16.00 USD
We've had one of these in the shop perhaps three times in the past. Love this series! Goddess stuff is wonderful, the hand tinting is so vibrant, the model is triple cute :) Also, with Croissant of Paris, the printer/publisher, we enjoy the added bonus of the wonderful Art Nouveau decoration on the card's obverse! It's like two cards in one!
Astarte is the Greek form of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. She eventually became both the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, and in other cultures, the evil demon Ashtaroth! You know how that goes, right? Two cultures clash in war, they sometimes turn their enemy's gods into devils.
Can't find out a lot about the photographer, Arjalew (probably pronounced Ar-ya-lev). Much of their work we've come across is like this, playful, light and fun with an Art Nouveau foundation shining through.
Interesting suggestion by one of our customers, though. The photographer, Monsieur Walery of Paris (Walery was a pseudonym), aka Stanislaw Julian Ignacy, Count Ostorog (1863-1935), liked to play around with his name creating additional pseudonyms. Our customer suggested that Arjalew was actually a word play on Walery! Fun idea, though we've found nothing yet to support it.
Please note the very gentle bend in the upper right quadrant. Kinda hard to see in person. You need to know these things! The card says, "Love me, love my bend!" :) It's just the way it is.
Believe it or not, there are vintage postcard dealers who actually photoshop out flaws like this one in their listing images so when you receive it in the mail you get a surprise! No no. Not good.
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!