24.00 USD
Beautifully hand-colored risque card by Tulipe. Reminds us of the old Randy Newman song, "You can leave your hat on" and what a hat, huh? On the choice of colors: At that time, the colors green, white, and violet carried with them a subtle message recognized by many women. The message was (G)ive (W)omen the (V)ote. This isn't an empty conspiracy theory. Supporters of suffrage in Europe and the Americas wore jewelry and clothing in those color combinations out of solidarity with the movement and many postcards were likewise tinted utilizing those colors for women's costumes. Our card, one might ask, a card that clearly objectifies the subject, would such an image have been seen as sympathetic with suffrage and the women's movement of that time? Absolutely. Though today risque images are sometimes seen as negative in terms of gender politics, in those days, they were seen by many women who felt stifled by the parlor and its narrow etiquette as liberating, as symbolic of their power and as an embrace of their physical form no longer hidden beneath voluminous layers of fabric or restricted by a corset's tight laces.
Tulipe is not a publisher we're familiar with. We've come across a few of their cards and those bearing postmarks were often posted in Belgium, perhaps meaningless, but "Tulipe" (French for Tulip) and Belgium, famous for tulips and where French is the language of choice for nearly half the population, just an idea that Tulipe may have been a Belgian publisher.
Very nice condition on this one. 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.