19.00 USD
When speaking of romantic Belle Epoque postcard images of beautiful women, it would be a strange thing if the name "Doll" didn't come up in the conversation. She appeared in so many greatly loved images, most often, we believe, photographed by Leopold Reutlinger of Paris. The word best fitted to most of those images would probably be "Fairy Tale." Usually draped in a diaphanous gown and often crowned with wildflowers, Doll would be pictured wandering in the forest, a romantic woodland sprite, crossing a footbridge over a narrow stream, leaning into a nurturing tree, communing with squirrels, hares, deer, even peacocks.
We've not yet come across any history on this popular model. Because we've never seen any images of her on a stage, we're going to assume that she was strictly a model, more or less, rather than a theatrical performer.
What is unusual about this image, even rare, is the nudity. We have never seen this card before and may never again! Though definitely not a modern reprint, this particular card was printed using perhaps an offset press and is probably a pirated version of the original photo postcard by Jean Agelou (see the JA mark, bottom right), probably the best known today of all the nude photographers in France at that time.
Jean Agelou was born in Alexandria Egypt, to French parents, in 1878. Active as a photographer in France from at least the early 1900s, it is likely that by the time this portrait was made, nude photo images were illegal (though decency leagues pressed for such legislation with varying success throughout the years, in 1908, strict laws were passed), and to produce them carried a possible prison sentence.
So although he, and his brother George, no doubt continued "legitimate" work in the open, his nude postcards are marked with only JA , to preserve anonymity (sometimes GA, for George Agelou, though we've read in a few places that George was not, himself, the photographer, but only handled the business end of their partnership). Jean and his brother George both died as a result of an automobile accident, in 1921.
We hope this will be much appreciated by both fans of Doll, and of Jean Agelou. Please examine our high res scans for detail.
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 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 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 shipping materials, and as of the date of this listing are still charging below our overall cost on shipping.