BIJOUX : PERFORMER : WALERY : CASINO DE PARIS : RPPC 1908

This uncommon, color tinted vintage real photo postcard features a one-name performer named Bijoux. The card is risque for it’s era. Bijoux was a performer at the Casino de Paris and apparently, she was popular enough to merit her own postcard portrait, but not popular enough for me to find information about her online. Bijou was photographed by Lucien Walery. He was a celebrated Paris photographer known for his portraits of artists and cabaret dancers from the city’s music halls. He is very well known for his portraits of Mata Hari and Josephine Baker. Walery did a lot of work in the genre of nude/erotic photography. He photographed the beautiful women of Paris between the early 1900’s and the 1920’s. The postcard was published by a combined printing group in Nancy, France.  SOLD

Published in: on December 2, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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CLO D’HALY : PRETTY THEATRICAL PERFORMER : PHOTO BY LUCIEN WALERY : RISQUE RPPC

This postcard features pretty theatrical performer, Clo D’Haly. She possessed great beauty. This photograph was taken by esteemed photographer Lucien Walery. He was a celebrated Paris photographer known for his portraits of artists and cabaret dancers from the city’s music halls. He is well known for his portraits of Mata Hari and Josephine Baker. Walery did a great deal of work in the genre of nude/erotic photography. He photographed the beautiful women of Paris between the early 1900’s and the 1920’s. This photo postcard is a bit risque for it’s era. The postcard was published by SIP . SOLD

Published in: on November 13, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MISS ALEX: PARISIAN ENTERTAINER : PHOTOGRAPHED BY LUCIEN WALERY (1903)

This vintage real photo postcard was mailed in 1903 and features Miss Alex, a lesser known actress or dancer of the Belle Epoque era. She was quite pretty. Many entertainers such as Miss Alex, were more or less prostitutes or “kept women”. Certainly, not all of these women were involved in such a lifestyle, and it is unknown how Miss Alex supported herself. The “Ambassadeurs”, a Paris music hall, is printed on the top right hand corner of the front of the postcard. Miss Alex was probably part of the Ambassadeur’s company of entertainers. This portrait postcard was photographed by Lucien Walery. He was a celebrated Paris photographer known for his portraits of artists and cabaret dancers from the city’s music halls. He is very well known for his portraits of Mata Hari and Josephine Baker. Walery did a lot of work in the genre of nude/erotic photography. He photographed the beautiful women of Paris between the early 1900’s and the 1920’s. This “risque” postcard is part of the Etoile 11 series.  SOLD 

Published in: on August 8, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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VINTAGE NUDE PHOTOGRAPH : BY LUCIEN WALERY (AS YRELAW) : FRENCH ART DECO MODEL

This striking vintage postcard features a classic nude portrait by celebrated Parisian photographer Lucien Waléry, whose name appears here in reverse as “YrélaW” — a common practice he used to subtly obscure his identity on more provocative works. The image is numbered 1088 in the lower right corner, indicating it was part of a larger, collectible series. 
The young model is posed in an artful semi-recline, one hand supporting her as she leans back against a textured curtain backdrop. She appears relaxed yet lively, her head turned to the side as she offers a gentle, playful smile. Her hair is dark, voluminous, and naturally wavy, framing her face with softness. Her expression conveys youthful confidence with an air of ease — not coy or provocative, but serene and open, as though caught in conversation or reacting to someone just out of frame. The pose emphasizes the natural curves of her body, rendered with artistic sensitivity in the soft lighting typical of Waléry’s photographic style. Though nude, the model is not sexualized in a gratuitous way; the tone is classical and aesthetic, clearly intended as fine art rather than erotica.  Lucien Waléry was the pseudonym of Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg (1863–1929), a French-born photographer of Polish descent. He came from a line of photographers — his father was also a notable portraitist — and worked during the height of the Belle Époque and Art Deco periods in Paris. Waléry’s photography specialized in glamour, cabaret performers, and nude or semi-nude models, often featuring stars of the Folies Bergère and other Parisian revues. His studio attracted both high-society clientele and show business personalities. While many of his portraits were openly credited, he used backwards spellings of his name (YrélaW or similar variations) for his nude and risqué imagery — a clever form of self-censorship and anonymity designed to navigate laws and cultural norms concerning modesty and pornography in early 20th-century Europe. His works were widely reproduced as postcards, photogravures, and portfolio prints, making them highly collectible today. (SOLD)

Published in: on May 13, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MISS VIOLET CAMERON: SCANDALOUS STAGE ACTRESS

CABINET CARD 1

cameron

CABINET CARD 2
V CAMERON 3_0002CABINET CARD 3

CAMERON FRONTCABINET CARD 4 MISS VIOLET CAMERON : SCANDALOUS STAGE ACTRESS : CDV ; AD FOR MINERAL WATER - Picture 1 of 2CARTE de VISITE 1

Violet Cameron (1862-1919), was an English stage star. She was the niece of burlesque legend Lydia Thompson. Cameron  began her stage career as a child in 1871. She played several child roles at the Drury Lane Pantomime theatre. As an adult, she played many prominent roles in the most important English theatres. In 1886 she came to America and played in “The Commodore” and “Kenilworth”. In 1893 she had great success in the stage play “Morocco Bound”. She was involved in several scandalous love affairs during her stage career.  

Cabinet Card 1 is a product of Elliot & Fry, a prominent London photography studio.

Cabinet Card 2 was produced at the studio of W & D Downey in London, England.

Cabinet Card 3 is also by Downey. She looks lovely in her ruffly dress and her plunging neckline (relative to the cabinet card era) highlights her necklace. The reverse of the cabinet card has the stamp of Charles Ritzmann of New York City indicating that it was once owned by the esteemed purveyor of theatrical photographs.

Cabinet Card 4 also comes from the Downey studio. Cameron appears to be wearing a wedding dress in this cabinet card portrait. 

The reverse of Carte de Visite 1 has an advertisement for Taunus Mineral Water. The natural sparkling water came from Springs located near Frankfurt, Germany. Miss Cameron’s portrait for this carte de visite was taken by the celebrated Walery studio in London, England.

MISS VIOLET CAMERON : SCANDALOUS STAGE ACTRESS : CDV ; AD FOR MINERAL WATER - Picture 2 of 2

CARTE de VISITE 1

Published in: on April 29, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Comments (25)  
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MISS ARLINGTON MOULIN ROUGE : PERFORMER : WALERY : MOULIN ROUGE : VERY EARLY RPPC 1904

This color tinted vintage real photo postcard features a  performer named Miss Arlington. One of the music halls where she performed was the famous Moulin Rouge. Apparently, she was popular enough to merit her own postcard portrait, but not popular enough for me to find information about her online. Arlington was photographed by Lucien Walery. He was a celebrated Paris photographer known for his portraits of artists and cabaret dancers from the city’s music halls. He is very well known for his portraits of Mata Hari and Josephine Baker. Walery did a lot of work in the genre of nude/erotic photography. He photographed the beautiful women of Paris between the early 1900’s and the 1920’s. This postcard has an undivided back and was postmarked in 1904. This postcard is in good condition (see scans). 

7656_0001

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #7656

To purchase this item, click on the Pay with PayPal button below

$12.00

7656_0001

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #7656

To purchase this item, click on the Pay with PayPal button below

$22.00

Published in: on October 1, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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WORLD’S FIRST PLAYBOY BUNNY: FRENCH ACTRESS MISS AUGUS-THYNE

This vintage real photo postcard features the world’s first playboy bunny. Not really. This wonderful portrait captures French actress Miss Augus-Thyne in a risque costume and sporting long rabbit ears. Her exotic outfit also includes bells and pom poms. The “Ambassadeurs”, a Paris music hall, is printed on the top right hand corner of the front of the postcard. The portrait of Miss Augus-Thyne was photographed by celebrated Paris photographer Stanislaw Julian Ignacy Walery (1863-1935). Walery opened a studio in Paris in 1900 and was known for his portraits of showgirls.  SOLD

Published in: on July 20, 2023 at 8:20 am  Comments (1)  
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MLLE. ZISKA : PRETTY FRENCH ACTRESS : THE WALERY STUDIO : SIP : RPPC

This vintage real photo postcard features French stage actress Mlle. Ziska. Preliminary research found little information about this actress. There are a few postcard views of Mlle. Ziska that can be seen online. One of the cards is a photograph of her appearing in “Salome”. However, I could not find her first name or any other biographical information.This postcard close-up portrait of Miss Ziska highlights her beauty. The photograph was taken by Walery. He was a well known and talented celebrity photographer who operated out of Paris, France. The postcard is hand colored. The card was published by SIP as part of a series (no.5096).  (SOLD)

Published in: on January 28, 2023 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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MYSTERIOUS STAGE ACTRESS: HELENE VERDES

helene-yerkesPOSTCARD 1

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is helene-verdes_0001.jpgPOSTCARD 2  (SOLD)

Vintage real photo postcard 1 and 2 features actress Helene Verdes. At least I think that she is a stage actress. Perhaps a cabinet card gallery visitor knows something about her and will leave some biographical information in the form of a comment. I tried to research her but drew blanks. The photographs of Miss Verdes are by Lucien Walery and he certainly is known for his postcard portraits of theatre performers. Miss Verdes apparently didn’t receive much fame from her theatrical endeavors despite her great beauty.  Lucien Walery was a celebrated Paris photographer known for his portraits of artists and cabaret dancers from the city’s music halls. He is very well known for his portraits of Mata Hari and Josephine Baker. Walery did a lot of work in the genre of nude/erotic photography. He photographed the beautiful women of Paris between the early 1900’s and the 1920’s. Apparently there is considerable debate about Walery’s actual identity. Some contend that he was actually Stanislaw Julian Ignacy Count Ostrorog, a British photographer of Polish ancestry who may have moved to Paris in about 1900.  These postcards date back to the early 1900’s and were published by Marqus Etoile of Paris and are part of a series (no. 310).

helene-yerkes-1POSTCARD 1

POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)

Published in: on December 29, 2022 at 12:00 pm  Comments (4)  
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IRENE KING : PRETTY ACTRESS : FOLIES BERGERE : PHOTO BY WALERY : HAND TINTED

This vintage real photo postcard features performer, Irene King. The title on the card indicates that Miss King performed at the Folies Bergere, in Paris France. The portrait of Miss King was hand painted. She is wearing quite the interesting hat and elaborate and colorful dress. This photo portrait was taken by Walery at his Paris studio. He was a well known and talented celebrity photographer. The postcard was published by SIP as part of a series (no.5128). (SOLD)

Published in: on November 19, 2022 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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