12.00 USD
The beautiful young woman in draped robes that is the subject of this image is identified as La Charité, or Charity. She is the human personification of the virtue, charity. Such cards were often published along with those for faith and hope, so that each of the three Christian theological virtues was represented.
The images may be taken simply as reminders of the virtues an individual wished to emulate, but it's also interesting to note that the Roman Martyrology includes saints of the same names, Faith, Hope, and Charity, who, along with their mother Sophia (Wisdom) were martyred in the 2nd century AD.
Also, it is probably not at all coincidental that our model's hair is arranged after the fashion of Mlle. Cleo De Merode, the famous dancer, who was all the rage at about this time :)
As always, many thanks to the wonderful people who share their knowledge by means of Wikipedia. In this case, we have referenced articles in both the English and French versions.
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This gorgeous image has minor wear to edges and corners, and a small mark or stain near the top of the image. 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!