19.00 USD
When the city fathers of Rien chose to plant, almost in the very center of the town square, a huge bronze sculpture of a cannon and crew mired courageously in the midst of battle gore and glory, Edith and her friends were very disappointed. After all, it was they who had worked to raise the funds for the project, and from the beginning it was understood that a graceful, thought provoking marble sculpture depicting Florence Nightingale offering aid to the wounded, would look serenely down upon passersby. But the city fathers wanted something more "definite," more "martial." That was how the mayor had put it, and after all, he WAS the mayor. What could be done?
Still, on the day of the bronze's unveiling, when the mayor grasped the gilded scissors in both his hands and cut through the silk ribbon with a decided "snip," only a few of the gathered townspeople actually noticed. Most of them were distracted, you see, by Edith and her friends, who suddenly appeared in costume and posed, just as you see here, directly behind the gathered crowd.
Each time the mayor opened his mouth to hold forth in a carefully practiced and dignified manner, the ladies would scramble into a new pose, effectively disrupting the ceremony.
The next morning, splashed across the front page of the local paper, was not a photograph of the mayor and the new bronze statue, but this one instead, of Edith and her friends.
And over the following five weeks, each morning as the mayor left his home for work, he was greeted by this living sculpture on his front lawn, and by a small crowd of local citizens who would gather to see what form the sculpture would take that day.
And if that wasn't bad enough, the poor man was forced to start each morning without the breakfast he was accustomed to eating, the breakfast only his wife, his dear Henriette, knew how to prepare, just so.
This was because Henriette, not only the mayor's wife, but also Edith's dearest friend, was far too busy changing into her costume, and couldn't spare the time to prepare his most important meal of the day.
So it was, that on a Monday, just five weeks and a day following the unveiling of the bronze, a short time, really, but one which must have seemed interminable to our poor mayor, the small crowd of curious onlookers that had gathered on the cobbled street in front of his fine house was rewarded with...nothing. The living sculpture did not materialize.
What did appear, however, was a brief announcement in the local newspaper, of work scheduled to begin on a white marble sculpture of Florence Nightingale, slightly larger than, and to be placed directly opposite, the bronze cannon crew in the town square.
Yes, once again, the goddess of harmony smiled down upon the little town of Rien.
Now you tell one :)
A great RPPC!
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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redpoulaine.blogspot.com
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