6.00 USD
We had a little contest, offering a nice discount to whomever could translate the mirror written cursive on this card. Well, the answer, given to us by a very helpful patron, was (and we're a little embarrassed not to have guessed it, "I Love You a Lot!" To see the mirror writing on the card, check out the fourth image in this listing, and for the reversed image, see the fifth image :) Hey, mirror writing was one way to keep Mama and Papa's nose out of your business, to say nothing of that gossip, Mr. Postman!
There's little we like more than fairy tales, and we are especially fond of those that are less well known, as is true of the tale referenced by this card, "La Fée aux Cheveux d'Or."
The image on the face of this intriguing card depicts a woman with extremely long hair, wearing only a faux nude body stocking, pearls, flowers, and a drape of cloth that hangs from one shoulder to her opposite hip. Above her, are the lyrics to a song:
La Fée aux Cheveux d'Or
Il était une fois mignonne,
Une Fée aux cheveux si blonds
Qu'ils semblaient d'or pris aux rayons
De quelque céleste couronne.
Il était une fois mignonne...
(Musique de P. Delmet).
We translate this as:
The Fairy with Hair of Gold, or The Golden-Haired Fairy
She was lovely once,
A fairy with hair so blond
It seemed golden rays taken
From some celestial crown.
She was lovely once ...
(Music by P. Delmet).
Although the song may (or may not) have been written by the French composer and singer Paul Julien Delmet, the title of the song and the character of the golden-haired beauty are taken from a story by Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy, better known as Madame d'Aulnoy, today. Madame d'Aulnoy was a French writer known for her "salons" in which the cream of French society took turns telling each other stories; she coined the term "contes de fées," which translates as fairy tales, to describe the stories they told.
A translation of Madame d'Aulnoy's "La Fée aux Cheveux d'Or" was published by Andrew Lang in The Blue Fairy Book, with the title "The Story of Pretty Goldilocks." Interestingly, the character of Charming, in this story, is not a prince, but a mere courtier in a king's court. Here's a quick overview, if you're not familiar with the story:
A princess, called Pretty Goldilocks due to her beauty and golden hair, has no wish to get married. A king falls in love with her, but she rejects his proposal.
Now, usually, we'd expect the king to go on a quest to win his lady love, but that's not what happens. He sends Charming, instead. On his way to meet the princess, Charming meets the traditional three animals and helps each, receiving a promise of future help from each. When Charming meets her, the princess refuses the gifts he's brought from the king, one of them a little dog named Frisk, and sets three tasks that must be completed before she will be willing to marry. Charming thinks these are impossible tasks and is ready to give up, but Frisk encourages him to try, anyway. Of course, Charming's animal helpers are each perfectly suited to accomplish one of the tasks, so problem solved.
Princess Goldilocks agrees to marry the king, but what she really wants is to marry Charming. He, however, remains loyal to his ruler, and she goes ahead with the marriage. After the wedding, the king gets jealous, and throws Charming in the tower. But, the king is still fearful that he's not sufficiently handsome to please his wife, so he washes his face with water that's supposed to be from the Fountain of Beauty, Only, oops, a clumsy maid had broken the bottle it was in and replaced it with an identical one. The potion in this bottle, however, causes the king to fall into a profound sleep, from which he will never wake. (This was Madame d'Aulnoy's way of saying that the king died from drinking poison, without actually, you know, saying it.) Frisk, acting as messenger, runs to tell Charming, who's been languishing in his tower, that the king is dead, and Charming sends Frisk to remind the princess that he's still alive. She releases Charming and makes him king, as well as her husband, and the pair finally live "happily ever after."
This card was published by Bergeret, who practically pioneered the French post card. Though posted in 1904, it is an early divided back card, indicating it was published right around the date of the legal change that introduced today's modern post cards. Unlike many of Bergeret's cards, then, this is not considered a "precurseur."
There is also an example of mirror writing along one side of the card, only three words, but clearly the sender has made an effort to disguise the private message meant only for the receiver. You can learn more about the people and story mentioned in this post by visiting the following websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Delmet (Then click the link to view the translation of the French page for him, as it has an extensive bio.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_d%27Aulnoy/
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/503/503-h/503-h.htm#link2H_4_0019
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This card was published on delicate card stock with lovely hand-tinting. There are tiny creases in both upper corners. Please examine our high res scans for detail.
Postage is for first class shipping in a secure photo mailer, and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, the price is the same as for a single 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, due to the costs of international shipping 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!