70.00 USD
Josephine Baker (1906-1975), needs very little introduction. She was one of the most beloved entertainers in the Paris of the 1920s and 30s, and during WWII smuggled secret messages for the French Resistance, for which she "was later awarded the Medal of the Resistance with Rosette and named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government."
She came from a very humble background in St. Louis Missouri. Her mother was a wash woman, and her father a drummer on the vaudeville circuit who abandoned the family very early on, and perhaps it was that, in the way that children will long terribly to make proud a parent whose love they miss, that drove her in the direction she took in life.
Sadly, the country of her birth did not treat her with much generosity. Even after achieving great success in France, upon returning to the USA, she still faced the color barrier, and this was the case on subsequent visits for much of her life, though much later, her achievements finally began to receive recognition here.
In 1975, just a few days after giving a final performance which drew rave reviews, she went into a coma and died.
She loved animals, keeping quite a menagerie, and was the adoptive mother of many, many children whom she referred to as her "rainbow" tribe as they came from varied backgrounds and ethnicities.
This is a wonderful, rare and original card published some time in the late 20s or early 30s. It looks like it was printed by Ross Verlag of Berlin or by Iris Verlag, an Austrian house, in format, but bears the words Photo Ciné Paris. There are few entertainers whose original postcard images are as collected and highly valued as Miss Baker's. Mata Hari is one, certainly, and Theda Bara is another. We are so pleased to be able to share this one with you. A great image, a dazzling smile, and in nice condition too.
Below is a link you can follow to the "Official Josephine Baker" website, from which we drew most of our biographical information. We had not known of her work in the resistance (she was at that time, by the way, a French citizen due to her marriage with a Frenchman), and their biographical sketch is detailed and wonderful.
http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html
Please examine our high res scans for detail on this card.
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, 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 sudden increases in international shipping rates will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more.
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!