This vintage real photo postcard features French singer and nurse, Nelly Martyl (1884-1953). Nelly was born in Paris. Her mother was English and her father was French. She was trained as a singer at the Conservatoire de Paris. Martyl was a soprano opera singer in Paris who made her professional debut in 1907 at the Grand Opera in Paris. . She joined the Opera-Comique in 1909. She sang many parts there and performed in several premieres. She sang in London’s Covent Garden in 1910. She was a frequent model in fashion magazines (notably, Les Modes). She advertised gowns by famous Paris designers. She became a French heroine by working as a Red Cross nurse during World War I. She served in the 1916 Battle of Verdun and earned the nickname of “la fee de Verdun” (the fairy of Verdun). She also worked as a nurse during the Second Battle of the Aisne in 1917. She didn’t just do “cameo roles” at military hospitals. She heroically worked in dangerous, close to the front, hospitals. Her nursing career included being wounded and gassed several times. She was awarded the “Croix de Guerre” for her dangerous work during the war. After the war, she was a nurse to victims of the 1918 flu epidemic. Later, Martyl partnered with an automobile racecar driver in creating a charitable medical foundation Somehow, Nelly found time to have a personal life. She was married to French artist George Scott (1873-1942). This photo of Miss Martyl was taken by the studio of Boyer & Bert. Paul Boyer (1861-1908) operated his studio in Paris. He was very talented and won many awards. He produced many portraits of theater performers as well as other celebrities. This postcard was published by Societe Industrielle de Photograpie (SIP) of Rueil, France, as part of a series (no. 2075). It is in very good condition (see scans).
Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #3418
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$22.00
Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) 3418
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This 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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CABINET CARD 3 (SOLD)
Emma Abbott was an American opera star and impresario. She began performing as a child and was encouraged by Clara Louise Kellogg to pursue an operatic career. She studied in New York, Milan and Paris and later worked at the Royal Opera in London. In a different company, she had her contract cancelled for refusing to perform in Verdi’s La Traviata on moral grounds. She had her American debut in 1877 and in 1878 founded her own opera company which received great public tribute but did not impress many opera critics. She died suddenly at around 40 years of age from pneumonia. This cabinet card was photographed by the celebrated photographer Joses Mora.
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