22.00 USD
***Warning*** Very geeky deltiology stuff to follow (even the word "deltiology," a term coined in the 1940s for postcard collecting, is kinda geeky, no? :).
Postcard collecting is the world's third most popular hobby! But interest in postcards today, compared to what it was at the time this lovely card was printed, has paled considerably. In the early 1910s, the postcard industry was absolutely huge. To give you an idea of it, in the United States alone, in 1908, when our population was only about 89 million, over 677 million postcards were mailed! That doesn't even cover those that were purchased that year, but not mailed!
This card was produced by the Neue Photographische Gesellschaft of Berlin, one of the biggest European publishers at that time. The image itself, though lovely, is a relatively ordinary one for the period. Head and shoulder shots of pretty women were ubiquitous. But the collection of postcards, as popular as it was, also generated other pastimes, one of which was the decoration of them.
The hand-decoration of postcards at home was common enough as a hobby that kits containing paints for coloring them, ground glass glitter in different colors, glues, etc., were sold in shops for that very purpose. Tiny human hair wigs were commercially produced to be overlaid onto these "glamor" cards. In the 1920s, those "wigs" were often beautifully mar-celled, to keep up with the "flapper" fashion. The end results were amazing, though from the perspective of our sons, the effect is uncanny enough to be labeled "creepy." Can you imagine??? :) But our card, probably produced sometime between 1910 and 1914, was decorated by the careful application of embroidered ribbon, lace, a little glitter, a couple of sequins, and what appears to be brush bristles, giving the model a very elegant appearance indeed. Even our sons approve (what a huge relief!).
A wonderful find! The back of the card was a bit warped and discolored by the glue affixing the decorations. This is common with cards decorated in this way, and isn't evident on the front side.
Please examine our high res scans for detail. ***Please Note*** This antique card is almost certainly between 99 and 105 years old. The glue used to attach the decorations would be the same age, so is possibly brittle, and though we've examined the card carefully and have assured ourselves that the decorations are still firmly attached, it would be a good idea, when displaying it, to keep it in its transparent sheath at all times, or better yet, framed under glass! We will ship this card with extra support to prevent bending during shipment.
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 occasionally 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.