14.00 USD
That night, Katerina again awakened bathed in sweat, her heart pounding in her chest, and an unborn scream in her throat. It was the dream again--her "Christmas" dream--and always it was the same.
In it, Harry's mother was coming to stay for the holidays, and Katerina was running herself ragged trying to get everything just right.
Then, time would shift suddenly forward, as it will in dreams, and it would be almost six o'clock, with Harry expected back from the station, where he'd gone to meet his mother's train.
At this point in the dream, Katrina would find herself struggling nervously to find just the right spot for the holiday wreath, a spot that would show it off to its best advantage the moment Harry's mother walked through the door. "A little to the left," she would hear herself say frantically. " No, No! A little to the right," and so on. All the while, there was the sound of the grandfather clock in the hall, ticking, louder and louder in her ears...tick...Tick...TICK.
Finally, she would find the perfect place to hang the wreath--just in time--just at the very moment the front door would open behind her...
Katerina would breathe a sigh of relief, feeling that everything was finally just as it should be, and turn to greet her mother in-law with her best and brightest smile,
but then, glancing down to check her dress for the least little speck of lint, she would suddenly discover, to her horror, that she had been so focused on the placement of the wreath,
that she had absentmindedly dressed herself
not in the prim and sober fashion that befits the wife of the town's most successful dentist,
but rather as if she were a pale, skinny little Christmas tree,
not made of boughs and greenery, no, but of skin...just her own pinkish-white skin...
and not a stitch of clothing to cover any of it, only a long strand of pearls she'd planned to hang on the tree.
Always the same dream, night after night, and there was Harry, snoring loudly beside her in their bed, oblivious to it all.
Poor, poor Katerina.
Now you tell one :)
We think that this is not an actual photograph, but a photo-lithograph.This card was published by Kilophot, a Viennese printer that, according to MetroPostcard's very handy online publisher list was,
"an important printer of fine lithographic cards in both continuous tone and halftone. Many cards were made depicting scenes from the First World War. They later printed postcards for artists of the Wiener Werkstätte such as Moriz Jung, Karl Schwetz, and Franz Susser."
Kilophot was apparently in operation from 1914 til 1920, letting us date this card at somewhere in the mid to late 1910s.
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!