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!