MISS PAULETTE: RISQUE PORTRAIT OF AN EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL ACTRESS

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The beautiful woman seen on this vintage real photo postcard is Miss Paulette. I have been unable to find biographical information about her. The former owner of this photo postcard identified her as Miss Paulette and stated she performed in Paris at the Folies Bergere, a cabaret music hall established in 1869. This portrait of the actress is risque for it’s era but it is certainly tastefully done. In an attempt to identify this actress, I came across the five postcards seen below. I believe that the pretty woman seen in the postcard above is Paulette Del Baye although I lack any concrete convincing evidence. This postcard has a German stamp that is postmarked in Rixdorf (a neighborhood in Berlin). The card was postmarked 1912.  The postcard was published by Neue Photographische Gesellschaft (NPG) which was located in Berlin and Stuttgart, Germany.The company was in business between 1894 and 1948. It was founded by Arthur Black (1862-1943) and it became one of the most well known and largest companies involved in the production of postcards.   SOLD

 

Vintage French RPPC Postcard Artist Stage Star Miss Paulette   Paulette

Image result for postcard Miss paulette  Paulette

Image result for postcard Miss paulette  Paulette Del Baye

Image result for postcard Miss paulette  Paulette Del Baye

c-1907-French-Theater-Beauty-Mlle-DEBRIVES-fashion-tinted-photo-postcard  Paulette Debrives

Paulette Debrives

Published in: on September 16, 2017 at 8:38 pm  Comments (5)  
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MOLLIE FULLER: STAGE ACTRESS AND VAUDEVILLE PERFORMER

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This cabinet card is a portrait of Mollie (Molly) Fuller (1868-1933), a Boston born stage and vaudeville performer. She appeared in two Broadway plays but is better known for her vaudeville career. She was the second wife of Frederick Hallen (1859-1920) and the couple were a popular team on the vaudeville stage for nearly twenty-five years. They were known for their short comedic plays. Mollie’s resume includes performances in “Adonis” and in “Evangeline”, both plays by  Edward Rice. He biggest hit was her starring role in “The Twentieth Century Girl” (1895). When producer Edward Albee learned Mollie was near blind an impoverished in Chicago, he arranged to bring her to New York. He commissioned a theater piece to be written for her to perform in. She returned to the stage to perform in the resulting playlet “Twilight”. Mollie was the sister of Loie Fuller (1862-1928). Loie was a pioneer of modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques. Among Loie’s skills was her talent as a “skirt dancer”. She died in Hollywood, California, at the age of 68 in 1933. At the time of her death she was receiving assistance from “Troupers”, a national vaudeville players association. This cabinet card was issued by “Newsboy” which was a tobacco company that used cabinet cards as premiums to encourage sales of their tobacco products. This image is number forty-one of a series.  SOLD

Published in: on June 3, 2016 at 6:50 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MABEL MAY-YONG : GERMAN FILM ACTRESS AND DANCER : RISQUE : MATA HARI TYPE

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Mabel May Yong (1883-1945) was an Australian born actress and dancer. She appeared in German films. The IMDB reports that she had 21 film appearances between 1920 and 1925. In some of the early films she was billed as Mabel May. She portrayed the exotic, sexy,  scantily clad Mata Hari or Salome type. She is often considered the German equivalent of Theda Bara. She had the lead in a vampire film “What the Skull Tells” (1921). Interestingly, she appeared in a film called “Women Who Commit Adultery ( 1922). Mabel May Yong was quite prolific in regard to her numerous film appearance in the early 1920’s. However, her success was short lived. Perhaps a cabinet card gallery visitor can explain what happened to Miss Yong personally and professionally after her early success. This rare vintage real photo postcard was published in Munich, Germany by Percy Hein.  (SOLD)

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Published in: on December 4, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (9)  
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MYSTERY CHANTEUSE PHOTOGRAPHED BY NADAR

ILBERT_0002This Cabinet Card presents a bit of a mystery.  The photograph is by famed French photographer, P. Nadar of Paris. The subject of the photograph is a mystery. The reverse of the card has the name “Ilbert”  written in two places. In addition the word “Chanteuse” also appears. Is she an opera singer? Is she a nightclub singer? The woman is very stylish and is wearing a fur and interesting hair clip. Hopefully, a viewer will leave a comment with some identifying information.                                                    ADDENDUM: This photograph entered into the cabinet card gallery in 2009. Since then there have been a number of cabinet card gallery visitors that have left comments concerning the identity of the subject of this  image. There has been some disagreement, but at least two visitors have identified this performer as being Yvette Guilbert (1867-1944). To follow the discussion about identification, check out the comment section below. Now back to Mlle Guilbert. Born as Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, she began singing as a child but worked at a Paris department store model when she turned sixteen. She also took acting and voice lesson and in 1886 she began working as an actress. She debuted at the Variette Theatre in 1888. She was soon singing at a number of popular clubs before starring in Montmartre at the Moulin Rouge in 1890. Over time she began to sing a lot of  monologue “patter songs”. Often the lyrics were risque, even raunchy. Her song frequently featured tragedy and poverty. Guilbert was audacious and audiences ate it up. She was celebrated in France, England and the United States. She was a favorite subject of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who made many portraits and caricatures of Guilbert. Later in her career, she appeared in silent movies, talkies and made recordings. She also wrote books about the Belle Epoque. It is interesting to note that Nadar, the photographer of the mystery chanteuse also photographed Yvette Guilbert. A Nadar photograph of Mlle Guilbert is part of the collection at the National Library of France. A copy of that image can be found below.

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Published in: on December 1, 2015 at 12:01 pm  Comments (7)  
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LADY BALL WALKER: CIRCUS BALANCING ACT PERFORMER IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK

ball walker

This cabinet card portrait features a pretty young woman who likely performed in a balancing act for an unidentified circus. She has one foot on a ball that was used for balancing feats. The photograph is a bit risque for it’s era. The young lady is displaying a bit of a devilish grin. Note the upside down ghost image at the top of this image. The logo of the McDannell studio in Wattsburg, Pennsylvania is visible and the cause of this phenomenon is that this cabinet card was likely stored face-to-face with the McDannell cabinet card and The McDannell logo was pressed printed onto this circus performer photograph. It is worth mentioning that one of Mcdannell’s photographs is a resident of the Cabinet Card Gallery collection. The above cabinet card image was produced by the Rykert studio in Buffalo, New York. Chauncy W. Rykert and William Rykert were both photographers in Buffalo. Both men shared a studio on Buffalo’s Jefferson Street in the late 1870’s. Chauncy is the most likely one who produced this image as he remained a photographer in Buffalo for many more years than William.

Published in: on October 4, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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FLORENCE COLLINGBOURNE: STAGE ACTRESS

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The beautiful woman pictured in this Cabinet card is stage actress, Florence Collingbourne. Obtaining significant biographical information about her has been difficult and further research will be done and provided in an addition to this blog. However, information from readers about this stage beauty will be appreciated.  The Cabinet card was produced by the Rotary Photographic Company which also produced many postcards with images of theatrical stars. This Cabinet card was published  in London, England. The second image displayed is a vintage real photo postcard also featuring the beautiful Miss Collingbourne (1880-?). The postcard was published by the Rotary Photo Company. The reverse of the postcard has evidence that it once occupied a photo album.

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Published in: on August 20, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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PAULINE HALL (1860-1919): BEAUTIFUL MUSICAL THEATRE STAR

CABINET CARD 1

CABINET CARD 2

CABINET CARD 3   (SOLD)

pauline hall                       CABINET CARD 4   (SOLD)

The top cabinet card features Pauline Hall (1860-1919), one of the most popular turn of the century prima donnas. She began her career as a dancer in Cincinnati, Ohio at age 15. She joined the Alice Oats Opera Company but left to tour in plays with famed actress Mary Anderson. By 1880, she worked for well known producer Edward Everett Rice in musical productions. Early in their association, he gave her a role in “Evangeline”. Her shapely figure allowed her to take male roles as she did in “Ixion” (1885). Her greatest success came in the title role of the first American production of  “Erminie” (1886). She played in more than two dozen Broadway operettas. Her final role was in the “Gold Diggers” (1919). This photograph was taken by famed celebrity photographer, Elmer Chickering of Boston, Massachusetts. Other photographs by Chickering can be seen by clicking on Cabinet Card Gallery’s category of “Photographer: Chickering, E.”.

The second cabinet card, photographed by B. J. Falk, of New York City, captures Pauline Hall in stage costume. The photograph is #305 in a series from Newsboy. The tobacco company (Newsboy) gave away cabinet cards as a premium with the purchase of their products. This cabinet card shows a copyright date in the 1890’s. The exact date has become illegible over time. To view other Newsboy or Falk cabinet cards, click on the categories “Photographer: Falk” or “Photographer: Newsboy”.

The third cabinet card portrait was also photographed by Falk. Ms. Hall looks quite beautiful in this image. She is wearing earrings and an interesting hat. The photograph is a bit risque. Much of her neck and shoulders are exposed. In addition, her dress accentuates and reveals significant cleavage. Is the material at the base of her scoop neckline part of her dress; or was it added in order to make the photograph less provocative? Perhaps a visitor to the cabinet card gallery will be able to provide an explanation.  SOLD

The fourth cabinet card image, once again photographed by B J Falk, features Miss Hall wearing a dark dress, long gloves, a lovely hat, and a purse. Pauline Hall certainly was a stage beauty as attested by this photograph.  SOLD

Published in: on July 11, 2015 at 7:44 pm  Comments (4)  
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UNIDENTIFIED CAPED ACTRESS PHOTOGRAPHED BY OTTO SARONY IN NEW YORK CITY

mystry actress_0002

New York photographer, Otto Sarony, son of Napoleon Sarony, photographed this pretty caped lady wearing a short tight dress. She is exhibiting quite a seductive pose. Her body language makes this image relatively risque for Sarony’s era. In retrospect, perhaps it is more provocative than risque. Otto Sarony photographed many actresses and the subject of this photograph is, despite being unidentified, most likely a theatrical player. To view other images by Otto Sarony, click on the category “Photographer: Sarony (Otto)”.

Published in: on January 3, 2015 at 12:27 pm  Comments (1)  
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Isabel Irving: American Stage Actress

isabel-irving

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Isabel Irving (1871-1944) was an American actress born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her stage career began in 1886. She performed in many performances of Shakespeare. She was also in more than 30 Broadway plays between 1894 and 1936.  These plays included “Merry Wives of Windsor” (1917) and “Uncle Vanya” (1930). The first cabinet photo was done at the studio of Napoleon Sarony in New York.  Sarony was a very famous photographer of his time and known for his photos of theatrical performers and other celebrities. The second photograph comes from the studio of William McKenzie Morrison who was located in the Haymarket Theatre building in Chicago, Illinois. The third cabinet card portrait features Miss Irving photographed by celebrated New York photographer Benjamin Falk. The fourth cabinet card was produced by Pach Brothers studio in New York City. To view a photograph of Isabel Irving’s sister, write “Evangeline Irving” in the search box and press search. To view other photographs by any of the four cited photographers, click on the category “Photographer: Falk, Photographer: Sarony, Photographer: Morrison, or Photographer: Pach Brothers.

Published in: on July 21, 2014 at 12:01 pm  Comments (3)  
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PORTRAIT OF BEAUTIFUL ACTRESS HELEN STANDISH (PHOTOGRAPHED BY B J FALK)

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This cabinet card portrait features pretty actress Helen Standish. Famed celebrity photographer B J Falk produced this image and Miss Standish’s choice to wear a dress showing some cleavage, makes this photograph somewhat risque for it’s era. In addition, her expression can be interpreted as being enticing. Research revealed very little about Helen Standish or her career. She appears in number of cigarette card series including one produced by Dukes Cigarettes (“Leading Actors and Actresses”) which can be seen below. Her name appears in the New York Times (1887) review of the play “The Pyramid” which appeared at the Star Theater. The reviewer states that Miss Standish and another actress in the play “were not equal to the demands of their roles”. Ouch! The reverse of the cabinet card has a stamp from “Culver Service” which was a New York City company that charged the media for the use of photographs coming from their vast image archives. The reverse of the photograph also has the stamp of photographer J. M. Russell, 126 Tremont Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. Russell was a well known music publisher in Boston and it is possible that he also was involved in the sale of celebrity cabinet  cards.   SOLD4 (1)

Published in: on February 17, 2014 at 11:35 am  Comments (1)  
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