16.00 USD
Stanislav Julian Ignacy, the Count Ostorog, took the name Walery as a pseudonym for his photographic work, just as his father, the elder Count Ostorog had before him. In those days it was not seemly, don't you know, for a member of the aristocracy to besmirch the family name by openly dabbling in a trade like photography :)
The elder count had already made a name for himself as a photographer of celebrities in England (among his credits was Queen Victoria), before his son took over the business upon the elder count's death in 1890. It was in 1900 that the younger Walery moved from London to establish himself, in opulent digs, in Paris, where he seems to have specialized in portraits of Belle Epoque showgirls. Though his output doesn't appear to come even close to the prolific Leopold Reutlinger (a competitor of his, whose images we frequently display in our shop), Walery was responsible for a great many wonderful images of such well known performers as Mata Hari and later, the great Josephine Baker.
This image of Mlle. Gallet, about whom we have found no biographical information whatsoever, was published by Monsieur G. Piprot of Paris, sometime between the years 1900 and 1904.
A wonderfully evocative card (don't you just love the curled toe on her heeled slipper?), in very 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!