To the roots of the wondrous

This postcard was published in 2001 to publicise an exhibition of the work of Aristide Caillaud who died in 1990 at the age of 88. He started to draw as a prisoner of war in a camp near Dresden in the early 1940s.

The painting here: “Aux raciness du merveilleux” which I translate as, “To the roots of the wondrous” is typical of his work. If you search for his name using Google images you’ll find a wealth of incredibly colourful images.

Raphael Tuck and Sons

In 1866, Raphael Tuck and Sons started printing pictures and greeting cards in London. In 1893 Queen Victoria granted the firm the Royal Warrant of Appointment, which was continued by future sovereigns. Their first postcards were produced in 1900.

They produced many sets of illustrated postcards by notable artists of the time. Including sets of their famous “Oilette” postcards; some of which are textured to look and feel as if they have been painted in oils. I’ve written about Tuck’s postcards in the past.

These two postcards, illustrated by B Cobbe and posted around 1907, were published as part of a set by the Parisian branch of the company.

An advertisment

For a furniture depot in Bordeaux.  I wonder why they chose this picture as an illustration.  Perhaps their chairs are especially comfortable?

Portraits

Two portraits of a little girl.  I can't read the dates on the postmark but my guess is between 1905 to 1913.

Celluloid postcards

Four celluloid fantasy postcards. These are quite common, as objects made from celluloid were fashionable for a while. They seem to have been quite versatile. Here we see gold printing, collage, glitter, scalloped edges and the card in the bottom righthand corner looks to be very skillfully hand painted.

Celluloid is considered as the first plastic and was widely used as an ivory replacement. It was used in the film industry until replaced by acetate films in the 1950s. Table Tennis balls are made of celluloid!

Happy Easter

Hot on the heels of St Valentine's day comes Easter.  Where does the time go?

The love Barometer

A postcard from around the time of the First World War. Especially for young lovers who are apart from their sweethearts. The barometer is marked, from the bottom to top, with ‘Timid – Joyous – Ardent – Love’. What better way to confirm the feelings of the one you love?

Tom Tits and Chaffinches

I found each of these cards separately and by coincidence when I was looking for something else. They were published by Raphael Tuck and Sons. There are lots more of their cards for you to browse through here

The elf and the rose

Yesterday was an auction day for us. We got soaked on the way there, frozen in the auction room and our train was delayed on the way home because of problems with an unruly passenger. The cards we bought were very good though, so it was worth it. I love this one.

In France, baby girls are found at the heart of a rose and boys at the heart of a cabbage

Flowers

I found this bouquet of flowers to cheer up an October evening

Two Lovers

1. I’ll lay the world at your feet. 2. Your every wish is my command. 3. You must believe in my ‘star’



4. Close to you I am but mere man. 5. As my son resembles you…

One of the nicest parts of what I do is finding treasures like this little set of postcards. The lovers were photographed by Henri Manuel, a famous French photographer. Sent in the spring of 1911, I was disappointed to find that they weren’t love letters at all, but family correspondence.
click on the images to get a better view

Something a little different

In order to clear our stock a little we’ve started to sell lots of 50 postcards at a time. The cards aren’t extra special but could be a good idea for a beginner. Up until yesterday I was making up lots of town, villages and views throughout France. They’ve been selling pretty well so our attention then turned to the Fantasy cards that we have. These are more greetings postcards, especially New Year. A lot of them are pretty young ladies so are also interesting from the fashion point of view too. I scan all of the postcards and try to arrange them as artistically as possible. I was really pleased with the set you can see above, flowers, which is why I put it here.

Rob was checking other lots of fantasy cards on eBay France and one seller had a picture up of 5 cards only which they were using to illustrate 3 different lots. They had put up a notice warning that the postcards in the photo were not necessarily in the lot in question. When we saw that we felt quite smug about ours.

Notre Glorieux 75

The first thing I needed to know when I first set eyes on this card was “What does the 75 mean?” It didn’t take long to find out that it was the canon. This canon, first made in 1897, was used from the beginning of the first world war and was legendary for it’s technical excellence. Souvenirs and postcards were made, poems and books were written about this famous canon. In fact it soon became too cumbersome to use in the conditions of battle but it remained a symbol throughout the war. This card was sent at Christmas 1914.

Auntie Elsie and Rosie

I received this card in the post this morning, it was from my sister – a lovely surprise! ‘Auntie Elsie’ sent it to her naughty niece, Rosie in 1922, she wrote:

“ I am right down ashamed of you if this is the way you are carrying on”

I phoned my sister up later and we wondered what Rosie could have done to deserve such harsh words from her aunt who continued in the very next sentence;

“ Glad you are having nice weather”.

Auction success!

We went and bought a lot of new stock at an auction yesterday afternoon. There were other items, the most unusual being the sale of a binocular collection. There were posters too, this is where you can read about them. I always try to keep very still during an auction, I’m terrified of accidentally bidding for something I don’t want. Rob asked me to keep a running total of our bids so that we didn’t overspend, it went so fast I could hardly keep up!

This is just one card from a set that was in an album. We don’t usually bother much with fantasy cards, but I like these. It was printed in Berlin and sent in 1905 to wish someone a Happy New Year.