HANDSOME PARISH PRIEST : PARIS, FRANCE : CABINET CARD

This cabinet card portrait features a handsome parish priest. He is wearing his clerical garb. This photograph was taken at the studio of Gustave Boulle, in Paris, France.  SOLD

Published in: on October 22, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , ,

PRETTY GRINNING FASHIONABLE YOUNG WOMAN : JACK RUSSELL TERRIER : RPPC 1910

This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young woman, attractively dressed, posing at an unidentified studio for her portrait. She is accompanied by her very expressive dog. The dog appears to be a Jack Russell Terrier. The initials “HT” are printed on the bottom left hand corner of the image. “HT” is likely the publisher of the card. The postcard has a French stamp and was postmarked in 1910.  SOLD

Published in: on October 21, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

MADGE HODGKINSON : PRETTY STAGE ACTRESS : RAPHAEL TUCK : UNCOMMON RPCC 1914

This rare vintage real photo postcard features stage actress, Madge Hodgkinson. There is not much information about her readily available. She sat for one photograph that can be found in the collection of England’s National Portrait Gallery. The photograph was taken by female celebrity photographer, Rita Martin. An article in Royal Magazine (1908) includes another photo to Hodgkinson by Rita Martin. The caption describes her as “a pretty Gibson Girl” and that “Gibson Girls are always delightful”. It is written that Hodgkinson was one of many actresses recently marrying for wealth and/or title. The writer whimsically asks “At this rate, how long will the supply hold out”. Hodgkinson’s groom was Paul Grisewood, “a stock exchange man”. Further research is needed to illuminate details of the pretty actress’s life. This postcard was published by Raphael Tuck & Sons as part of the “Celebrities of the Stage” series (1002). The postcard has a Canadian stamp and a 1914 postmark from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  SOLD

TWO AFFECTIONATE MEN : WESTERN DRESSED : TACOMA, WASHINGTON : CABINET CARD

This cabinet card portrait features two affectionate men posing for their photo at the studio of Andrew Hanson, in Tacoma, Washington. The men are well dressed and wearing Western fashion. Both men are wearing ties and have pocket watches. Hanson was an active photographer in Tacoma circa 1891-1899. He operated as A. Hanson and also Andrew Hansen & Son. SOLD

Published in: on October 19, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,

TWO AFFECTIONATE PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN : BATHING SUITS : RPPC : 1909

This hand colored vintage real photo postcard features two young and affectionate women wearing striped bathing suits. They seem to be in good spirits. The writer of this postcard wrote a caption on the front of the card stating “This is you and me.”. The postmark of this card indicates that it was mailed in 1909. The postcard is hand colored. SOLD

Published in: on October 18, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

DRUMMER BOY : IDENTIFIED UNIFORMED MUSICIAN : MONTPELIER, VERMONT : CABINET CARD

A young drummer poses for his photograph at the studio of Harlow in Montpelier, Vermont. The serious looking boy is likely proud to be wearing his band uniform. The reverse of the card has an inscription identifying the lad as Walter Huntley.  SOLD

Published in: on October 17, 2024 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , , ,

LA JANA : AUSTRO-GERMAN EXOTIC DANCER AND FILM STAR : RISQUE : RPPC

Postcard 1 (SOLD)

Postcard 2 (SOLD)

Postcard 3 (SOLD)

La Jana (1905-1940) was an actress and dancer. Her nationality was Austro-German. She was the illegitimate daughter of a master gilder and his housekeeper. Her parents wed four years after her birth. Her family was Jewish. She went by the name, Henny.. She trained as a dancer at the Frankfurt Opera Ballet and her first stage appearance was at the age of eight. She later began dancing in revues. She was “discovered” in Paris and brought to Berlin to meet with Frederic Zelnik who got her into films. The film director who “discovered” her said that the first time he saw her dance, “that woman possessed the most attractive body that I had set eyes upon” in my not all that long life. He went on to describe her as simple, nice and approachable. He added that she “had as much interest in sex as in Immanuel Kant”. meaning, none at all. As her career advanced, she danced in revues in Berlin, Stockholm, London, and many other cities. When she appeared in “Casanova” she viewed by the audience semi-naked and on a silver platter. In Berlin, she began an affair with Crown Prince Wilhelm. There were also rumors that she had an affair with Joseph Goebbels. Charlie Chaplin was also one of her lovers. Clearly, her attitude about sex changed from the earlier days of her dancing career. In 1937, her performance in a film catapulted her to film stardom. In 1940, while touring Germany, entertaining troops, she fell ill with pneumonia and passed away. The IMDb gives La Jana 23 film credits between 1926 and 1940.

La Jana’s portrait for Postcard 1 was taken by the Manasse studio in Vienna, Austria. The Manasse studio was in existence between about 1922 and 1938. The studio was run by Olga Solarics (1896-1969) and her husband Adorja’n von Wlassics (1893-1946). Olga was known for her interest in photographing nudes. The studio flourished in Vienna during the 1930’s. Many of the portraits taken by the studio had an erotic flavor. The studio attracted some of the leading ladies of film and theater. This postcard was published by Ross Verlag (no.7043/1). This vintage postcard has a small imperfection located under La Jana’s left elbow. (SOLD)

Postcard 2 was published by Ross Verlag (no.5035/2). Miss Jana’s photograph was taken by the Manasse studio in Vienna, Austria.  The Manasse studio was in existence between about 1922 and 1938. The studio was run by Olga Solarics (1896-1969) and her husband Adorja’n von Wlassics (1893-1946). Olga was known for her interest in photographing nudes. The studio flourished in Vienna during the 1930’s. Many of the portraits taken by the studio had an erotic flavor. The studio attracted some of the leading ladies of film and theater.  (SOLD)

Postcard 3 was published by Ross Verlag (no.3911/1). Miss Jana’s photograph was taken by Martin Badekow (1896-1983) in Berlin.  In the 1920’s, Badekow was a well known photographer in Berlin. He photographed portraits of many film stars and other celebrities. He also was a fashion photographer. Before she was famous, Badekow took many fashion photos of Marlene Dietrich. After World War I, he and his son Heinz, took photographs of the devastation in Berlin. Some of them can be found at Getty Images. After the 1920’s, interest in Badekow’s work waned. More recently, Badekow’s photographs from the Berlin cabarets and of the stars of German silent films, can now be found in museums and are considered symbolic images of Weimar Germany.  (SOLD)

THREE VIEWS OF A CHILD IN UNION, OREGON (COMPOSITE CABINET CARD)

COMPOSITE KID

Photographer W. L. Richards of Union, Oregon, created this composite photograph of a young child wearing different outfits. The child is wearing the “sailor look” in all three images. W. L. Richards is listed in the Portland City Directory (1914) as a photographer.  SOLD

MISS MADGE TEMPLE : ACTRESS, VOCALIST, AND MUSIC HALL COMEDIENNE OF THE ENGLISH STAGE

The adorable stage actress featured in this vintage photo postcard is Madge Temple (1875/80-1943). She was an English actress, vocalist, and music hall comedienne. Temple’s first appearance in pantomime was at West London’s, Lyric Theatre, at Christmas in 1900. She then went on tour and in 1905, she began playing on the variety stage. She then successfully toured music hall theatres with such songs as “Come , Be My Rainbow”, “He’s a Very Old Friend of Mine”, and “I’m Looking for Mr. Wright”. In 1909 and 1910 she made a series of of recordings for Pathe. She was a popular performer on the British stage and became a star in Australia when she toured there in 1913-1914. Madge Temple was married to Herman Darewski (1883-1947),  a successful composer of many popular songs.  The pair had at least one child. The story of Neville Lawrence Darewski is told in a book entitled “SAS Italian Job: The Secret Mission to Storm a Forbidden Nazi Fortress”. He was known as “Major Temple”, adopting his mother’s last name as his nom de guerre. He was a member of a an elite “Special Duty” unit and was involved in secret missions during World War II. He was a member of Churchill’s “Ministry for Ungentlemanly Warfare”. In 1943 he was dropped behind enemy lines in Italy.  He commanded a unit of five hundred Italian partisans. The group did a great deal of damage to the Italian and German military in Italy. They attacked a airbase and destroyed eighty-nine Italian planes. Unfortunately, Major Temple did not survive the war. He was killed in a truck accident as he was trying to escape the German army which after much time and effort, had surrounded his unit. This postcard is postmarked 1907 in Kilburn which is likely the Kilburn that is a section of London. The photographer of this portrait of Madge Temple is Ian Douglas Campbell-Gray. He is associated with ten portraits in the United Kingdom’s National Portrait Gallery. The British Journal of Photography (1910) printed a photograph of a commercial truck that advertised Campbell Gray’s photo studio. His creative flair is evident because the back half of the truck looked exactly like a camera. This postcard has a message which discusses the photograph on it’s front. The writer apologizes about her inability to find a photo card of “G.R.?” and claims that such cards are scarce because the performer was not active when the postcard was written. Could she be referring to “Gaynor Rowland”? This specific Madge Temple photo postcard is uncommon. The postcard is in very good condition (see scans).  SOLD

PRETTY WOMAN : GAY INTEREST : SMOKING CIGARETTE & DRINKING BEER : RPPC 1932

This provocative vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young woman drinking a mug of beer and smoking a cigarette. This postcard is provocative and meant to be sexually charged. This postcard may be gay themed.  This postcard photo is a studio card and is likely one-of-a-kind. An inscription on the reverse of the card is dated 1932. SOLD

Published in: on October 13, 2024 at 11:42 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,