18.00 USD
La Princesse de Caraman-Chimay, aka Clara Ward (17 June 1873 – 9 December 1916), was an American lumber and steel heiress from Michigan who became a society darling in all the American papers when, in 1890, she married Marie Joseph Anatole Pierre Alphonse de Riquet, Prince de Caraman-Chimay, a Belgian prince more than twice her age, becoming, herself, an honest to goodness princess. Yes, we have always loved to thumb noses at monarchy, but boy, do we ever love it when one of our own becomes a member of a royal family (case in point: Grace Kelly :).
By 1895, Clara, Princess of Chimay had given birth to two children, a son and daughter. She, and her husband, the prince, apparently loved eating out in the fancier dining spots in Paris. In fact, famed chef, Escoffier named two dishes after Princess Clara.
In around 1896, the Prince and Princess were dining out in Paris at a restaurant where a Hungarian Gypsy violinist by the name of Rigó Jancsi was providing the entertainment. Apparently some form of electrical attraction passed between Princess and violinist, because shortly thereafter they began an affair resulting in their running off together in December of 1896. The couple traveled to Budapest, Hungary, where another dish, this time a chocolate sponge cake, was named in honor of Rigó Jancsi.
The Prince of Chimay divorced Clara, she and Rigó Jancsi were married, and traveled to Egypt, where apparently, according to newspaper accounts, she embarked on the adventure of teaching Jancsi to read and write.
Times got tough for the couple however, and returning to Paris, Clara, still often called the Princess of Chimay, began performing, or at least posing in flesh-toned body stockings, on the stages of various Parisian music halls, which brings us to our card, a wonderful, hand-tinted piece of Belle Epoque history. By the way, Post Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec produced a lithograph of her and Rigó in 1897, titled "Idylle Princière."
Of course, high society generally despised Clara, while no doubt all of Paris (and Gypsy violinists everywhere) loved her, for the incomparably flamboyant romance of her life choices.
***WARNING*** It might not be safe for you to gaze too long upon this image!!! Kaiser Wilhelm II was said to have forbidden publication of her images within the borders of the German Empire, as he found her beauty "disturbing."
Clara soon met another lover, either before, or after, her divorce from Jancsi, which occurred not too long after their marriage. This third husband was Signore Peppino Ricciardo, who was a waiter whom she met on a train. The moral of this story might possibly be that if you can catch a princess at table, when she is being well fed and entertained, she cannot possibly say no to you!
Finally, and apparently not too long after her third marriage, Clara met her fourth and final husband, Signore Cassalota, a station manager who worked for a small Italian Railway. According to the Wikipedia article from which we drew all of our biographical information (Thanks Wikipedia!), Clara was still married to her fourth husband when she died, aged 43, in Padua Italy, in 1916.
Okay, so it's a sad story, or a funny story, or a bit of both, but either way, a remarkable story for a remarkable card :) 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!