PORTRAIT OF A LITTLE BOY WEARING AN IMPRESSIVE NATIVE AMERICAN COSTUME

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This vintage real photo postcard features an adorable little boy wearing a beautiful Native American costume. Note his feathered headdress. It is likely that this child was photographed in France and is dressed for the Carnival. This private studio postcard is in excellent condition (see scans). Addendum: A visitor pointed out to me that this postcard is not of French origin (see his comment below). The postcard is actually English. SOLD

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Published in: on January 3, 2019 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  
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LOUISE LORRAINE: BEAUTIFUL AND DELICATE FILM ACTRESS

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 This vintage real photo postcard features beautiful American film actress, Louise Lorraine (1904-1981). She was born in San Francisco and was discovered by a photography salesman who had knocked at the door of her home and was met by Louise. The salesman was startled by her good looks and her winning personality He told Louise’s mother that her daughter should be in films. Her widowed mother had five other children and after some time, she agreed to allow Louise to investigate becoming an actress. The salesman used a contact, and before long, Louise was in independent two-reel comedies. That was followed by stints with MGM and Universal. She became very popular for her roles in action-packed serials such as “The Radio King” (1922) and “With Stanley in Africa” (1922). She starred in eleven serials and was known for her energy and charisma. Her small stature and delicate beauty were unlikely characteristics expected in a serial heroine. However, she starred these physically demanding serials. In 1921, she became the third actress to portray “Jane”. She starred in the movie serial “The Adventures of Tarzan’ (1921). She was selected as a “Wampas Baby Star” in 1922. The organization was very successful at identifying future stars. Among their “finds” was Clara Bow and Joan Crawford. She starred in only five talkies during her film career including “Near the Rainbow’s End’ (1930). After this film appearance, she retired to spend time with her husband and two children. The IMDb reports that Louise Lorraine appeared in 83 films between 1922 and 1930. Lorraine was married twice. Marriage number one was to actor Art Acord, Her second marriage was to Chester Hubbard. She had two children. This vintage postcard was published by Ross Verlag and was part of a series (no. 836/1). The photographer of this portrait was Roman Freulich (1898-1974). Freulich was born in Poland and immigrated to the United States at the age of 14. He learned his trade from New York photographer Samuel Lumiere. He moved to Hollywood in the mid 1920’s where his brother Jack was a portrait photographer at Universal Pictures. Roman became a still photographer for Universal and produced many portraits of their major stars. He stayed at Universal until 1944 when he moved to Republic Studios. After Republic stopped production, Freulich did much work for United Artists.The stamp box of this postcard has an interesting story. “NBC” (Neue Bromsilber Convention) was a price cartel established in 1909 that continued until the 1930’s. The purpose of the cartel was to ensure that the minimum price charged for postcards was kept at a sufficiently profitable level. A number of postcard publishing companies joined the cartel in an effort to stave off the effect of competition on the pricing of postcards. This postcard has excellent clarity and is in very good condition (see scans).

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2630

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ADORABLE PORTRAIT OF A BRIDE AND GROOM AND WEDDING PARTY AT A TOM THUMB WEDDING (1929)

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This vintage real photo postcard is a spectacular portrait of a bride, groom, and wedding party at a “Tom Thumb” wedding. These faux weddings were similar to adult weddings. Children would dress up in real wedding clothes, take part in a fake humorous wedding ceremony, and attend lavish parties. “Tom Thumb” weddings are named after the celebrated wedding of P. T. Barnum’s dwarf performer, General Tom Thumb. That wedding took place in 1863. Tom Thumb weddings became very popular. They were theoretically, vehicles to teach children about religious values, to model adult behavior, to offer entertainment, and, at least some of them, raised money for charity. The message on this postcard was written in 1929 and is in French. The photograph has excellent clarity and appears to be issued by a private studio. If so, this image is likely one of a kind. The postcard is in good condition (see scans). (SOLD)

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Published in: on December 28, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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RARE PORTRAIT OF A 1910’S FRENCH COUPLE HOLDING HANDS (HOW OBSCENE!)

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holding hands 1 This vintage real photo postcard features a lovely couple posing for their portrait at an unidentified studio. The couple are well dressed and wearing jewelry. This postcard is unusual because the man and woman are holding hands. Private postcards from this era (c 1910’s) seldom showed public displays of attention. I imagine that this couple was so in love that they couldn’t take their hands off each other. At the very least, the man and woman seen in this photo, were unconventional. This postcard is in of French origin and is in very good condition (see scans).

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Published in: on December 22, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  

PORTRAIT OF THREE “FUTURE MEXICAN BELLES”

mexicoThis vintage real photo postcard features three indigenous Mexican little girls standing behind a large urn. The children are barefoot and likely quite poor. A caption printed on the postcard declares them as “Future Mexican Belles”. I am not particularly comfortable with that caption and by today’s standards, it would be considered “politically incorrect”. This postcard was published by H. H. Stratton. The company was located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and operated between 1908 and 1915. Stratton published many international postcards and is known for a series of postcards showing scenes of the Great White Fleet visiting a number of ports around the world. They also published Tarjeta postcards from Cuba. It was common knowledge that Stratton stole many images from other publishers, retouched them, and then printed them under their own name.   SOLD

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PORTRAIT OF AN ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL AND HER KEWPIE DOLL (1926-1940’s)

clluloid flapper This vintage real photo postcard features an adorable little girl, seated on a bench, and holding a little doll. The doll appears to be a kewpie doll. Kewpie is a brand of doll which was modeled after a comic strip character created by cartoonist Rose O’Neill in 1909. The doll had a similar appearance to cupid. In 1912 the first kewpie doll appeared and it was a bisque doll. Later, the dolls were made of composition (1920’s), celluloid (1930’s and 1940’s), and later plastic kewpies made their appearance. A person knowledgable about dolls, told me that the doll seen in this photograph is made of celluloid. The AZO stamp box on the reverse of this postcard indicates that the photograph was taken sometime between 1926 and the 1940’s. This photo postcard is in excellent condition (see scans).   (SOLD)

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Published in: on December 13, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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TWO PRETTY YOUNG WOMEN ON A TOBOGGAN

sled This vintage photo postcard features two pretty young women sitting on a wooden sled. The women are flashing beautiful smiles. They are dressed for winter and fun in the snow. Note their high boots. Printed on the postcard is the Dutch phrase “Gelukkig Nieuwjaar”. The English translation is “Happy New Year”. The postcard has a Dutch stamp and is addressed to someone living in Liwwadden, Netherlands. Liwwadden is the capital of the States of Friesland and has been inhabited since the tenth century. This postcard was published circa 1930 and is in very good condition (see scans).  (SOLD)

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THE RAILROAD WORKER AND THE NURSE: A UNIFORMED COUPLE

uniformsThis vintage real photo postcard features a couple in uniform. I believe that the gentleman is a railroad worker and the woman is a nurse. The message on the reverse of the postcard indicates that the couple are named Harry and Grace. The pair look quite dour. This postcard is in excellent condition (see scans).

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Published in: on December 7, 2018 at 12:00 am  Leave a Comment  
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TRUUS VAN AALTEN: PRETTY, SPUNKY, AND FUNNY DUTCH/GERMAN ACTRESS

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tua & dog 1 POSTCARD 1 (CLOSE-UP)

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The top vintage real photo postcard features Dutch actress, Truus van Aalten (1910-1999). She appeared in many German films in the 1920’s and 1930’s. She is flashing a wonderful smile as she holds a cute little dog. Truus worked as a milliner after finishing school and then worked as a salesgirl in a clothing store in Amsterdam. What she really wanted to do, was to become a movie actress. Unfortunately, at the time,  the movie industry was not producing many films in the Netherlands. In 1896, Truus entered a beauty contest sponsored by a Dutch magazine. The winner of this contest would be given the opportunity to audition for a film role. Truus was selected and joined about two hundred other women in Berlin to try out for the film part. She excelled on the screen test and won the role. The movie was being produced by Ufa, a German film company. The cast of the film included Betty Balfour and Willy Fritsch. Three photos of Miss Balfour can be found in the Cabinet Card Gallery by searching for “Balfour”. The name of Truus’s first movie was “A Sister of Six” (1926). Keep in mind, Truus had no training or experience as an actress. Even though Truu’s command of the German language was weak, Ufa offered her a contract and promised to train her and offer her opportunities in other films. The Ufa executives appreciated her sparkly and funny personality as well as her photogenic appearance. Truus’s father signed the contract and she moved to Berlin. The celebrated actress Olga Tschechowa took Truus under her wing and became her unofficial mentor and mother figure in the film industry. Olga nicknamed the young actress “Trulala”. Truus second film appearance was in “His Late Excellency” (1927). This movie included Willy Fritsch and Olga Tschechowa among it’s stars. Truus appeared in five movies that were released in 1928. She was certainly a busy actress. As Truus started to appear in more and more silent films, it became clear that she was talented; pretty, spunky, and funny. Truus’s greatest talent was seen in her comedic roles. She slowly became a fan favorite. She was the subject of interviews and photos in movie magazines. She also got work appearing in advertisements.  Truus had “a look” of her own. She was described in one article as having a “mixture of boyish yet feminine energy”. Her bobbed hair and her uninhibited style was similar to actress Colleen Moore. Truus made a successful transition into “talkies”, despite her Dutch accent. By 1930, she was a very well known actress. Her photograph appeared in many postcards and tobacco cards. As Nazism rose in Germany, members of the film industry felt extremely vulnerable. Her film appearances became less frequent, partially because the parts written for females, during the Hitler era,  were not particularly desirable to Truus. In 1934, she starred in her only film in Dutch and she was well received. Her next film wasn’t until 1939 and it turned out to be her final film appearance. In 1940, she returned to live in German occupied Netherlands. She was offered movie roles there, but refused them, because they were propaganda films. After the war, there was little activity in film production in Germany or Netherlands. Finding roles in English or American movies was unsuccessful. In 1954, Truus established a successful importing and exporting business in the Netherlands. The IMDb credits Truus with 28 film appearances from 1926 to 1939. The YouTube video below demonstrates just how cute and engaging Truus was as an actress. She was incredibly adorable.                                                                                                        Postcard  1 was published by Ross Verlag. The postcard is part of a series (no. 4184/1). Miss van Aalten’s portrait was taken by photographer Alex Binder, who operated a studio in Berlin. He was one of Berlin’s premier photographers and photographed many stars of the stage and film. This postcard is in excellent condition (see scans).                                       Postcard 2 was also published by Ross Verlag. The card is part of a series (no. 3884/1). The portrait was taken by photographer Hanni Schwarz of Berlin. Schwarz was a German female photographer and her work was praised in “American Photography” (1909). She was a well known professional photographer in Germany during the early 1900’s. Before becoming a photographer, she was a teacher at her father’s school in Basel. In 1904 , she and Anna Walter took over the photo studio of Johannes Hulsen in Berlin. In 1908, she and Wilhelm von Gloeden presented nude photographs at an exhibit in Berlin. Sometime around 1909 she ran her studio with photographer Marie Luise Schmidt. During the Brussels World’s Fair in 1910, Schwarz exhibited nudes In 1914, she began working with color photography. In 1919 the studio’s name only included Miss Schwarz, and she was reported to specialize in portrait and dance photography. The last known year of Schwarz’s work was 1930. This vintage postcard is in excellent condition (see scans).

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2610 (Postcard 1)

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tua & dog 2                           Postcard 1 

trus 2 2 POSTCARD 2                                                                      

SEXUALLY CHARGED AND SENSUAL PORTRAIT OF A COUPLE IN LOVE

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This vintage real photo postcard can be described as sensual, or even, sexually charged. A pretty in woman in a short dress and dark stockings sits on the lap of a tuxedoed man, and the two stare intently into each others eyes. The photo begs the observer to question the relationship of this lovely couple. Are they lovers? Are they performers, perhaps dance partners? The man and woman in this photograph are beautifully dressed. However, there is one infraction that needs the attention of the fashion police. The gentleman’s light colored striped socks deserve a citation. Dark socks would be more appropriate. The photographer of this portrait postcard is Georg Schoppmeyer who operated a photography business in Leipzig-Schonefeld, Germany. This vintage postcard is in very good condition (see scans).

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (include shipping within the US) #2607

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Published in: on December 2, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (6)