22.00 USD
One of four wonderful early French postcards we recently acquired. The image is of a dancer in "costume orientale" lounging around with a very good friend...her parrot! Beautifully subtle coloration.
We originally believed this to be a hand-tinted photo-lithograph, But are pretty certain this is rather a heliotype. Related, but one of the major differences is that the plate produced during the heliotype process allows for a maximum of only about 2000 runs per image before it degrades (this was in the early 1900s) to the degree that a new plate must be produced. Also, rather than being hand-tinted, per se, layers of colored inks are overlaid during the printing process. If examined closely, the areas where heavier colored inks were overlaid onto thinner ones are evident, but in clearly "blocked" areas, rather than showing the sort of feathering so often evident in the kind of hand-tinting by done by brush.
In the search for a practical "color" photo-reproduction, the heliotype was an important step along the way. It took between one and two days for the chrome alum solution (a chief characteristic of the process) to dry and harden sufficiently onto the plate for printing, so it was a slow, and relatively low yield process, but as you can see, produced wonderful results.
This same model changes her costume for one of a farm girl in a haystack in another group of cards we just acquired. It makes us wonder if both series might have been photographed on the same day. Please follow link below to see that one:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/157873994/little-girl-blue-risque-french-heliotype?ref=shop_home_active_1&ga_search_query=little%2Bgirl%2Bblue
The corners are a bit soft on all four of these cards.
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.
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!