PORTRAIT OF A ROW OF FIVE ADORABLE CIRCUS DOGS (PHOTO BY FAMED ALBERT BERGERET OF FRANCE)

circus dogs

This vintage real photo postcard features five circus dogs posed as if they were begging. The dogs are adorable and the photographer did an excellent job of posing these “talented” canines. The caption is in French and roughly means “Doggies Right Alignment”. The photograph is by the famed Albert Bergeret (1859-1932), a leading French postcard producer. Printing on the front of the postcard lists the studio as being located in Nancy. A postmark on the card indicates that it was mailed in 1902. To view other examples of Bergeret’s work and to learn more about him, click on the category “Photographer: Bergeret”. SOLD

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Published in: on April 11, 2016 at 2:18 pm  Leave a Comment  
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WHO IS VERA LYDIA? PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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Who is Vera Lydia? My best guess is that she is a performer of some type. Popular enough to merit her own postcard portrait but not popular enough for me to find information about in an internet search. Miss Lydia was a pretty woman and she had wonderful big smiling eyes. The reverse of the postcard has a French stamp and print that indicates that the postcard was published by a combined printing group in Nancy, France. Hopefully, a Cabinet Card Gallery visitor will be able to enlighten the rest of us about the identity of this intriguing mystery woman.

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Published in: on April 2, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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A MAN RIDING A RACING BIKE: NEED FOR SPEED (FRENCH VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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A MAN RIDING A RACING BIKE: NEED FOR SPEED: This vintage real photo postcard features a bicycle racer sitting on his bike. I believe he has goggles strapped around his head. The lens’s are visible at the front of his cap. Note the photographers embossed stamp on the bottom of the right hand side of the image. This photograph was taken by Antoine Provost who worked as a photographer in Toulouse, France. At one point his studio was located at Rue de la Pomme. The photographer did an excellent job of posing the rider. The image captures the feel of speed and motion. The postcard was published by “K Ltd” sometime between 1918 and 1936.  (SOLD)

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Published in: on March 14, 2016 at 11:53 am  Comments (1)  
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“THE BUTTERFLY KIDS” (HAND TINTED 1906 FRENCH REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

butterflykids

This vintage real photo postcard features two beautiful children with colorful butterfly wings. One can suppose that they are also being symbolically represented as fairies or angels. This postcard was used in France and was postmarked in St. Vincent in 1906. The postcard was mailed to Sisteron, France. The postcard was published by the GL Company and is number 1174/5 in a series. The G. L. Company (1903-1920’s) was located in the Netherlands and was known for their real photo postcards featuring children and women that were used as holiday and general greeting cards. The also produced postcards that featured actresses and nudes as subjects. Most of the postcards they produced were hand tinted.

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Published in: on March 5, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A FRENCH BEAUTY QUEEN IN PARIS: MLLE HENRIETTE POINTAL (1933 PRESS PHOTO)

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This vintage press photo features a beauty queen and her maids of honor. They participated in a Paris beauty contest in 1933. The three finalists are wearing furs and tiaras. The woman in the center, Mle Henriette Pointal was selected as the “Queen of Paris”. The 20 year old beauty was received, as was custom, by the President, Albert François Lebrun , at the Elysee Palace at the opening of the Mi-Careme festivities. This press photo was the property of the “Agence ROL”. The news agency was founded in 1904 by Marcel Rol (1876-1905).

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Published in: on February 28, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF GRACE BOWMAN, PERFORMER AT THEATRE DU CHATELET IN PARIS, FRANCE (BY PAUL BOYER)

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This vintage real photo postcard features a costumed stage actress named Violet Bowman. Her clownish costume’s pattern includes men in tuxedos and blackface. Preliminary research yielded little information about Miss Bowman but it appears from the postcard that she performed at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris France. The theatre was designed by Gabriel Davioud after it was requested by Baron Haussmann between 1860 and 1862. Although it has been remodeled, the theatre is still in operation and currently seats 2,500 people. Violet Bowman is quite pretty in this portrait by celebrated Paris photographer, Paul Boyer (1861-1908). He photographed many famous people during his career. This postcard is published by Societe Industrielle de Photograpie (SIP) of Rueil, France and was part of a series (no. 1264). The postmark of this French stamped postcard is from Castelnaudary, France and is dated 1905. It is addressed to Mazamet, France.

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Published in: on February 17, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL WEARING PIERROT COSTUME: SHE IS CUTE AS A BUTTON

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This vintage real photo postcard features an adorable little girl dressed in a Pierrot costume. Perhaps she is dressed for a party associated with the Carnival. Pierrot is a character introduced to Paris in the late seventeenth century. The character is still popular today in contemporary culture. Pierrot is often presented as a sad and naive clown. This postcard is from around the 1920’s.

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Published in: on February 13, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF A WORLD WAR I ERA SOLDIER IN NANTES, FRANCE

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This vintage real photo postcard features a portrait of a smartly dressed young World War I era soldier. He looks quite handsome in his uniform and clearly has his “game face” on. The photographer of this image is Gustave Cade. He operated a studio at 8 Rue de la Barillerie in Nantes, France. Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River.

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Published in: on February 11, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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WOUNDED WORLD WAR I FRENCH SOLDIER TREATED BY FELLOW COMBATANT WITH A BOTTLE OF ABSINTHE

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This vintage real photo postcard features a wounded French soldier being treated by his fellow combatant. The soldier doing the nursing helps his buddy by pouring some absinthe into the cup that the wounded man is holding. The injured man seems to be very pleased as he awaits his medicinal drink. What is absinthe? It is a distilled highly alcoholic beverage. Absinthe became a highly popular drink in late 19th and early 20th century France. It is a drink that was later portrayed as dangerous and seen as a hallucinogen. By 1915, it was banned in the US and much of Europe (including France). Although the ban of absinthe and the start outbreak of World War I occurred close together in time, author Doris Lanier, in her book “Absinthe–The Cocaine of the Nineteenth Century……..” (1994), notes that soldiers continued to enjoy absinthe during the war. Back to the photograph. Note the storage holders on the shelf above the injured man’s bed. It appears that they were used to hold the hospitalized patient’s clothing and belongings. My description of this interesting photograph contains some conjecture. Perhaps you have a different interpretation of this image. If so, please share your ideas in the comment section.

 

 

 

 

Published in: on January 30, 2016 at 3:54 pm  Comments (13)  
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PRETTY WOMAN WEARING A BIRD NEST HAT

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This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty woman wearing a bird nest hat. At least it looks like a bird nest. This young woman has the beauty to wear this unusual hat and look terrific rather than silly. The postcard is of French origin and was published in Paris. The Publisher’s logo “LL” can be seen on the front of the postcard. The postcard is part of a series (#123). “LL” postcards were produced for France, England, United States, and other nations. For many years postcard collecting experts believed the logo stood for Louis Levy but there was no real supporting evidence and that belief died around 1991. Later research arrived at the conclusion that the initials “LL” stand for (Moyse) Leon and his son-in-law (Isaac) Levy. Leon and Levy began their career as assistants with the Parisian photographic studio Ferrier-Souilier. The pair began their own photographic studio in 1862. Leon and Levy’s studio won a gold medal at the 1867 Universal Exhibition. Leon left the partnership in 1872 and Levy kept the business going and continued to use the “LL” logo. The company was renamed Levy Fils et Cie. Levy died in 1913 and the company was later bought by the printer Emile Crete.

 

Published in: on January 26, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  
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