FRENCH AVIATION PIONEER ROGER SOMNER PILOTS HIS BIPLANE (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

sumner

This vintage real photo postcard features a portrait of French aviator Roger Somner (1877-1965) sitting in the pilot seat  of his 1910 biplane. Somner was an aviation pioneer. The Washington Herald (1909) reported that he broke a world record in a Farman Biplane by flying one hour and fifty minutes at the height of 80 feet. This was a record due to the length of time logged in the air. The Oregon News (1909) described an international aviation contest involving at least five nations competing for about 401,000 dollars worth of prizes. Somner was representing France while the American competitor was Glenn Curtiss (another celebrated aviation pioneer). The Lewiston Evening Journal (1910) reported that Somner ad established a new world record by piloting a plane with three passengers for a total of five minutes. Somner was clearly a brave man. This vintage postcard has a postmark from the French city of Bordeaux in 1951.

sumner 2

Published in: on September 15, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (4)  
Tags: , , , , ,

SPIDER WOMAN: PRETTY LADY WITH A MOST INCREDIBLE HAT (VINTAGE POSTCARD)

spider hat 5

This vintage real photo postcard is truly fantastic. The postcard features a pretty woman wearing a gorgeous spider web style hat, complete with spider. To top things off, the hat is made of torn newspaper. This photo postcard is advertising “Le Matin” which was a French daily newspaper that was first published in 1884 and discontinued in 1944. This interesting photograph was taken by E. Rameau. The postcard’s stamp box indicates that it was published around 1916.

spider hat 1

Published in: on August 10, 2015 at 2:46 pm  Comments (3)  
Tags:

HANDSOME MAN IN MILITARY UNIFORM AND HIS PRETTY WIFE IN MONTELIMAR, FRANCE

soldier wedding

This cabinet card photograph features a very handsome couple posing at the L. Lang Jeune studio in Montelimar, France. The image may be a wedding photo. The gentleman in this photograph strikes a dashing figure in his military dress uniform and boots. His wife appears delicate and pretty. She is bright eyed and displaying a nice smile. Advertising on the reverse of the cabinet card indicates that the studio that created this image was founded in 1869 and had won a medal at an exhibition in 1909,   SOLD

Published in: on December 23, 2014 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

PORTRAIT OF A HANDSOME UNIFORMED FRENCH SOLDIER

soldier

This cabinet card portrait features a handsome French soldier in uniform.  He appears to be an officer judging by the braids on his shoulder but I am uncertain of his rank. The photographer of this image is Eugene de Paris. Interestingly, Eugene was not actually located in Paris but instead operated his studio in Toulon, a city in southern France. Advertising on the reverse of the cabinet card indicates that Eugene de Paris won photography medals at the Exposition of 1873. This exposition was likely the World Exposition which was held in Vienna in 1873.  SOLD

Published in: on December 21, 2014 at 6:00 pm  Comments (6)  
Tags: , , , ,

WEDDING COUPLE IN MONTLUCON, FRANCE

FRENCH BRIDAL_0006

A couple poses for their wedding portrait at the studio of A. Heron in Montlucon, France. The bride and groom are formally dressed. Note the groom’s top hat (he’s holding it) and the bride’s long veil. The groom is shorter than the bride and unlike many other wedding photos of the era, the photographer didn’t attempt to hide the difference by placing the groom on an elevated surface. Another difference between this image and other wedding portraits of the era is that the couple in this image are holding hands. Apparently, they were not ashamed of public displays of affection. The lack of fear of photographing intimacy might reflect a difference of the French and American cultures at that time. Preliminary research yielded no information about Monsieur Heron. Montlucon is a town in central France on the Cher River.

Published in: on October 10, 2014 at 8:00 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

PORTRAIT OF A PRETTY YOUNG PARISIAN WOMAN

frenchwomanFranqois Emile Graffe & Solon Vathis are the photographers of this portrait of a pretty young Parisian woman. Vathis was originally from greece but held French citizenship when he received a US patent in 1906 for inventing an “improved process for producing multicolor proofs”.

shop-now-button

Published in: on January 16, 2014 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  

PERFECTLY POISED AND PERFECTLY POSED BABY IN CORBIE, FRANCE

french baby_0004Can a baby be poised? If so, than the baby in this photograph certainly seems poised. The child actually has a “stage presence”.  He or she is a perfect candidate for doing television commercials. Unfortunately television is decades away from being invented, so this child must settle for still photography. The baby in this photograph is very well posed. The baby is adorable and the positioning and lighting is terrific. The skilled posing also helps this image get past the Corbie Cabinet Card Censoring Committee (otherwise known as the C.C.C.C.C).. The photographer of this image is the David studio in Corbie, France. Corbie is a town in the north of France. attentive baby

Published in: on August 18, 2013 at 12:01 am  Comments (1)  
Tags: ,

MYSTERY PHOTOGRAPH: POSSIBLY FRENCH CAVALRY SOLDIERS AND THEIR SWORDS AND HELMETS (HELP NEEDED FROM CABINET CARD GALLERY’S VAST AND UNPAID RESEARCH DEPARTMENT)

SOLDIERS AND SWORDSThe previous owner of this photograph described the subjects in the image as World War I French Cavalry soldiers. The soldiers are wearing collar pins that identify their military unit as being the “29th”. They are drinking glasses of wine from a bottle on the table. The men have long swords and there are three helmets on the floor in front of the men. My uneducated guess is that these military men are part of a fencing team. There is a within the photograph which would provide more information but I can not decipher the script on the label. A stamp on the reverse of the photograph identifies the photographer as Moraux and the location of his studio as Provins, which is in north central France. Assistance is clearly needed from the cabinet card gallery’s vast and unpaid research department. The visitors to the cabinet card gallery have a history of contributing informed and thoughtful knowledge via their comments. Knowledge that helps us further our appreciation and understanding of the gallery’s images.

Published in: on May 8, 2013 at 12:02 am  Comments (11)  
Tags: , , , , , , ,

ACTRESS HOLDS THEATER MASK ALOFT IN NICE, FRANCE

LADYTHEATREMASK_0001This cabinet card photograph captures a young woman holding a theater (carnival)  mask. It is very likely that this smiling woman is an actress and that she is wearing a theater costume. Her dress is very unique and interesting. Hoperfully,  some of the fashion informed visitors to the cabinet card gallery will leave commentary about the subject’s attire. The cabinet card gallery is fortunate to have so many visitors willing to leave interesting and educational comments. This photograph was produced by A. Regis who operated a gallery in Nice, France.

Published in: on March 29, 2013 at 12:01 am  Comments (4)  
Tags: , , , ,

INTELLECTUAL FAMILY IN MONTLUEL, FRANCE DISCUSSES POLITICAL MATTERS

Photographer J. Marmand produced this cabinet card photograph of an intellectual family in Montluel, France. Montluel is in eastern France on the outskirts of Lyon. This appears to be an early cabinet card from the 1870’s. The father in this image is holding a newspaper or magazine with a headline that appears to say “La Decentralisation”. This refers to a system of government in which power is exercised by both the state and it’s communities or institutions. The mother in this portrait is displaying a “thinking pose”. The father has no need to pose; he naturally has the appearance of an intellectual.  The couple’s son is well dressed and well groomed and looks very serious and mature. Note the pile of books and the bust on the table. These props add to the scholarly climate portrayed in this photograph.

Published in: on November 17, 2012 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , ,
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »