33.00 USD
"Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome..."
We recently came across a number of great vintage German musical theater postcards and thought we'd put them in what will probably be a temporary section under the heading "Cabaret," or, auf Deutch, Kabarett! Most of the cards in this section will concern theatrical entertainment in the 1920s Weimar era of post world war one Germany, though we may place a number of Austrian cards of the period and a few film star cards from that time and place into this section as well.
The Weimar era, particularly in Berlin, fascinates us at least in part because of its dramatic contrasts, the tinsel glitter that could not entirely disguise an ever deepening gloom, the festive mood that seemed to so many who witnessed it as if driven by misery rather than a celebration of life as had seemed the Parisian nightlife of the previous decade. In hindsight, some compared the cabaret life of Weimar Berlin to dancing at the edge of a sheer cliff, and perhaps a little of that frenzied energy clings to these images of actors and dancers.
Just for fun, if it's been a while since you've seen it, you might enjoy a little mood music...the very memorable opening of the classic 1972 film version of "Cabaret." Youtube link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBlB8RAJEEc
Weimar era dancer Lena Amsel (1898-1929) was a Polish Jew from Lodz who following the outbreak of WWI moved from Poland to Germany with her family.
By age 17, then living in Berlin, she began dancing on the stage.
She became a regular in the cabaret scene and adopted the bohemian life, moving within the same circle as actress Maria Orska and the notorious Anita Berber. It was probably in those early years that she became addicted to morphine.
She led a wild life, married four times and it was said she took countless lovers--that she was absolutely irresistible to men.
In the late 1910s-early 20s she appeared in a number of silent films also. At this early stage her career was sometimes aligned with that of another rising performer, the then unknown Marlene Dietrich.
She lived in Vienna also, and in Paris, enjoying the scandalous lifestyle of the demimonde, and taking up painting. Always it seemed there was some wealthy industrialist or banker ready to foot the bill.
While in Paris, she met painter André Derain who invited her to his studio in Barbizon. It was early November and the roads were wet and slick with fallen leaves. Derain left first in his car, followed by Amsel and a friend in her stylish Bugatti.
On the way to Barbizon, the car lost traction on a curve, went over an embankment, flipped and caught fire. The painter Derain received burns on his hands trying to pull the two women from the Bugatti, but he was unable to rescue them and neither survived the accident.
Having only recently been researching another, better known, dancer, Miss Isadora Duncan, we wonder if the Bugatti was unlucky for dancers, since it was also while riding in a Bugatti, just two years earlier, that Isadora Duncan met her end.
We like mixing a bit more light with the dark in our bios, but we haven't yet found a lot of history on Lena Amsel. We'll keep looking.
A fine card! 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!