19.00 USD
The photographer of this interesting image was Benjamin J. ("Jake") Falk (1853-1925), the king of American theatrical portraiture, who ascended that throne following the death of Napoleon Sarony in the late 1890s. One of his studios was located in the Waldorf Astoria hotel, to make it easy for Broadway actors and actresses to sit for him. A regular customer of his, an early film star, for certain, though not exactly an "actor" was Thomas Edison, who may have been impressed by Falk's penchant for the use of electric lighting in his studio photographs at a time when it was considered very "experimental" in professional photography.
We find his wonderful portraits of American actresses often reproduced on German cards published by NPG (Neue Photographische Gesellschaft) of Berlin. It's been suggested that he had a good working relationship with Arthur Schwarz of NPG, who had traveled extensively in the USA as a young man, selling trompes l'oeil painted by his brother, an artist, to photographic studios and had developed important commercial ties there.
Thanks to the New York Public Library Archives and Manuscripts and the TPA Project (http://www.tpa-project.info/html/body_real_photo_ppc_s.html) a regular stop for us in our research.
The use of finely ground colored glass (we think), as a background on this card lets the portrait really pop! We love that effect. We've no idea who the model was, unfortunately, though we've seen her in a different Falk portrait and it's likely she was a popular stage performer at the time.
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, 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!