16.00 USD
Au Bord du Puits, or At the Well, a truly lovely image of a young woman drawing water. This is an unidentified photogravure of actress Lilian Greuze by Reutlinger of Paris, and one of five cards, out of a series of probably six, that we recently acquired for the shop.
After initially listing this card, we were contacted by one of our wonderful customers with the information that the model in this image is none other than Mlle. Lilian (also Lillian) Greuze, French stage actress, model, and later, film actress. We have no bio on her unfortunately, but we know she was associated with both Sarah (la Divine) Bernhardt, and Polaire (She of the "wasp waist"). Mlle. Greuze appeared in several silent films in the 1910s and 20s, and went on to appear in the talkies too, well into the 1930s!
The "woman at the well" as an image theme, can easily be counted as its own sub-genre of picture postcards. Though perhaps not as collectible today as Pierrot, or paper moon images, at the time this card was printed, the "woman at the well" was a theme that resonated deeply.
Though technology and industry were moving forward with lightning speed by the year 1900, evidence of this growth was more part and parcel of the urban experience. Village life was still, in many places, not terribly different for the average villager than it had been a hundred years before.
Indoor plumbing was not yet the norm (actually, even in the USA of the 1970s, though by then the "village well" may have been a forgotten fixture of the past, indoor plumbing was still a stranger to many rural American households) and the village well, or shared well, in turn of the century France, was still as it had always been, an important gathering place, and a central hub of village life.
In addition to ancient mythical concepts of the well as a source of life, of wisdom, and so forth, there is also the earthy association of the water jug, urn or vase, with womanhood, motherhood, and fertility. If we add to these ideas the fact that the well was often a place in the village where a young man or woman might first have begun a shy courtship with their future mate, it is no wonder that this theme was so very popular.
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 not charge for 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!