these Italian artistes. We call it "La Bella Donna," and yes it is a bit of a play on words, given the tendency in many of these cards to focus on qualities of a "femme Fatale" type. We hope you will enjoy these images as much as we do.

Maria Jacobini, born in Rome, 1892-died, Rome, 1944, was a fortunate daughter of an aristocratic Roman family, and studied her craft, to great effect, at the prestigious Academy of Dramatic Arts. She made her debut in film, in 1910, and was given her first leading role two years later. All told, she appeared in almost 100 films, made the transition from the silents to the talkies, and is today considered "The" Diva of the Italian silent film era. Following WWI, and the slowdown of the Italian film industry, Signorina Jacobini worked primarily in the German film industry, returning a few years before her death to teach at her Alma Mater, the Academy.
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!

11.00USD

Elise de Vere was one of the premiere stars of her time. 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 stage 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, probably pre-1905, undivided back. Some hand tinting. Visible age spotting.

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!

And please come visit our brand new 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!

12.00USD

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!

And please come visit our brand new 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!

18.00USD

So adorable! We cannot find any information on Mlle. Glymka, but we would like to imagine her as a trapeze artist :) She just looks circusy to us! Wonderful card. Very nice condition. Circa 1920s
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!

18.00USD

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!!! :)

Great Art Nouveau image of stage performer Myriel in classical attire with cymbals. Produced by Leopold Reutlinger of Paris, circa 1905, this card was one of a series representing celebrants of the Bacchanal! This same card, rather than bearing the title Myriel, was often titled Bacchante Aux Cymbales! There was another cymbal image in the series as well, with the model in a different pose. Also one of Myriel upending a ceramic jug with pour spout, presumably filled with wine, titled Bacchante Buvant, which simply means "drinking," and yet another titled Bacchante Au Thyrse, in which she holds up with reverence the "Thyrse," which beyond its modern botanical meaning, was a staff topped with a pine cone, often decorated with ivy, and carried by Bacchus. Series were often produced in groups of six, and if that was the case here, there are still two cards in this series we've yet to see, but should you be interested in completing the set, this one would make a fine beginning!
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!

12.00USD

We love an RPPC that takes us into a turn of the Century home. It's like a trip in a time machine. On the reverse of the card is written in German, (or something close to it), "The Jakobs family having coffee in the (something)room. The aging and wear of this image are apparent. Please examine scans. These relatively candid interior views come along rarely enough, and are so sought after, that I list them even when they are not in the finest condition.

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!

And please come visit our brand new 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!

16.00USD

Here at Red Poulaine, we have a special place in our hearts for the Italian actress images of the early 1900s and into the 1920s. The quality of the portrait photography and subsequent postcard publication was particularly rich, with a flair for the dramatic and mysterious. Many of our favorites, like Anna Fougez and Nella Regini, began their careers as sciantose, a variation on the French term chanteuse, meaning female singer, but bringing to it other meanings, and implying a dark, mysterious, exotic quality that appealed to the theater going public at the time, and certainly appeals to us :) Naturally we love all of our images or we probably wouldn't purchase them for our shop, and feel an almost filial affection for the performers onto whom we project imagined personalities and traits (is that weird? :), but there is something about what seems to have been at the time a very Italian penchant for carrying the illusion of the stage and screen out into the public venue, a tendency to make even larger, the already "larger than life" persona of the theatrical personality, that we really love. So we have decided to open a new section devoted exclusively to these Italian artistes. We call it "La Bella Donna," and yes it is a bit of a play on words, given the tendency in many of these cards to focus on qualities of a "femme Fatale" type. We hope you will enjoy these images as much as we do.

In 1918, Nanda Primavera began her career as a singer in popular musicals, and later became a star of film as well. Gorgeous image! Published by A. Traldi, circa 1920s
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!

18.00USD

Here at Red Poulaine, we have a special place in our hearts for the Italian actress images of the early 1900s and into the 1920s. The quality of the portrait photography and subsequent postcard publication was particularly rich, with a flair for the dramatic and mysterious. Many of our favorites, like Anna Fougez and Nella Regini, began their careers as sciantose, a variation on the French term chanteuse, meaning female singer, but bringing to it other meanings, and implying a dark, mysterious, exotic quality that appealed to the theater going public at the time, and certainly appeals to us :) Naturally we love all of our images or we probably wouldn't purchase them for our shop, and feel an almost filial affection for the performers onto whom we project imagined personalities and traits (is that weird? :), but there is something about what seems to have been at the time a very Italian penchant for carrying the illusion of the stage and screen out into the public venue, a tendency to make even larger, the already "larger than life" persona of the theatrical personality, that we really love. So we have decided to open a new section devoted exclusively to these Italian artistes. We call it "La Bella Donna," and yes it is a bit of a play on words, given the tendency in many of these cards to focus on qualities of a "femme Fatale" type. We hope you will enjoy these images as much as we do.

Here is an image of one of our very favorite people, Nella Regini. She was a greatly loved star of the operetta, the Italian musical, and of film as well.
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!

***Our apologies to our wonderful international customers for the sudden increase in shipping costs. We have been advised that our international postal rates have pretty much doubled, so until we see what's what, we're charging 8.00 dollars for 1st class shipping in a rigid photo mailer. But we're not interested in making a profit with our shipping fees, and we will refund any amount left over beyond our cost.

11.00USD

Moon bathing! What a novel idea! :) The silvering around the edges of this card only adds to the ambiance. Lovely magical image taken by the much collected photographer and inventor, (he patented an electric arc lamp for use in photographic studios in 1925), Heinrich, (Henry), Traut, postmarked 1912. Some wear to edges and some corner creasing.
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!

18.00USD

Awesome image of family gathering and including a pair of chimney sweeps, like two royal coachmen in attendance. "good luck will rub off when I shakes 'ands wiv you," (Dick VanDyke, Mary Poppins) Photographs of chimney sweeps are not commonly come across. Please examine scans. Taken in Poland, with a date on the reverse of 1932, although the image looks a bit older.

Nice 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 beginning today, when you purchase three or more cards from us at the same time, your shipping will be entirely free!

And please come visit our brand new blog at:

redpoulaine.blogspot.com

where we will soon 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!

8.00USD

Beautiful, subtle coloration really makes this image special. Nice condition, please examine our high res scans. We will ship first class in a secure photo mailer for $2.50, and happily combine shipping on all paper goods.

35.00USD

Wonderful find! In 1897, one year before his death, Aubrey Beardsley was hard at work on a collection of illustrations for Mademoiselle de Maupin, a romance by Theophile Gautier. This work was to be a turning point in his career-a dramatic change in style. For admirers of Beardsley's work, who may have seen some of his illustrations for Wilde's Salome, or cover art for the "Yellow Book," the dramatic contrast of light and dark in his pen and ink drawings will have been more than apparent, even brilliant, but Beardsley was experimenting with more detail now, finer lines, and washes, resulting in softer tones-mid-range contrasts-that required the delicacy of a photogravure plate. Wonderful stuff!
The work on the book was never finished, though, and Aubrey Beardsley died the next year, having completed only six of the illustrations. These six were published by Leonard Smithers in 1898, limited to 50 copies, and distributed unbound in half cloth portfolios.
Our print, discovered in a ratty old frame at a church rummage sale, is of one of those illustrations: "Lady with Monkey," and is very likely to be from the 1898 portfolio edition. It is on fine, heavy stock, deeply impressed by the plate, and the entire sheet measures approx. 10 and 3/4 by 13 and 1/2 inches, while the plate depression measures 7 and 3/8 by 8 and 6/8 inches. Evident in our scans, the print shows some foxing, and age discoloration near the edges which were just inside the mat. Also about a square 3/4 inch of the upper right corner of the sheet was torn away at some time in the past, but this would be beneath the matting once framed, in any case.
This beautiful print, though flawed, presents the opportunity to add to your collection an original print of Beardsley's work, and will undoubtedly make someone deliriously happy!
We will ship this print, unframed, first class, and sandwiched safely between stiff cardboard sheets.

9.00USD

Elise de Vere was one of the premiere stars of her time. 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 stage 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, probably pre-1905, undivided back. Some hand tinting. Visible age spotting.

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!

And please come visit our brand new 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!

22.00USD

Leopold Reutlinger, the Belle Epoque photographer, took thousands of photographs of famous Parisian actresses. These were published in black and white, cropped to close up and republished, hand tinted, glittered, sequined, published again, and when every imaginable possibility had been explored, he superimposed these images onto wonderfully fantastic, often surreal backgrounds. The "Artiste with Bird" series is one of our favorites, quite collectible, and we've seen a fair number of them pass through our shop, though not usually in condition this fine.
One of the issues with Reutlingers "fantaisies," is that although the artiste's name was usually printed on the face of the card in its early incarnations, by the time they got to these dramatic creations, the name would often be left off. This was fine at the time, since their faces were very well known, but not today.
Which, of course, let's us play the "Name That Face" game, one of our favorite pastimes :).
The beautiful actress in this image is a mystery to us, for the present, but if you know who she is, please tell us!
This card was published by NPG, die Neue Photographische Gesellschaft of Berlin, and utilized the extremely effective Oranotype method for photo reproduction, developed by photographer and inventor A.G. Steglitz. Very nice condition on this one, dated on the back 1906.
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!

19.00USD

Wonderfully Weird! Not much can really be said about this funny old postcard. Model is probably a popular stage performer. She wears a body stocking that both conceals and reveals. No snakes were harmed during the making of this image :)
Please note that the top right corner is rather badly dogeared, otherwise a wonderful, wonderful card produced right around the year 1900.
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!

17.00USD

Here at Red Poulaine, we have a special place in our hearts for the Italian actress images of the early 1900s and into the 1920s. The quality of the portrait photography and subsequent postcard publication was particularly rich, with a flair for the dramatic and mysterious. Many of our favorites, like Anna Fougez and Nella Regini, began their careers as sciantose, a variation on the French term chanteuse, meaning female singer, but bringing to it other meanings, and implying a dark, mysterious, exotic quality that appealed to the theater going public at the time, and certainly appeals to us :) Naturally we love all of our images or we probably wouldn't purchase them for our shop, and feel an almost filial affection for the performers onto whom we project imagined personalities and traits (is that weird? :), but there is something about what seems to have been at the time a very Italian penchant for carrying the illusion of the stage and screen out into the public venue, a tendency to make even larger, the already "larger than life" persona of the theatrical personality, that we really love. So we have decided to open a new section devoted exclusively to these Italian artistes. We call it "La Bella Donna," and yes it is a bit of a play on words, given the tendency in many of these cards to focus on qualities of a "femme Fatale" type. We hope you will enjoy these images as much as we do.

In the late 1910s and 20s, Andreina Rossi performed on both the stage and screen. We have come across many wonderful images of her, but not a lot of history. Magnificent image by Vettori of Bologna, circa 1920s.
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!