16.00 USD
In a September, 1906 issue of the Brooklyn Eagle, "La Belle Carmen De Villers is written up, advertizing her upcoming appearance at the Imperial Theater, on Fulton, opposite Flatbush Avenue.
We also read that the Imperial was formerly "the Montauk," which is of interest to theater historians, because in 1907, after Mlle. de Viller's appearance there, the 850 ton brownstone was apparently moved 200, to 300 feet, in one piece, to make way for the Flatbush avenue extension, that would have run straight thru its lobby!
The Imperial apparently offered showings of "refined" burlesque, "smoking concerts" (for men only shows that allowed smoking, which was, at that time, frowned upon in the presence of ladies), and amateur nights.
A non smoking concert event, advertized "for the ladies," was "A Pair of Peaches," a two act comedy in which Mlle. De Villers would be playing the part of, fittingly, a French actress. She would also be performing her "Plastic Poses," which had already made her name famous.
Note that these "Poses Plastiques" as they were called in France, were basically what we see on this card, the performer assuming various poses, often with props such as swords, hand-mirrors, veils, etc. attired in a tight-fitting elastic costume that left no questions regarding her physical form unanswered.
Was this an obvious objectification of woman, an act performed at least in part with the intention of inciting lust on the part of men in the audience? Undoubtedly! But, some readers may be interested to learn that at the time, many women, particularly those active in the women's movement, found such performances liberating and uplifting.
In the stifling atmosphere of a patriarchal society in which ankles were kept hidden, and anyone who mattered knew very well that "ladies" did not have legs, these performances, and the nude, risque, and faux-nude photographic images that were circulating mostly among men, were considered to be tools of the movement, which it was hoped would lead to a greater awareness of what a woman was. For one thing, the elastic "union suit," was becoming very popular among ordinary women, freeing them from the corset, which was seen as a device imposed upon them by a male dominated society!
An interesting turnaround, no? When what is now seen as mere objectification, was once seen by the women's movement as a move in the direction of liberation, and one tiny step closer to winning the vote. Isn't history awesome? We first became interested in these wonderful old postcards for their images, but when taken in historical context, the people who posed for the photos, the photographers, publishers, etc., come alive. Really wonderful :)
Anyway...a very nice image of Mlle. De Villers, by Professor Edward Stebbing. There is some wear to the surface, edges and corners of this card.
Please examine our high res scans for detail.
The item you are considering for purchase is, unless otherwise noted, a vintage postcard of approximately 5 and 1/2, by 3 and 1/2 inches. Postage is for fully insured, first class, shipping in a secure photo mailer (to avoid any damage to your purchase in the mails), 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 increases in international shipping rates 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.
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