DE DIONNE : PRETTY BUXOM FRENCH ACTRESS : RISQUE : ORICELLY : UNCOMMON RPPC 1910

This uncommon color tinted vintage real photo postcard features pretty and buxom French performer, De Dionne. Some research is required to learn biographical information about her. I found another postcard of this performer and the caption revealed that she had performed at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. This postcard was published by Royer. The firm was located in Nancy, France. The photographer of De Dionne’s photo seen on this card was J. Oricelly (Paris).  SOLD

MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN OF FRANCE : LA BRETONNE PROVINCE : PHOTO BY GIFFARD

This vintage real photo postcard is part of a series named “Les Plus Belles Femmes de France” (The Most Beautiful Women of France). This series is about the Provinces of France, and the model for this image represents La Brettone.  Note that the woman in this photograph is wearing a half smile. This postcard is no.11 in the series. There were a number of different series published. The Province series was one of the more popular series. The models in this series represent different French Provinces and wear traditional clothing from that particular area of the country. This postcard was published by well known photographer Alfred Noyer. The photographer of this image was the Giffard studio.  SOLD

PAULETTE DEL BAYE : CUBAN : FRENCH ACTRESS, SINGER, DANCER, & VAUDEVILLE RISQUE

POSTCARD 1

POSTCARD 2

Postcard 1 features actress Paulette Del Baye (1877-1945).This French actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian was born in Cuba. In 1904 she performed in the production of “Sleeping Beauty” at the Moulin Rouge. She received excellent reviews. She performed on stage at least from 1906 through 1918. She also appeared in four silent films in 1921. One of these films was a Sherlock Holmes adventure. In 1909 she was accused of being involved in a plot to restore the French monarchy. This risque photo postcard was published by SIP as part of a series (no.1322). Miss Del Baye’s portrait was taken by esteemed celebrity photographer Paul Boyer. His studio was located in Paris, France. SOLD

Postcard 2 was published by VBC as part of a series (no.3036). Miss Del Baye’s portrait was taken by esteemed celebrity photographer, the Sazerac studio.The studio was located in Paris, France. This image was created by a photographic process called “Emaillographie”. It is interesting that the first five letters of the technique is “Email”.  SOLD

POSTCARD 1

POSTCARD 2

VINTAGE ROMANTIC 1920s : PRETTY BRIDE FANTASIZING : WEDDING : P.C. PARIS : RPPC

This vintage real photo postcard features a photomontage style. The image depicts a man and a woman posed in a romantic embrace. The man is dressed in a formal suit with slicked-back hair, kissing the woman’s temple. The woman, likely a bride, is wearing a glamorous flapper-era wedding outfit, complete with a headpiece and veil, holding a bouquet of flowers (possibly lilies and other blooms). This portion of the photograph appears to represent a wedding or a romantic scene, symbolizing love and commitment. The second scene presents a young woman with styled hair, wearing a delicate lace-trimmed dress and a string of pearls. She is seated, leaning forward slightly, and gazing with a cheerful expression. Her makeup is characteristic of the 1920s or early 1930s, with dark lipstick and thinly styled eyebrows. There is an interesting cryptic message, written in French on the reverse of the postcard. A translation app states that the message reads “I am writing this little song to you because it will make you feel so sorry for me, all my tears. Dear friend, I wish you a happy birthday”. The note is signed “For Life”. This postcard was published by P. C. Paris as part of a series (No.3419). The sepia-toned photograph retains good contrast, with clear details of the subjects’ expressions, clothing, and background elements.  SOLD

Published in: on April 12, 2025 at 5:05 pm  Comments (2)  
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HUGUETTE DUFLOS : PRETTY FRENCH FILM AND STAGE ACTRESS : QUIT COMEDIE FRANCAISE

This vintage real photo postcard features French stage and film actress, Huguette Duflos (1887-1982). She was married to actor Raphael Duflose from 1910 through 1928. Her early career was with the Comedie Francaise and she later pursued a film career. In 1931 she was the victim of an assault by a Frenchwoman. Her injuries were treated by noted psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. The IMDb credits Duflos with 43 film appearances between 1914 and 1962. A 1926 article in the New York Times describes how Duflos, “the sweetest girl on the French stage”,  unexpectedly resigned from the Comedie Francaise and pursued other venues. This action violated her contract and she faced the threat of financial punishment for the rest of her career. The article asserts that Duflos was the most popular beauty on France’s stages and in addition, she was also admired by American audiences. This photo of Miss Duflos was taken by the noted photographic Reutlinger studio. This postcard was published by Alfred Noyer and is part of the “Les Vedettes de Cinema” (The Stars of Film) series (No.16). SOLD

PRETTY DANCER : PROVOCATIVE : RISQUE : STAR SERIES : PHOTO BY LIEBERT : RPPC

This vintage real photo postcard features an unidentified pretty performer. She is posed like a dancer. This is a risque postcard. She is wearing a flesh colored body suit and is posed in a provocative manner. The model on this card was likely a minor player based on the fact that she is not named on the postcard. This photo was taken at the studio of A. Liebert, in Paris, France. The Getty Museum, located in Los Angeles, California, as well as other fine museums, have  photographs in their collections by Paris photographer, Alphonse J. Liebert (1827-1913). Many of his Parisian subjects were actresses. Perhaps Miss Lesian is one of those actresses. Mr. Liebert has an interesting story. He was a photographer in Nevada City, California (1857-1862), and later, operated in Paris (1863-1890’s). He was born in France. He became an officer in the French Navy. He left the navy in 1848 to study daguerreotypy. He must have reenlisted in the navy because In 1851, he arrived in San Francisco, as a Lieutenant on a French ship. This was a time when there was much excitement about Gold mining. As a result, there was a mass desertion of the ship’s crew. The sailors joined the rush for gold. Liebert had in mind, his own venture. He and two partners decided to take on the project of refurbishing a steamship. They sought investors and hired workers to transform the ship. However, due to the partners inexperience, the venture failed. Liebert than tried gold mining but met little success. In 1857 he opened a photo gallery in Nevada City. He lost thousands of dollars after a fire in 1858. In 1859 Liebert ridiculed a former photography pupil of his, named Louis Celarie, in the press. This started a bitter professional feud. Soon after, Liebert announced that he had won a medal at the state fair. Unfortunately, there was no evidence to confirm this claim. The competition between Liebert and Celarie was fierce. Each offered special promotions to best the other. By 1861, Liebert triumphed, evidenced by the sale of Celarie’s studio. About a year later, Liebert sold his photo gallery. By 1863, he had returned to France and opened a gallery specializing in tintypes. Liebert closely identified with his photography experience in America, and as a result, he named his Paris gallery “Photographie Americaine”. Liebert began to write photography articles and books, and ultimately, invented a prototype solar camera. In 1867, Liebert had a problem with the law. He was sentenced to two months in prison and levied a fine of 200 francs. He was charged for the intent to distribute banned post mortem photographs. These were not photos of some random person. Instead, they were images of Emperor Maximillian, who had been executed in Mexico. Liebert ultimately did exhibit these photos. Liebert was becoming more and more successful. His photo gallery was so lavish that a reviewer for the British Journal of Photography wrote that it was “worthy of the smiles of the ‘God of Light’, and a repository for some of the best productions of the photographic art”. In 1879, Liebert’s gallery was the first studio to utilize electric light. By 1880, he was considered to have the most impressive photo studio in Paris. . The card was published by  Star or Etoille Publishing (Paris). This postcard image was created by a process called “emaillographie”. It is interesting to note that the first five letter of the process are “email”. This postcard was part of the V B C series (No.3063). SOLD

MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN OF FRANCE : LA BASQUE PROVINCE : PHOTO BY JEAN AGELOU

This vintage real photo postcard is part of a series named “Les Plus Belles Femmes de France” (The Most Beautiful Women of France). This series is about the Provinces of France, and the model for this image represents La Basque.  Note that the woman in this photograph is wearing a subtle smile. This postcard is no.24 in the series. There were a number of different series published. The Province series was one of the more popular series. The models in this series represent different French Provinces and wear traditional clothing from that particular area of the country. This postcard was published by well known photographer Alfred Noyer. The celebrated photographer supervised a large photo studio in Paris. The Noyer Studio operated from 1910 until the 1940’s.  Many of the postcards he produced of women were nudes or risque images. The photographer of this postcard portrait is Jean Agelou (1878-1921). 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. He had a favorite model. Her name was “Fernande” and in addition to modeling, she was Agelou’s lover. 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. Fernande remained popular and her erotic photographs were enjoyed by soldiers on both sides during World War I. 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

THE GIRLS OF LUTHERAN COLLEGE’S BASKETBALL TEAM : NICKNAMES ON SWEATERS : 1910’s

This vintage real photo postcard features the women’s basketball team from Lutheran College. There were, and are, many Lutheran Colleges in the United States and it is unclear which campus these girls attended. The girls seen on this postcard are charming. The five team members seen in this image are all wearing shirts that bear their nicknames. The girls monikers are Mutt and Jeff, Fishy, Clingie, and regrettably, Tubbs. I am unsure of the veracity of Tubbs because the handwriting is difficult to decipher. Note the basketball on the ground in front of the girls. This postcard has been trimmed. SOLD

SERIOUS YOUNG BOY WITH WIDE BRIMMED HAT : CYKO : c 1910

This vintage real photo postcard features a serious young boy wearing a wide brimmed hat. He doesn’t seem very happy to be spending his time at a photo studio. This card has a Cyko stamp box indicating that the photo ws taken sometime between 1904 and 1920. SOLD

Published in: on March 28, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF TWO ADORABLE LITTLE GIRLS : FANCY HATS : PC PARIS : RPPC

This vintage real photo postcard captures two very adorable and beautifully dressed little girls. They have magnificent smiles and sparkling eyes. This postcard was produced by PC Paris as part of a series (No.1510). The P.C logo is an abbreviation for Papeteries d Levallois-Clichy. The firm published a variety of real photo postcard topics including portraits of pretty models, nudes, views, and holiday cards. The company was active in the 1920’s. Here is the translation of the French message on the postcard: “Very Dear Cousin Agathe, On the occasion of your lovely name day,receive my best wishes and greetings, as well as those of my parents. I also send you my sweetest kisses to you and to all your family. Your little cousin, M. Soensur” (SOLD)

Published in: on March 24, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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