This rare vintage real photo postcard features the red headed actress that electrified the Australian stage. She was noted for her famous wicked wink. The life and times of Daisy Jerome can best be described as scandalous. She arrived in Australia in 1913 for a three year stage tour. Feminism was rising in the western world. Suffragettes were marching for the right to vote. Women were smoking, driving, wearing less conservative fashion, and even dancing the tango with it’s sexual overtones. She arrived in Adelaide adorned with an excess of jewelry. She was born in America but raised in England. Her place of birth was New York and she was born Daisy Witkowski in 1886. Daisy reported that she was raised in a multilingual household that had been visited by Presidents Lincoln, McKinley, and Roosevelt. After experiencing financial problems, her father moved the family to England. Money was needed and Daisy followed her sister onto the stage. She played the Palace and toured with companies that gave her a chance to do comedic singing and pantomime. Her performances were considered to be amusing and irreverent. She was a comedienne. Her humor has been described as “vibrant” and “wicked”. Daisy was described as “feisty”, “cunning”, and “independent”. She was small and dainty and had compelling eyes and an expressive face. Her performances had a risque tone and she had a hoarse, sensual voice. She could toe dance and wooden shoe dance, but was most known as a mimic and comnic singer. After a year of marriage, she deserted her first husband to live with another man. In 1910, she took a journalist to court for libel. The reporter had accused her of performing encores when audiences had not requested them. She claimed that her professional reputation had been damaged. The court case was a circus. The defense ridiculed one of her songs which caused her to break into tears in the witness chair. She won the case but was barely compensated. When she began her tour of Australia, she was recognized as raucous, vulgar and “an acquired taste”. She quickly charmed those that were hesitant to appreciate her and she soon received a warm welcome and a complimentary nickname, “The Electric Spark”. Her carrot red hair became the subject of much debate. She claimed it was her natural color but most people were not believers of her claim. One day, an Australian comedian told her that a gentleman had taken offence to her hair. The comedian said that the offended man would visit her that night. The comedian then informed the local fire chief that there was great risk of fire during Daisy’s time on stage. The worried fireman came to the theatre and when he saw Daisy’s red hair, he realized he had been a victim of a joke. He kept the joke going when he said that he agreed there was risk of fire and he ordered the scenery to be fireproofed immediately. During Daisy Jerome’s era, there was a bias against redheads. They were considered to be hot tempered and sexually wild and uninhibited. Her theater/music hall background only magnified some people’s negative view of Daisy. After completing her touring contract in Australia, she signed another one. This time she performed on a vaudeville stage which allowed her to showcase her bawdy songs. In 1914 she sang a feminist style song called “The Press, the Pulpit, and the Petticoat”. This song argued that women were more powerful and influential than the media and the church. Daisy was a woman who had unconventional ideas. She would not restrained by political correctness. She stated in a 1914 interview that “I refuse to regulate my acts to accepted rules of conduct”. Despite her views, she remained popular with Australian audiences. She left Australia in 1916 and returned in 1922 for another successful tour. Later, she was involved in another court case which this time involved her suing her maid over missing jewels. With the arrival and subsequent popularity of films, Daisy Jerome faded out of the public’s focus. Two photo portraits of Daisy Jerome can be found in England’s National Portrait Gallery. This vintage postcard was published by J. Beagles & Co. of London, England as part of a series (No. 109 A). The company was started by John Beagles (1844-1909). The company produced a variety of postcards including an extensive catalog of celebrity (stage and screen) portrait postcards. After Beagle’s death, the business continued under it’s original name until it closed in 1939. Miss Jerome’s portrait was taken by the Hutchinson & Svendsen studio. The National Portrait Gallery asserts that this pair of photographers were active in London between 1905 and 1906. This vintage photo postcard is in excellent condition (see scans). This postcard portrait of Daisy Jerome is absolutely beautiful and very uncommon. (SOLD)
This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty young woman wearing either a bathing suit or lingerie. I can’t distinguish between the two types of clothing. Perhaps I need to enroll in a class at Victoria’s Secret University to enhance my knowledge about such things. This is a risque image for it’s era. The postcard was published in France by PC Paris, as part of a series (no. 2122). The P. C. logo is an abbreviation for Papeteries de Levallois-Clichy. The firm published a variety of real photo postcard topics including portraits of women, nudes, views, and holiday cards. The company was active in the 1920’s. (SOLD)
This vintage real photo postcard features five beautiful women wearing bathing suits and high stockings. This image was shot at an unidentified studio. The postcard is risque for it’s era. Four of the women have wonderful smiles. The bathing beauty at the end of the line appears to be keeping her smile in reserve. This vintage postcard is in very good condition.
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This vintage photograph features a pretty young woman in a risque pose and wearing risque clothing. She is wearing a hat, gloves, and is holding a purse. She seems to be going somewhere but she forgot to finish getting dressed. The previous owner of this photograph thought the photographer of the image may have been the Biederer studio. I have no supporting evidence confirming his hypotheses. The Biederer brothers were major figures in photography so their story is worth telling. The studio was operated by Jacpues Biederer (1887-1942) and his brother Charles Biederer (1892-1942) during the Art deco era. Their studio was in Paris, France. Their photographs of the 1920’s and 1930’s included artistic nudes and sexual fetish studies. Their topics included erotic corporal punishment, costumed role play and images of bondage. Their postcards were signed as “JB” “B” ,”Ostra”, or a question mark in a triangle. When Germany occupied France during World War ll, the Nazis sent the brothers to a concentration camp (Auschwitz-Birkenau). Their crime was their Judaism. Their punishment was death. This vintage photo measures about 3 3/8″ x 5 3/8″ and is in very good condition.
This vintage real photo postcard portrait feature British silent film actress, Marjorie Villis (1891-1981). Miss Villis is quite pretty and has a wonderful smile. This photograph captures her in a risque pose and a risque costume. What an amazing elaborate and busy costume. When I first saw this image, I immediately became motivated to find information about this provocative actress. I met little success in learning about Marjorie Villis. Photographs of her appear to be uncommon, and I could not find the postcard above anywhere online. I did learn that she sat for seven postcard portraits that can be found in the UK’s National Portrait Gallery, All of the portraits were taken by celebrated photographer, Alexander Bassano. The IMDb credits Villis with 15 film roles between 1915 and 1922. Villis was most noted for her roles in “The Rugged Path (1918), “A Romany Lass (1918)”, and “Brenda of the Barge (1920). She had a relatively short career. I wonder why her career ended so abruptly? The first talkie feature film did not get released until 1927, so we know that, unlike many other silent film stars, Villis was not shut out of the film industry because of an unsuitable voice or foreign accent. This postcard was published by J. Beagles & Company (London) as part of a series (no.142 J). The wonderful portrait of Miss Villis was taken by S. Ward. This vintage postcard is in very good condition (see scans)
This vintage real photo postcard features a pretty nude woman She is delicately reaching for a conch shell. This tastefully done image was published by well known photographer Alfred Noyer as part of a series (No. 4136). The celebrated photographer supervised a large photo studio in Paris. The Noyer Studio operated from 1910 until the 1940’s. Many of his early postcards were reproductions of artworks. He also produced illustrated patriotic postcards during World War I. With the onset of the 1920’s he began producing postcards of children and women. Many of the postcards he produced of women were nudes or risque images. Some of his postcards list his name while others are simply marked “AN”. This photo postcard is in very good condition (see scans). 
Georgigust as a Duo (Not for Sale)
