11.00USD
Red Poulaine, we have a special place in our hearts for the Italian actress images of the early 1900s and into the 1920s. The quality of the portrait photography and subsequent postcard publication was particularly rich, with a flair for the dramatic and mysterious. Many of our favorites, like Anna Fougez and Nella Regini, began their careers as sciantose, a variation on the French term chanteuse, meaning female singer, but bringing to it other meanings, and implying a dark, mysterious, exotic quality that appealed to the theater going public at the time, and certainly appeals to us :) Naturally we love all of our images or we probably wouldn't purchase them for our shop, and feel an almost filial affection for the performers onto whom we project imagined personalities and traits (is that weird? :), but there is something about what seems to have been at the time a very Italian penchant for carrying the illusion of the stage and screen out into the public venue, a tendency to make even larger, the already "larger than life" persona of the theatrical personality, that we really love. So we have decided to open a new section devoted exclusively to these Italian artistes. We call it "La Bella Donna," and yes it is a bit of a play on words, given the tendency in many of these cards to focus on qualities of a "femme Fatale" type. We hope you will enjoy these images as much as we do.
"Borellismo was a word used in Italy in the teens to describe the Lyda Borelli craze. Girls went on diets and strove to imitate her twisted postures. She was like a decadent version of the Pre-Raphaelite beauty--thin, with wavy blond hair and strange but picturesque poses. She portrayed characters who were doomed and otherworldly, often bordering on the supernatural. Her Rapsodia Satanica (1915), a compelling film about an old woman who makes a pact with the Devil for eternal youth, is an splendid introduction to this fascinating star."
Above quote from a short article at Stanford.edu. Lyda Borelli was so wonderful. If you venture into the wildwood of youtube and search for her, you will be well rewarded. Lots of beautiful clips to enjoy. Brief observation though, we managed to watch a wonderful, partially-tinted copy of Rapsodia Satanica, and Lyda Borelli was not thin! She was deliciously beautiful, her portrayal wondrously evocative, but if anything, she was downright saftig! Very nice card, but with a fair amount of wear on edges and corners, and a gentle crease, almost invisible behind the faux autograph, but definitely visible at close up in our scans.. 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!