33.00 USD
Really love this one! We're guessing that the "W" in the bottom left of the image, stands for Parisian glamor photographer Walery, who shot a magnificent series of cards at the Casino de Paris in the 1920s. These were brilliantly hand-colored and also published by Alfred Noyer. This card feels a bit earlier, and lacks the bright coloration, but combines the rich, velvety tones of another very large group of A. Noyer cards by photographer J. Mandel, with all the showgirl glitter of that Casino de Paris Walery series.
On Walery: Stanislav Julian Ignacy, the Count Ostorog, took the name Walery as a pseudonym for his photographic work, just as his father, the elder Count Ostorog had before him.
It's been suggested that the elder count, originally from Lithuania but later emplyed as a cavalry officer in England, took the name Walery from his wife, the Countess Waleria (sounds like a pretty neat movie to me :)
The elder count had already made a name for himself as a photographer of celebrities in England (among his credits was Queen Victoria), before his son took over the business upon the elder count's death in 1890. It was in 1900 that the younger Walery moved from London to establish himself, in opulent digs, in Paris, where he seems to have specialized in portraits of Belle Epoque showgirls. Though his output doesn't appear to have come even close to the prolific Leopold Reutlinger (a competitor of his, whose images we frequently display in our shop), Monsieur Walery was responsible for a great many wonderful images of such well known performers as Mata Hari and later, the great Josephine Baker.
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 shipping materials, and as of the date of this listing are still charging below our overall cost on shipping.