18.00 USD
We just love this smile. This card was printed circa 1932/33 by Ross Verlag just a short time before Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party took control of Germany.
Heinrich Ross, the founder of Ross Verlag, had only a few short years remaining at the helm of his company. In 1937, because Herr Ross was Jewish and Jews as of that date were by law no longer allowed to own businesses in Germany, he lost his company and most of its assets.
He did manage to escape with his life, however, and wound up working as a machinist in Chicago into his old age. A wonderfully detailed bio of Heinrich Ross is available at the site rosscards.com. Just follow the link below. Great site we use frequently in our research.
http://rosscards.com/HeinrichRoss.html
Welcome to "Idols of the 1920s," where we hope to provide a special, cozy place for those of you who long to linger among the stars of the early silver screen, the hoofers and songbirds of dear old vaudeville's fading hours, a few divas of the grand opera, and of the operetta too, flappers, flappers, more flappers, and of course, and perhaps especially, those femmes fatales who with one smoldering glance can melt a heart, or break it in two. Have fun!
Lilian Harvey could play sexy, or sweet, or sexy and sweet, but never particularly vampy, or at least not that we've seen. Mostly known as a musical comedy star, she filled a place in late Weimar era Germany that actresses like Ruby Keeler filled in the US during that period of economic and cultural depression when people badly needed a bright and happy, optimistic, character to cheer them through the tough times, and the roles she played provided a necessary contrast to the often dark, "femme fatale" characters played by other German actresses of the same period, like the great Marlene Dietrich.
Miss Harvey led a fascinating life. She was born to an English mother and a German father in 1906, in London, but by the time WWI broke out, she was living with her family in Germany. She became a successful singer, dancer, and silent film actress in Vienna and Germany, made the transition to the talkies easily, and actually starred opposite Laurence Olivier in his film debut, an English version of a very successful German film called Hokuspokus in which she'd played the leading lady.
She was one of those people of conscience who though happy to play a part for her movie-going audience, was unwilling to act as a puppet for the state. In the late 1930s, after having been closely watched by the Gestapo for years as a result of her close associations with Jewish friends and politically dissident associates, she went out on a limb for one of them who'd been arrested, managed his release, and after his escape from Germany, she was pretty much forced out of the country herself and forced to leave her substantial fortune behind. Please read the Wikipedia article for so much more!!!
Below is a link to Youtube, and a clip from the film Die Drei von der Tankstelle (The Three from the Gas Station), a very popular musical produced in 1930, that will give you an idea of Fraulein Harvey's charms. Playing opposite her is Oskar Karlweis, a popular song and dance man of the 20s and 30s, who like so many others, was forced to flee Germany when Hitler came to power.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri0sPJV3NGI
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!