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Mlle. Archer, Belle Epoque Stage Performer, circa 1900 by Walery of Paris by redpoulaine

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14.00 USD

One of our favorite, and most magical, subgenres of "Lovely Lady" postcards has to be that of the marvelous maenad. These are somewhat idealized, and presumably toned down, versions of those wild maidens of ancient Greece, who in their worship of Dionysus, the god of wine and sensual abandon, got up to all kinds of mischief. The maenad, as an image, was practically the poster girl of La Belle Epoque, expressing that rich, earthy, "joie de vivre," which has come to be seen as so expressive of that era. In our Marvelous Maenad section, we're not all that particular about whether the model is depicted as a woodland sprite, a pagan priestess, or if they're just a couple of Belle Epoque chorus girls unwinding after a tough dress rehearsal. The images we list in this section might have been published anytime between the 1890s and the 1930s. Basically, if they're wearing grapes, grapevines, animal skins, or any of the other accoutrements no self respecting maenad could do without, this is the section they'll end up in. Welcome to the Bacchanal!!! :)

Absolutely gorgeous card. Turn of the century Belle Epoque dancer Mlle Archer, performer at the European Club in Paris, photographed in Art Nouveau attire by Walery the younger, aka Stanislaw Julian Ignacy, Count Ostrorog.

The use of grapes and grape leaves in the headdress worn here by Miss Archer, instead of the ubiquitous floral decorations more often seen, was still quite common, presumeably, (and in keeping with other images we've run across, including popular advertizing art of the time), to evoke a sense of Dionysian abandonment of the day to day world. Within those great music halls, wine and song, beauty and laughter, were surely the reigning deities, and these were the places people went to leave their cares behind. So it is fitting that Mlle. Archer should join the ranks of our Marvelous Maenads!

This image would have been taken very shortly after 1900, when Walery moved from London to Paris and began photographing the beautiful ladies of the Paris music halls. In the twenties, he was responsible for many of the wonderfully evocative covers on Paris Music Hall Magazine. (we're always on the look out for issues of that difficult to find periodical), His work was rich and wonderful. The hand-coloring was lovely, like icing on a cake.
Some wear to edges and corners.
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!


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