THE CABINET CARD GALLERY

POSTCARD 1  (SOLD)

POSTCARD 2  (SOLD)

POSTCARD 3 (SOLD)

The pretty woman seen in these vintage real photo postcards is Germaine Yvonne Arnaud (1890-1958). She had a noteworthy career as a pianist, singer, and actress. She was most popular in her native France, as well as Britain. Arnaud was brought up in Paris and at the age of nine, she entered the Paris Conservatory where she studied piano. In 1905 she won a major competition for her skills in playing the piano. For the next six years, she performed with many of the leading orchestras in Europe and America. In 1911, at age 21, she began acting on the stage. Her first lead role was in the musical “The Girl in the Taxi”. After an operation damaged her vocal cords, she switched to acting in plays. She began her transition in the hit farce “Tons of Money” (1922). She played a role in the hit, “A Cuckoo in the Nest” (1925). She played in two Broadway productions; “And So To Bed” (1927) and “Canaries Sometimes Sing” (1930). In the 1930’s and 1940’s, she played dramatic roles in films. The IMDb credits her with 21 film roles between 1920 and 1958, Later in her career, she still performed as a pianist. Britain’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre was named in her memory. Arnaud was married to actor Hugh McLellan in 1920. She was president of the “League Against Cruel Sports” from 1948 to 1951. Founded in 1924, the league is Britain’s leading charity that aims to stop the persecution, abuse, and killing of animals for sport. For example, the organization campaigns against Bull Fighting and Fox Hunting. Yvonne Arnaud was very popular; she was a sitter in 80 portraits in the collection of Britain’s National Portrait Gallery. The YouTube video below captures Arnaud playing piano with an orchestra conducted by John Barbirolli. The music was recorded in 1932. She is playing “Valse Caprice Op.76” which was composed by Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921). The French composer was unique compared to his contemporaries in that he wrote music in many genres including chamber music, opera, symphonies, sacred choral music, concertos, and solo piano. He had many musical talents. evidenced by the fact that he was a composer, conductor, organist, and pianist.

Postcard 1 highlights the beauty of Miss Arnaud. Note her romantic headdress. Her photograph was taken by Lucien Walery, a celebrated photographer who operated a studio in Paris. He was known for his portraits of actresses and cabaret dancers from the city’s music halls. He was well known for his portraits of Mata Hari and Josephine Baker. Much of his work was done in the genre of nude/erotic photography. He photographed the beautiful women of Paris between the early 1900’s and the 1920’s. This hand color tinted postcard is part of a series (no. 5111). It has a postmark of 1907.   SOLD                                                                                                              

 Postcard 2 is also a vintage real photo card portrait of Yvonne Arnaud. She looks beautiful in this color tinted postcard. This postcard was printed in Britain and was part of the Lilywhite Photographic Series (no. L 4, 501F). The publisher, Lilywhite Ltd, Halifax (L.L.H.), was founded by Arthur Frederick Sergeant. He also was the founder of Halifax Photographic Company which was based in Halifax, England. Lilywhite began publishing postcards in 1910; and in the 1920’s, the company took over Arrow Series Postcards. The company then published postcards under both the Arrow and Lilywhite names.  This postcard has a postmark of 1925. SOLD

Postcard 3 is a good illustration of the beauty of Miss Arnaud. Note her large loop earrings. The photograph is a bit risque due to her low neckline. Her photograph was taken by Sam Levin (1904-1992). He was born in the Ukraine but emigrated to France when he was two years of age. He is famous for his stage photographs and his portraits of movie stars. His studio was in Paris. Levin was a film photographer for 75 films. He was arrested by the Nazis during World War II and was sent to a camp. His crime was, being Jewish. The fact that he was sent to a detention camp rather than a death camp, indicates there was a high ranking Nazi official acting as his guardian angel. He photographed nearly all the major French and European movie stars of the 1950’s and 1960’s. He is particularly celebrated for his photos of Brigitte Bardot. Levin did over 180 magazine covers in the United States.  This postcard was published by Editons du Globe (Paris). SOLD

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POSTCARD 3