This uncommon, color tinted vintage real photo postcard features a one-name performer named Bijoux. The card is risque for it’s era. Bijoux was a performer at the Casino de Paris and apparently, she was popular enough to merit her own postcard portrait, but not popular enough for me to find information about her online. Bijou was photographed by Lucien Walery. He was a celebrated Paris photographer known for his portraits of artists and cabaret dancers from the city’s music halls. He is very well known for his portraits of Mata Hari and Josephine Baker. Walery did a lot of work in the genre of nude/erotic photography. He photographed the beautiful women of Paris between the early 1900’s and the 1920’s. The postcard was published by a combined printing group in Nancy, France. SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features pretty performer, Feodora. This postcard is a bit risque for it’s era. She is showing a lot of bare skin. Feodora is wearing pearls, a hairbow, and a fur hat. The initals of the photographer (M.F.) appear in the lower right hand corner. The photographer’s studio was in Paris. The message on the reverse of the postcard indicate that it was written in 1907. SOLD
This postcard features pretty theatrical performer, Clo D’Haly. She possessed great beauty. This photograph was taken by esteemed photographer Lucien Walery. He was a celebrated Paris photographer known for his portraits of artists and cabaret dancers from the city’s music halls. He is well known for his portraits of Mata Hari and Josephine Baker. Walery did a great deal of work in the genre of nude/erotic photography. He photographed the beautiful women of Paris between the early 1900’s and the 1920’s. This photo postcard is a bit risque for it’s era. The postcard was published by SIP . SOLD
A Victorian beauty poses for her portrait in Great Yarmouth, England. She certainly has chosen a provocative pose. The young woman may be a stage actress or dancer. She is not helping the stereotypical image of female stage performers who were viewed by much of the public as equivalent to prostitutes. This risqué (for the era) image was photographed by Tilley Brothers studio. The photographers were successors to Boughton and Sons. Great Yarmouth is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It has been a seaside resort since 1760. SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features pretty performer, La Belle Alexia. She was a dancer and was also likely an actress. Preliminary research found no biographical information. This photograph of Alexia is risque due to her low cut dress. She is wearing a lot of jewelry around her neck. Alexia is flashing a lovely smile. This postcard was published by EPJ (Maurice P Manes, Paris) as part of a series (no.579). SOLD
This is a striking hand-tinted real photo postcard (RPPC) featuring a young actress or performer seated confidently on a chair. The card is part of the NPG (Neue Photographische Gesellschaft) series, serial number 645/2, and dates to 1904. It was printed in Berlin, Germany, as indicated on the reverse. The woman in the image has voluminous, dark, curly hair adorned with colorful ribbons, one pink and one lavender. She wears a bold theatrical costume: a bright turquoise satin dress trimmed with cream-yellow ruffled sleeves and skirt, accented by a vivid red flower at the bodice. The layered ruffles of her skirt spill over her lap, giving her a lively, almost playful stage presence. She sits with her legs crossed, her expression calm and slightly defiant, exuding poise and self-assurance. Her dark stockings and buttoned heels complete the look, emphasizing her identity as a stage performer rather than a conventional society portrait sitter. Neue Photographische Gesellschaft A.G. was a leading German postcard and photographic publishing house active in the early 20th century. The left-side imprint, translated, reads: “Original photograph by NP Steglitz refers to the Berlin district where NPG was located, not the photographer’s surname. On the reverse, the postcard carries a green French stamp, confirming that the card was mailed from France, even though it was printed in Germany. The stamp is from the French “Sower” (La Semeuse) series, first issued in the early 20th century. The message on the card, translated from French reads: “Guess who is sending this to you.” SOLD
This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young scantily clad woman, getting dressed. She is dressed in her lingerie and the rest of her clothes are on the chair beside her. Interestingly, it appears that there is a wig on the dressing table at her right. This young lady has a fetching smile. The card is part of a series (No.4287). SOLD
his French vintage risque real photo postcard features a pretty young woman modeling for an artist. This photograph is meant to titillate. The young woman is scantily dressed. More of her body is exposed than covered. The previous owner of this portrait postcard identifies the woman as a Parisian dancer named “Jenny Bell”. After preliminary research, I have been unable to confirm this identification. This risque photographic portrait was published by celebrated photographer, Jean Agelou (1878-1921), as part of a series (No.035). 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. 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. 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
These vintage real photo postcards feature actress Billie Dove. Billie Dove (1903-1997) was an American actress. Her parents were Swiss immigrants. During her teenage years, she worked as a model to support her family. Florenz Ziegfeld hired her as a teenager to appear in the Ziegfeld Follies Revue. She was not a particularly talented dancer or singer, her beauty and acting ability were her major assets. In the early 1920’s she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in silent films. It has been written that Ziegfeld’s wife, actress Billie Burke, helped facilitate Dove’s transition to films. Apparently, Burke was trying to separate Dove from her husband because the pair were having an affair. It did not take long for her to become one of the more popular actresses of the 1920’s. Among her better known films was “The Black Pirate” (1926) with Douglas Fairbanks, and “The American Beauty” (1927). Dove was a ravishing beauty and was very photogenic. She married director, Irvin Willat, in 1923. The marriage had a six year duration. She then had a three year romance with Howard Hughes. Dove’s other interests included being a pilot, painter, and poet. After her last film, “Blondie of the Follies” (1932), Dove retired from films. It is thought that she retired because she was distraught about her role in her last film being “trimmed” by her co-star’s (Marion Davies) influential boyfriend (William Randloph Hearst). Hearst was upset because Miss Davise’s acting was overshadowed by Dove’s acting. Mr Hearst owned Cosmopolitan Productions which produced the movie. After retirement, Dove married oil executive Robert Kenaston in 1933 and the couple remained together until Kenaston’s death in 1970. She had a brief third marriage to an architect. It is interesting to note that jazz singer, Billie Holiday, borrowed Billie Dove’s first name when picking out her own stage name. Miss Holiday was an admirer of Miss Dove. The IMDb lists 50 movie credits for Billie Dove between 1921 and 1962.
Postcard 1 is a profile portrait was published by Cinemagazine – Paris Edition (no.313). (SOLD)
Postcard 2 was published as by Ross Verlag as part of a series (No.3687/1). Billie Dove looks beautiful in this portrait taken by Defina. The logo for First National Pictures can be seen in the image’s lower right corner. (SOLD)
Postcard 3 features Billie Dove looking beautiful in this provocative portrait. The card is risque, considering Dove’s pose and revealing tight dress. Billie Doves portrait seen on this postcard was taken by Defina. This card was published by Ross Verlag’s Italian Edition (Bellerini & Fratini, Florence, Italy). Casa Editrice Bellerini & Fratini was one of the most renowned Italian publishers. The firm began publishing film postcards in the early 1920’s and later became a distributor for Ross Verlag. As of 1918, the firm was still in existence. (SOLD)
This striking real photo postcard features a confident young woman posing against a neutral backdrop, dressed in a decorative fringed shawl that is elegantly wrapped around her hips. Her bare torso and boldly direct gaze give the portrait a sense of intimate glamour, common to the French “nude étude” genre of the early 20th century. Her hair is neatly parted and styled in a sleek, classic fashion, and she wears distinctive looped earrings that accent her graceful neck and shoulders. The woman’s expression is both engaging and relaxed, her slight smile inviting and warm. Her stance—turned slightly in profile yet facing the camera with a sense of ease—demonstrates a poise that suggests she may have been a dancer or performer. The use of light and shadow on the wall behind her adds visual depth, while the soft focus enhances the romanticism of the image. Interestingly, the woman modeling on this postcard has been described by some commentators as Arab and other observers have hypothesized that she is Hispanic. This postcard was produced by P.C. Paris, one of the leading French publishers of glamour, artistic nude, and theatrical postcards during the 1920s and 1930s. The postcard is numbered 1887 in the lower corner, part of a large series of posed studio portraits often issued in sequential sets. The reverse reads “Made in France” and bears the P.C. Paris publisher’s mark, indicating it is an original continental European issue—not a later reproduction. P.C. Paris (Phototypie C. et Cie), based in Paris, was known for creating refined studio portraits of women, including risqué and erotic studies, often with exotic or theatrical styling. Many of their models were dancers, actresses, or professional models. Their cards were sold widely across Europe and were sometimes considered collectible art photography. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 