DEBORAH VOLAR : IN MERVEILLEUSES (THE MARVELLOUS WOMEN) AND IN ALADDIN : RPPC

POSTCARD 1

POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)

These vintage real photo postcards feature singer and actress, Deborah Volar. Navy and Army magazine (1905) has an article about the performer in which she is described as a young “prima dona” (she was 21). The article reports that Volar was appearing at the Apollo Theater, and that she had made her debut two years earlier in “The Country Girl” at the Daly Theater.

Postcard 1 shows Volar in costume for her role in “The Merveilleuses”. The title can be translated as “The Marvellous Women”. Historically, these women lived at the end of the 18th century and were known for their outrageous style of fashion and behavior. Their fashion style was neo-classical and naked legs and toes challenged the mores of the day. These women were expressing their freedom through fashion.  “The Merveilleuses” was a musical play that can be categorized as a love story. Twelve photographs of Deborah Volar can be found in Great Britain’s National Portrait Gallery. This vintage postcard was published by Rotary Photo as part of a series (No.1730G). The card was printed in England and is in fair condition (see scans).

Postcard 2 shows Volar in costume for her role in “Aladdin” at the Prince’s Theatre in Bristol, England. Twelve photographs of Deborah Volar can be found in Great Britain’s National Portrait Gallery. This postcard is dated 1909. This vintage postcard was published by W.H.S. & S. B. (W. H. Smith & Son) as part of the Grosvenor series (No.10). The firm was located in Bristol. The card was printed in England. SOLD

Buy this Real Photo Vintage Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #5037

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Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #5037

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POSTCARD 1

POSTCARD 2

Published in: on November 1, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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THELMA TODD : FILM ACTRESS : LUCKY LUCIANO : SUICIDE : PICTUREGOER : RPPC

This vintage real photo postcard features American actress, Thelma Todd (1906-1935).  She rose to prominence during the 1920s and 1930s as a comedic actress in both silent films and early talkies. Todd became known for her beauty, talent, and comedic timing, appearing in over 120 films throughout her career. She was nicknamed “The Ice Cream Blonde” and “Hot Toddy”. Todd began her entertainment career as a teenager, winning several beauty pageants before making her way to Hollywood. She started in the film industry as an extra and later secured minor roles in silent films. Her breakthrough came when she signed a contract with Hal Roach Studios, where she starred alongside comedy legends like Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase, and Our Gang. In the late 1920s, Todd successfully transitioned into “talkies,” showcasing her ability to deliver comedic lines with charm and wit. Some of her notable films from this period include “Monkey Business” (1931), “The Maltese Falcon” (1931), and “Horse Feathers” (1932). Despite her success on the silver screen, Todd faced personal challenges and setbacks. She had a tumultuous love life, including relationships with prominent figures such as director Roland West and gangster Lucky Luciano. Her relationship with West, who was married at the time, was marred by rumors and scandals. Tragically, on December 16, 1935, Thelma Todd’s life was cut short under mysterious circumstances. Her body was found in her car, parked in the garage of her café, the Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Café in Pacific Palisades, California. While the exact cause of her death remains uncertain, it was officially ruled as accidental carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty garage heater. However, some speculation and conspiracy theories surrounding her death have persisted over the years. This postcard was published as part of the “Picturegoer” series (no.413). SOLD

Published in: on October 30, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MALA POWERS : BEAUTIFUL ACTRESS : PICTUREGOER SERIES : REPUBLIC PICTURES : RPPC

This vintage real photo postcard features Mala Powers (1931-2007) is a retired American actress who appeared in films during the 1950s and 1960s. She is best known for her roles in the films “The Sniper” (1952), “The Big Circus” (1959), and “The Miracle” (1959). She began her career as a contract player for Columbia Pictures, appearing in supporting roles in several films before moving on to lead roles in B-movies. She retired from acting in the 1960s to focus on her family. Powers looks quite glamourous in this portrait postcard. She has an enchanting smile.
 This vintage postcard is part of the “Picturegoer” series (No. D 298). She posed for the postcard’s portrait while under contract with Republic Pictures. SOLD

Published in: on October 29, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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HILDA TREVELVAN : ENGLISH ACTRESS : J M BARRIE : PLAYED WENDY IN PETER PAN : RPPC

This vintage real photo postcard features English actress, Hilda Trevelyan (1877-1959). She was born in London. Her father was a farmer and her mother was French. She received her education at a convent and she made her debut on stage at the age of twelve. By the time she was sixteen years of age, she was touring in the musical comedy “A Gaiety Girl”. Early in her career she became associated with playwright J. M. Barrie. She appeared in many of his plays. She is most well known for creating the role of Wendy in Peter Pan. During her career, she played the part almost a thousand times. She also was successful as Oliver Twist in the play of the same name. The play was based on a Charles Dickens novel. In 1910, she married actor and writer, Sydney Blow. Trevelayan retired from the theater in 1939. Trevelayan also appeared in movies. IMDb gives her six movie credits between 1916 and 1939. This postcard was published by Birn Brothers. The firm was located in London, England. Miss Trevelyan’s portrait photo was taken by Hutchinson & Svendsen. This vintage postcard is in very good condition (see scans). 

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #5282

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$15.50

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #5282

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$25.50

Published in: on October 26, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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DRINA VERCHESI : BRITISH BEAUTY & ACTRESS : ROTARY PHOTO : RISQUE : 1910’s

POSTCARD 1 (SOLD)

POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)

These vintage real photo postcards feature British beauty and actress, Drina Verchesi. Information about Verchesi is not readily available. A deeper dive into theater sources, will uncover some details of her life. It is safe to bet that she was not a major player on the British stage, but established enough to be featured on this postcard.

Postcard 1 is hand-painted and captures Miss Verchesi in a risque pose in a revealing dress. This card is certainly provocative for it’s era. The card was published by Rotary Photo (no.A526-1). The firm operated in London, England. (SOLD)

POSTCARD 2 is hand-painted and captures Miss Verchesi holding flowers and flashing a wonderful smile. This card was published by Rotary Photo (no.S.1-3). The firm operated in London, England.  (SOLD)

POSTCARD 1

POSTCARD 2

Published in: on October 25, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MADGE HODGKINSON : PRETTY STAGE ACTRESS : RAPHAEL TUCK : UNCOMMON RPCC 1914

This rare vintage real photo postcard features stage actress, Madge Hodgkinson. There is not much information about her readily available. She sat for one photograph that can be found in the collection of England’s National Portrait Gallery. The photograph was taken by female celebrity photographer, Rita Martin. An article in Royal Magazine (1908) includes another photo to Hodgkinson by Rita Martin. The caption describes her as “a pretty Gibson Girl” and that “Gibson Girls are always delightful”. It is written that Hodgkinson was one of many actresses recently marrying for wealth and/or title. The writer whimsically asks “At this rate, how long will the supply hold out”. Hodgkinson’s groom was Paul Grisewood, “a stock exchange man”. Further research is needed to illuminate details of the pretty actress’s life. This postcard was published by Raphael Tuck & Sons as part of the “Celebrities of the Stage” series (1002). The postcard has a Canadian stamp and a 1914 postmark from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  SOLD

Published in: on October 20, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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LA JANA : AUSTRO-GERMAN EXOTIC DANCER AND FILM STAR : RISQUE : RPPC

Postcard 1 (SOLD)

Postcard 2 (SOLD)

Postcard 3 (SOLD)

La Jana (1905-1940) was an actress and dancer. Her nationality was Austro-German. She was the illegitimate daughter of a master gilder and his housekeeper. Her parents wed four years after her birth. Her family was Jewish. She went by the name, Henny.. She trained as a dancer at the Frankfurt Opera Ballet and her first stage appearance was at the age of eight. She later began dancing in revues. She was “discovered” in Paris and brought to Berlin to meet with Frederic Zelnik who got her into films. The film director who “discovered” her said that the first time he saw her dance, “that woman possessed the most attractive body that I had set eyes upon” in my not all that long life. He went on to describe her as simple, nice and approachable. He added that she “had as much interest in sex as in Immanuel Kant”. meaning, none at all. As her career advanced, she danced in revues in Berlin, Stockholm, London, and many other cities. When she appeared in “Casanova” she viewed by the audience semi-naked and on a silver platter. In Berlin, she began an affair with Crown Prince Wilhelm. There were also rumors that she had an affair with Joseph Goebbels. Charlie Chaplin was also one of her lovers. Clearly, her attitude about sex changed from the earlier days of her dancing career. In 1937, her performance in a film catapulted her to film stardom. In 1940, while touring Germany, entertaining troops, she fell ill with pneumonia and passed away. The IMDb gives La Jana 23 film credits between 1926 and 1940.

La Jana’s portrait for Postcard 1 was taken by the Manasse studio in Vienna, Austria. The Manasse studio was in existence between about 1922 and 1938. The studio was run by Olga Solarics (1896-1969) and her husband Adorja’n von Wlassics (1893-1946). Olga was known for her interest in photographing nudes. The studio flourished in Vienna during the 1930’s. Many of the portraits taken by the studio had an erotic flavor. The studio attracted some of the leading ladies of film and theater. This postcard was published by Ross Verlag (no.7043/1). This vintage postcard has a small imperfection located under La Jana’s left elbow. (SOLD)

Postcard 2 was published by Ross Verlag (no.5035/2). Miss Jana’s photograph was taken by the Manasse studio in Vienna, Austria.  The Manasse studio was in existence between about 1922 and 1938. The studio was run by Olga Solarics (1896-1969) and her husband Adorja’n von Wlassics (1893-1946). Olga was known for her interest in photographing nudes. The studio flourished in Vienna during the 1930’s. Many of the portraits taken by the studio had an erotic flavor. The studio attracted some of the leading ladies of film and theater.  (SOLD)

Postcard 3 was published by Ross Verlag (no.3911/1). Miss Jana’s photograph was taken by Martin Badekow (1896-1983) in Berlin.  In the 1920’s, Badekow was a well known photographer in Berlin. He photographed portraits of many film stars and other celebrities. He also was a fashion photographer. Before she was famous, Badekow took many fashion photos of Marlene Dietrich. After World War I, he and his son Heinz, took photographs of the devastation in Berlin. Some of them can be found at Getty Images. After the 1920’s, interest in Badekow’s work waned. More recently, Badekow’s photographs from the Berlin cabarets and of the stars of German silent films, can now be found in museums and are considered symbolic images of Weimar Germany.  (SOLD)

Published in: on October 16, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MISS MADGE TEMPLE : ACTRESS, VOCALIST, AND MUSIC HALL COMEDIENNE OF THE ENGLISH STAGE

The adorable stage actress featured in this vintage photo postcard is Madge Temple (1875/80-1943). She was an English actress, vocalist, and music hall comedienne. Temple’s first appearance in pantomime was at West London’s, Lyric Theatre, at Christmas in 1900. She then went on tour and in 1905, she began playing on the variety stage. She then successfully toured music hall theatres with such songs as “Come , Be My Rainbow”, “He’s a Very Old Friend of Mine”, and “I’m Looking for Mr. Wright”. In 1909 and 1910 she made a series of of recordings for Pathe. She was a popular performer on the British stage and became a star in Australia when she toured there in 1913-1914. Madge Temple was married to Herman Darewski (1883-1947),  a successful composer of many popular songs.  The pair had at least one child. The story of Neville Lawrence Darewski is told in a book entitled “SAS Italian Job: The Secret Mission to Storm a Forbidden Nazi Fortress”. He was known as “Major Temple”, adopting his mother’s last name as his nom de guerre. He was a member of a an elite “Special Duty” unit and was involved in secret missions during World War II. He was a member of Churchill’s “Ministry for Ungentlemanly Warfare”. In 1943 he was dropped behind enemy lines in Italy.  He commanded a unit of five hundred Italian partisans. The group did a great deal of damage to the Italian and German military in Italy. They attacked a airbase and destroyed eighty-nine Italian planes. Unfortunately, Major Temple did not survive the war. He was killed in a truck accident as he was trying to escape the German army which after much time and effort, had surrounded his unit. This postcard is postmarked 1907 in Kilburn which is likely the Kilburn that is a section of London. The photographer of this portrait of Madge Temple is Ian Douglas Campbell-Gray. He is associated with ten portraits in the United Kingdom’s National Portrait Gallery. The British Journal of Photography (1910) printed a photograph of a commercial truck that advertised Campbell Gray’s photo studio. His creative flair is evident because the back half of the truck looked exactly like a camera. This postcard has a message which discusses the photograph on it’s front. The writer apologizes about her inability to find a photo card of “G.R.?” and claims that such cards are scarce because the performer was not active when the postcard was written. Could she be referring to “Gaynor Rowland”? This specific Madge Temple photo postcard is uncommon. The postcard is in very good condition (see scans).  SOLD

Published in: on October 14, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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CLARA BOW : AMERICAN SILENT FILM ACTRESS : “THE IT GIRL” : RISQUE 

POSTCARD 1 (SOLD)

POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)

POSTCARD 3 (SOLD)

This uncommon vintage real photo postcard (Postcard 1) features silent film icon, Clara Bow (1905-1965 ). She successfully made the transition to talkies in 1929. Bow appeared in 46 silent movies and 11 talkies. She was known as the “It Girl” during the golden age of Hollywood. She was known for her vivacious energy, mesmerizing on-screen presence, and her impressive talent. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in the borough’s tenements. Both of her parents had mental health issues and she grew up in an unstable and chaotic environment. She was a resilient and determined child and she took on a caretaker role for her younger siblings. She was responsible and mature beyond her years. Despite her humble background, she became a very influential figure in cinema history. Her rise from poverty to stardom, and her groundbreaking portrayals of independent and liberated women, helped her gain an enduring legend of the silver screen. Clara Bow was discovered in 1922 when she participated in a magazine contest searching for new talent. Her photographs were seen by film producer B. P. Schulberg who saw her potential and offered her a screen test. Her screen presence was impressive and she signed a contract with Paramount Pictures. In her earliest films, her versatility was was obvious as she transitioned effortlessly between dramatic and comedic roles. It was the 1927 film, “It” that made Clara Bow a superstar and earned her the nickname of “The It Girl”. She was viewed as modern, charismatic, and sexually liberated. Bow was also successful in “talkie” films, despite her Brooklyn accent. While Bow was successful professionally, her personal life was a “hot mess”. She had a long term troubled marriage to actor Rex Bell (m.1931) and she battled her own mental health issues, including anxiety and depression. In 1933, Bow retired from acting and became a rancher. This vintage real photo postcard was published by Ross Verlag (Germany) as part of a series (No.3394/1). Bow is wearing a grass skirt, a Hawaiian Lei, and holding a ukulele. She is showing her bare legs. The card is risque for it’s era. The logo for Paramount Pictures can be found in the images bottom right hand corner.  SOLD

Postcard 2 was published by Ross Verlag (Germany) as part of a series (No.4480/1). Bow is wearing a short skirt. She is showing her bare legs. The card is risque for it’s era. The logo for Paramount Pictures can be found in the images bottom right hand corner.  SOLD

Postcard 3  was published by Ross Verlag (Germany) as part of a series (No.3812/1). This  postcard captures Bow as she appeared in the film “Get Your Man” (1927). The film was a light, fast-paced silent romantic comedy starring Clara Bow at the height of her “It Girl” popularity. It was produced by Paramount Pictures and the firm’s logo can be seen in the bottom right corner of the image. This photo is risque. Miss Bow is wearing a chiffon negligee. SOLD

POSTCARD 1

POSTCARD 2

POSTCARD 3

Published in: on October 10, 2024 at 11:30 am  Comments (2)  
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ALLA NAZIMOVA TRIBUTE SONG : BY ANITA OWEN : JONES MUSIC CO. : SHEET MUSIC 1920

This vintage sheet music is entitled “Alla”. The music is dedicated to the “Famous Artiste and Metro Star”, Mme Alla Nazimova (1879-1945). She was a Russian-American actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She was noted for her classic Broadway work. She acted in the plays of Ibsen, Chekhov, and Turgenev. She later worked in film. She acted, wrote screen plays and directed films. Her film “Salome” (1922) is considered a “cultural landmark”. Nazimova was bisexual and her sexual escapades garnered much public attention. A portrait of Nazimova graces the front cover of this sheet music. This sheet music was published by The Jones Music Company in 1920. The firm was based in New York City. This sheet music is in very good condition (see scans). SOLD

Published in: on October 9, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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