19.00 USD
Our lovely model is adorned in green, white and violet, three colors very popular among many women at the time this postcard was printed. In addition to being being an attractive combination of colors, just as a rainbow patch on a jacket today might represent support for the LGBT community, the wearing of a badge, ribbons, or as in our card, a dress, in these colors sometimes represented active support of the Suffrage movement. Some have suggested these colors stood for the words Give (Green), Women (White), the Vote (Violet). Fun, yeah?
Supporters of this movement were known to wear these colors as a means of quietly identifying one another. Why a secret color code? Suffrage was a very serious business, and sometimes, a necessarily secret one. Activists did not always limit themselves to peaceful marches, but on occasion went so far as to plant bombs in the homes of politicians who acted in opposition to the movement, which of course drew some seriously negative police attention to any outspoken suffragette! There was an underground railroad of safe-houses used to hide and move from place to place those women wanted by the law for their involvement in radical suffrage activities.
The early 1900s. Strolls on the boardwalk, Carriages in the park, Picnics by the sea, and bandstands in the public square. The cafe-concerts, the music, the dancing, etc. An idyllic time yes? Well, we certainly like to think so, and here at Red Poulaine, it's what we celebrate with our wonderful cards, every day.
But, all over Europe, in the UK, and here in the USA, it was also a time of tremendous political and social unrest. Labor struggles, anarchists, communists, scheming industrialists, all sorts of "ists," and you bet, suffragists. Marches in the streets, revolutions, bombings, police actions at a level of violence that would be unthinkable today. What we think of as the turbulent 1960s, really had nothing on la Belle Epoque!
On the back of this card is a message that translates (more or less) as, "The mushroom is the sign of the door to happiness!"
Many will recognize this mushroom as the classic "toadstool" appearing in many illustrations of fairy and folk tales taking place in woodland settings. It is the Fly Agaric, or properly, the Amanita Muscaria. It is a toxic, hallucinogenic mushroom used in "shamanic" ritual for thousands of years,
In fact, because of two commonly shared hallucinations following its ingestion, namely the experience of growing very, very small, or the experience of growing very, very, large, it has been suggested that it is probably the Amanita Muscaria mushroom which inspired the experiences of Lewis Carroll's Alice, upon eating mushrooms :)
Also, after careful preparation to remove its toxic properties, this mushroom is said by some, to be harmlessly edible and very tasty!
***WARNING*** Seriously!!! Deadly poisonous relatives of this mushroom can be misidentified as Amanita Muscaria, and if ingested can be fatal. Also, the edibility of this mushroom is dependent upon proper preparation, and errors in preparation will leave it still toxic, so although we find its uses and history truly fascinating, and recommend further reading on the subject, we do NOT recommend ingesting it, and want to be clear that only experts, or enthusiasts guided by reliable experts, should ever consider picking and ingesting wild mushrooms of any kind.
Wonderfully weird, magical, Jugendstil Epoche image, published by Rotophot of Germany, probably between 1905 and 1910.
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!