18.00 USD
Gorgeously hand-tinted image. We had a lot of fun figuring this one out. The unidentified image itself was immediately reminiscent of those marvelous softly lit sepia toned portraits by Parisian photographer Oricelly (about whom we know almost nothing, except that his/her first initial may have been J. and their studio address 25 et 27 Rue Tronchet, Paris). So with this as a starting point, we examined one of our favorite Oricelly images for comparison, a portrait of the beautiful Marthe Alexandre. For the purpose of this story, we are including the image in this listing, though *not for sale*.
Most of our research efforts come up empty, but sometimes it comes easy. When we compared the images, we saw that the very same tromp l'oeil had been used for both photos (notice the break in the clouds in the upper right of the backgrounds). Hurrah! Then, pouring over a hundred or so Oricelly images, we were lucky enough to come across one out of the same series, identifying the artiste as a Mlle. Méryl, performing at the Scala, one of the many wonderful Parisian Caf' Conc' of the period.
Just thought you might like to know a little about our process here at Red Poulaine, and how we spend much of our day :) It is, without question, a labor of love.
We don't often come across these Oricelly masterpieces so marvelously tinted. This one was printed in Germany by N.P.G. (the Neue Photographische Gesellschaft), one of the most prolific postcard publishers of the time, which turned out fine quality silver-bromide photo print postcards, utilizing technology originally developed in the United States, but improved upon and patented in Germany (but that's another story :). This particular image is an oranotype, a photo printing process used with, as you can see, great success by N.P.G.
A really magnificent 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!