18.00 USD
One of our favorite, and most magical, subgenres of "Lovely Lady" postcards has to be that of the marvelous maenad. These are somewhat idealized, and presumably toned down, versions of those wild maidens of ancient Greece, who in their worship of Dionysus, the god of wine and sensual abandon, got up to all kinds of mischief. The maenad, as an image, was practically the poster girl of La Belle Epoque, expressing that rich, earthy, "joie de vivre," which has come to be seen as so expressive of that era. In our Marvelous Maenad section, we're not all that particular about whether the model is depicted as a woodland sprite, a pagan priestess, or if they're just a couple of Belle Epoque chorus girls unwinding after a tough dress rehearsal. The images we list in this section might have been published anytime between the 1890s and the 1930s. Basically, if they're wearing grapes, grapevines, animal skins, or any of the other accoutrements no self respecting maenad could do without, this is the section they'll end up in. Welcome to the Bacchanal!!! :)
Carmel Myers was a nice Jewish girl from San Francisco. Born in 1899, she was given her first film role by D.W. Griffith in 1916, a small part in his huge epic, "Intolerance." She made her biggest splash as the vamp in "Ben Hur," not the Heston one, :) but the one with Ramon Novarro. She did make the change over to the talkies, though by then, she was playing mostly supporting roles.
This is an awesome image that definitely gets her into our Maenad section.
This, from a great site called the Red List:
"(Carmel Myers)* was a close friend of Francis Scott Fitzgerald who wrote her a poem: 'Orange pajamas and heaven's guitars. Never, oh never the twain shall meet. Never mind though; the advantage is ours. Reach for a Carmel instead of a sweet.'" *our parenthetical
Red List address: http://theredlist.fr/wiki-2-24-525-526-651-view-1920s-2-profile-carmel-myers.html
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!