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PRETTY YOUNG ALSATIAN WOMAN : LARGE BOW IN HAIR : FAUVETTE : RPPC 1912
This color tinted vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young Alsatian woman with a large bow in her hair. She is wearing a cross and has lots of flowers pinned to her dress near her neckline. What’s an Alsatian you may wonder. Alsatians are an ethnic group of people who live in the Alsace region of France. They are settled between the Vosges Mountains and the border of Germany. This French postcard was published by Fauvette as part of a series (No.1023). SOLD
WOMAN WEARING BIG BIZARRE DECORATIVE HAT : GOULLEY STUDIO : PARIS, FRANCE : RPPC
This vintage real photo postcard features a portrait of a young woman wearing a large, bizarre, decorative hat. This is a studio photo and likely one of a kind. The photograph was taken by the Goulley studio in Paris, France. SOLD
PORTRAIT OF JEANNE SAMARY :ARTIST MODEL FOR RENOIR :STAGE ACTRESS : CABINET CARD
This cabinet card photograph features a portrait of French stage actress, Jeanne Samary (1857-1890). Samary was born into a family of artists. Her father was a cellist at the Paris Opera and she had two aunts and a grandmother who were actresses at the the Comedie-Francaise. At age fourteen, she entered the Conservatoire and in three years later, won the first prize for comedy. She made her debut at the Comedie-Francaise in 1874. She is not as well known for her acting as for her posing for several portraits by Pierre Auguste Renoir. She was his model between 1877 and 1880. She appeared in Renoir’s painting, “Le Dejeuner des canotiers” (Luncheon of the Boating Party). Samary was an actress who was perceived as a woman “of the people”. She could not get major roles on the stage. She played minor roles and often was cast as a maid. Samary wanted to be a famous actress but instead is famous for being one of Renoir’s models. This photograph of Samary was taken by the W. & D. Downey studio (London). SOLD
YOKO TANI : SUCCESSFUL JAPANESE ACTRESS IN EUROPE AND DELIVERER OF CHEESECAKE
POSTCARD 1
POSTCARD 1 (CLOSE-UP)
POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)
POSTCARD 2 (CLOSE-UP) (SOLD)
Yoko Tani (1928-1999) was a Japanese actress and nightclub entertainer. Some writers have described her as “Eurasian” or “half French”. These half white labels were thought necessary because there was a belief she would be accepted more as an exotic than as a Japanese woman by European post World War II audiences. The reality is that both her parents were Japanese but worked for the Japanese embassy in Paris. She was conceived on a boat to France and born in Paris. She was given the name “Yoko” which means “ocean child”. She and her family returned to Japan in 1930 and she returned to France in 1950 after finishing her schooling in Japan. She went back to France because she was awarded a scholarship to study aesthetics at the University of Paris. She stayed in school for a couple of years but it did not hold her interest. She developed a strong attraction to the world of cabarets, night clubs and music halls. She entered into “show business” and became known as an “exotic oriental beauty” with her provocative sexy “geisha” dances. These dances often ended with her slipping out of her kimono. She also appeared in “cheesecake photographs”. Discovered by Marcel Carne, a French film director, she entered into his social world of filmdom. She met and later married Roland Lesaffre, the French actor. It would be the first of two marriages. She soon began acting in films. Until the mid 1950’s her acting roles were confined to stereotyped Asians in French films. In 1956 she appeared in French films in more substantial roles. While in Japan, she appeared in a film with a “women in prison” theme. Between 1957 and 1962, Tani appeared in international films. Her first English language film was Graham Greene’s “The Quiet American”. She had a small role playing a French speaking Vietnamese nightclub hostess. In regard to English language films, Tani’s first great success was in “The Wind Cannot Read” (1958). She had a leading actress role and her success helped land her additional English language roles (Great Britain and the United States). Additional Hollywood parts included My Geisha (1962) and “Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed” (1963). In about 1963, she became more of a European based actress. She worked on mainly low budget Italian films and in femme fatale roles in British television. Tani maintained her love for cabaret and nightclubs throughout her career. The producer of “The Wind Cannot Read” wrote that when looking to recruit Tani for the picture, she found her in a “girlie club”, basically, a strip tease joint in Paris. It was reported that in the 1960’s, she worked in the Le Crazy Horse de Paris nightclub. In 1997, at nearly 50 years of age, she was in Brazil to play a small role in a sexploitation film. Also in 1977 she starred in a transvestite show in downtown Sao Paulo. The IMDb credits Tani with 53 film acting credits between 1949 and 2018.
Postcard 1 showcases the beauty of Yoko Tani. This photograph is certainly a “cheesecake” image. Tani seems to be falling out of her robe (kimono). Let there be no doubt, sex sells. This was true in the 1950’s and 1960’s as well as today. Unfortunately, women were, and are, seen as objects. This vintage real photo postcard was made in France and published by the “Globe”. The card was part of a series (no.713). The photograph was taken by famed celebrity photographer Sam Levin. Levin was popular both in Europe as well as the United States. This photo postcard is in very good condition (see scans).
Postcard 2 is a risque photograph of Miss Tani. She is wearing the same robe as the one she wears in Postcard 1. It is strategically ill fitting. The postcard is made in Paris and published by the globe as part of a series no.469). The photographer is Sam Levin. SOLD
Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #3116
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$14.72
Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #3116
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$23.22
POSTCARD 1
POSTCARD 2
ELIZABETH MANET : FRENCH ACTRESS : PHOTO BY SAM LEVIN
This vintage real photo postcard features actress Elisabeth Manet. Manet was born in Paris, France, in 1934. She is remembered for “Young Girls Beware” (1957) and “The Mirror has Two Faces” (1958). He IMDb filmography includes six credits between 1955 and 1959. SOLD
HERITO: A PORTRAIT OF MLLE HERO (THEATER ACTRESS)
This vintage real photo postcard features French glamour star Herito (Mlle Hero). She was a celebrated actress and dancer of her era. Although she was a popular subject of photo postcards, this particular postcard is not very common. The postcard was published by Rotophot Berlin (RPH). Rotophot made it’s debut in Berlin, Germany around the turn of the century (1900). The company had other European offices including London and Budapest. They published many different postcard topics including stage stars. Many of their early postcards were tinted. Eventually Rotophot morphed into “Ross Verlag” a postcard company that collectors know for the many postcards they produced featuring actors and actresses. (SOLD)
ARTIST PAINTS BEAUTIFUL MODEL : RISQUE : JEAN AGELOU : PARIS : EXTRAORDINARY RPPC
This French vintage risque real photo postcard features a pretty young woman modeling for an artist. This photograph is meant to titillate. The young woman is scantily dressed and showing much of her bare legs. One side of the hem of her undergarment is lifted. The model is displaying an alluring expression. The artist appears to be intensely concentration on his painting. He is holding a brush and palette. Some of the artist’s work is strewn on the floor. This risque photographic portrait was published by celebrated photographer, Jean Agelou (1878-1921), as part of a series (No.089). Agelou was a French photographer of the 1910’s and 1920’s who is best known for his erotic and nude photographs. He was born in Egypt and not much is known about his private life. Agelou generally used models between the age of 20 and 24 years-old. Although the 1900’s was the “golden age” of erotic photograph, photographers who took such risque photos had to use discretion. As a result, Agelou signed his work “JA”. In 1908, nudity in photographs was banned in France and photographers had to cover nude women images with strategically placed undergarments or other materials. Nude images had to circulate on the down low. They were sent in the mail inside of envelopes. Jean Agelou died in 1921; the result of a car accident. His brother George, who managed Jean’s business, also was killed in the crash. SOLD
SUZANNE BALQUERIE : FRENCH OPERA STAR : PHOTO BY HENRI MANUEL : RPPC
This vintage real photo postcard features French opera singer, Suzanne Balguerie (1888-1973). She is considered one of the best sopranos performing between the two World Wars. She studied singing at the Conservatoire de Paris. Her debut was at the Opera-Comique in 1921. She received rave reviews. She made a career at the Opera-Comique. When the Nazis occupied France during World War II, there was little opportunity for her to work and she became impoverished. She retired in 1950 and in 1953 she became a professor at the Conservatories in Grenoble and Geneva. For an unknown reason, she did not pursue an international opera career. Mlle Balquerie’s photo portrait seen on this postcard was taken by esteemed photographer, Henri Manuel. The card was published by Alfred Noyer (Paris, France). (SOLD)
VERONIQUE ZUBER : MISS FRANCE (1955), MOVIE ACTRESS, AND EX WIFE OF FASHION DESIGNER TED LAPIDUS
This vintage real photo postcard features French actress Veronique Zuber (1936-). Her beauty was recognized when she was selected Miss Paris (1954) and Miss France (1955). She became a movie actress, but her career was short lived. She dropped her career when she married French fashion designer, Ted Lapidus. She later divorced Lapidus and married Prince Georges de Bibikoff. The IMDB lists six films in her filmography. The movies were produced between 1956 and 1959. This postcard was edited by P. I. Kores as part of a series (No. 861). Miss Zuber’s photograph was taken by the Vauclair and Bernard Studio. SOLD
