Grimaces (changeable)
A paper toy from France that uses two wheels and a sliding strip to combine different facial features.
“Gd. cirque des folies élastiques intermède des grimaces d’O’Gus'” (circa 1900?)
The Grandpère of the MAD Fold-in
Shades of Al Jaffee and MAD Magazine . . .
A printed and folded novelty celebrating Louis XVIII, King of France, 1814-1824.
(Published by J.B. Verzy, circa 1814).
The piece unfolds to spell out the virtues of the man who ruled during the Bourbon Restoration.
Choco-Choc
A group of labels for brands of chocolate sold in France in the middle of the 19th century.
The Sun-Cure
A view of a tuberculosis sanitarium for children at Groslay (Northern France) during World War I.
From the Edith Wharton Papers.
Hot Stuff
The key card for the game of: Robert le Diable: Jeu des Mariages. France, circa 1820.
Q&A
Simple question; complicated answer.
From an unidentified card game from France, circa 1860s.
20 trillion ways to see the world
A landscape puzzle from around 1830, the 16 cards can be arranged in a myriad of ways
(20,922,789,888,000 to be exact), forming a seemingly endless view.
Below are just three.
Polyorama, ou 20,922,789,888,000 vues pittoresques. Paris: Gide fils, ca. 1830
Air travel etiquette
Two photographs from the papers of Bettina Bergery, always in fashion.
A Proper Education & the Death of Isadora.
A postcard sent from Monroe Wheeler to George Platt Lynes, April 16, 1927,
suggesting important books to read.
And another, posted September 16, 1927, noting the death of Isadora Duncan.
Past Times
Les Jeux des jeunes garçons représentés en 25 gravures à l’aqua-tints
d’après les dessins de Xavier Le Prince ; avec l’explication détaillée des règles de chaque jeu ; accompagnées de fables nouvelles par MM. Armand-Gouffé, Le Franc, etc. et suivis d’anecdotes relatives à chaque jeu.
(A Paris : Chez P.C. Lehuby, [n.d., after 1822?])
Noted as “sixieme edition” in the preface.
–
Scenes of juvenile ludic life in France in the early part of the 19th century.
–
M. M.
A pair of Mickey Mouse books from the early 1930s.
Mickey, chercheur d’or [Paris] : Hachette, [©1931]
whose endpapers advertise the adventures of the fellow on film and in the local newspaper.
AND
Mickey Mouse movie stories. Philadelphia, David McKay Co. [©1931]
contains comic strips and images of Mickey and Minnie at the bottom of every page, so that the reader can flip the pages and create miniature “movies”.
But the most charming attribute of this copy is the owner’s inscription:
History Repeating
A comic image from a special edition of a French magazine from 1902,
focusing on the folly of the stock market.
Riding the Moon Bats to Saturn
A marvelous volume from a genre of speculative lunar travel around the turn
of the 20th century:
Ville D’Avray, A. de. Voyage dans la lune avant 1900. Paris: Librairie Furne, Jouvet & Cie, 1892.
Starring M. Baboulifiche and his manservant, Papavoine:
They encounter lizards hiding in mussel shells:
A moon cyclops who steals their umbrella:
But then they take a ride on moon bats to Saturn:
where they encounter much more friendly natives:
Before, well . . . being eaten alive by lizards, but that image is a bit too ghastly to post.
TV killed the Cinema star
A run of issues of Les cahiers de la television, Paris, 1962-1963.
With contributions from the likes of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler: “Voir la peinture à la T. V.”
and Eugene Ionesco: “Les chaises : une confirmation”.
Visual dictionary
A graphic vocabulary list intended for “sourds-muets” (deaf-mutes)
printed in Nancy, France, in 1830.
Inversions
A theme issue of a French magazine from August, 1923,
focusing on the subject of “inversion” or homosexuality.
Le champion du monde
Cover image: Leon See, Le champion du monde Jack Johnson,
Paris : Imp. Paul Dupont, [1910?]
leave a comment