A rare find: an album with Pathé cards from 1911 (Part 2)

At the 2018 Autumn Collector's Fair in Utrecht, we found an album with over 100 vintage cards by Pathé Cinema with stills of films from 1911. The album contains 60 double pages with 120 collector cards, a bit bigger and thinner than the ordinary postcards issued by Pathé. All films date from the year 1911 and almost all are traceable on the website of the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux Pathé. Most cards are made for French films by Pathé, sometimes for its subsidiaries Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres (SCAGL) or Séries d'Art Pathé Frères (SAPF). Occasionally, cards were also published for films by their foreign studios, such as American Kinema, Le Film Russe, and Film d'Arte Italiana (FAI). The series ranges from modern and historical dramas - quite a few deal with Napoleon and his circle in particular - to comedy, fairy tales, and crime films, sometimes with famous dramatic actors such as Stacia Napierkowska, Léontine Massart and Jean Kemm, or comedians such as Max Linder, Prince, Sarah Duhamel, Mistinguett and Madeleine Guitty. For certain titles - in particular for dramas, two or more cards have been issued and are now in the album. Often, with the non-comical films, a name is given which is mostly not the director but the scriptwriter. For an earlier post, we selected 14 cards from this album. Here are 21 more Pathé cards from 1911.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Léontine Massart in La rivale de Richelieu (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), also with Jacques Normand as the Count de Chalais, Auguste Volny as Richelieu, Philippe Damorès as the Count de Chateauneuf, Jeanne Berangère as the Queen, and Armand Hauterive as Louvigny.

The drama La rivale de Richelieu recounts the tragic struggle that took place under Louis XIII between Cardinal Richelieu, the famous prelate and prime minister of the seventeenth century, and Marie de Rohan, the beautiful Duchess of Chevreuse. The duchess's hatred arose following the arrest of the Count of Chateauneuf, with whom she was in love. Denounced by Louvigny, who was also seeking the duchess's favours, Chateauneuf was arrested following a duel. He obtained his pardon thanks to the Duchess's intervention with the Queen. But the Queen, in exchange for the service rendered, entrusted Marie de Rohan's protégé with a perilous mission: to deliver a secret message to the Duke of Buckingham. The secret was revealed to Father Joseph, the éminence grise of Richelieu. Chateauneuf, arrested again and subjected to torture, prefers to die rather than betray his queen. The duchess, mad with despair, asks the Count of Chalais, who loves her, to avenge Chateauneuf. She promises to marry him if he accomplishes the death of the Cardinal. The jealous Count de Louvigny discovers the conspiracy and denounces the count to Richelieu. Chalais is arrested and sentenced to death. After his execution, which she has just witnessed, the duchess, overcome with hatred and grief, seizes Louvigny's sword and plunges it into his heart. Then she buries the dirk in her own heart. The colouring of this film and the skill with which it is acted make La rivale de Richelieu an absorbing and powerful drama.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Léontine Massart in La rivale de Richelieu (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), also with Jacques Normand, Auguste Volny and Armand Hauterive.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Léontine Massart in La rivale de Richelieu (Gérard Bourgeois, 1911), also with Jacques Normand, Auguste Volny and Armand Hauterive.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Film d'arte italiana. Alfredo Robert as Tarquinius and Fanny Liona as his sister-in-law and mistress Tullia in the Italian film Tarquin le Superbe / Tarquinio il superbo (N.N., 1911).

In the Film d'arte Italiana drama Tarquin le Superbe / Tarquinio il superbo, Tarquinius, pushed by his sister-in-law Tullia, vies for the crown of his stepfather, Servius Tullius. After having killed his own wife because of his affair with his sister-in-law, Tarquinius instigates the mob to kill his stepfather, too. Tullia rejoices that her father has been killed and visits Tarquinius to receive the award for her complicity. There really was a King Tarquinius who killed his predecessor and was notorious for his violence, as he also killed many senators who had supported Servius Tullius. Yet, when in later years his son raped the noble Lucretia, who then committed suicide, the whole royal family was kicked out, and Rome became a republic, while the son eventually was assassinated. Pathé Frères was the distributor of this historical drama in France.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Film d'arte italiana. Vittoria Lepanto in Marozia (Gerolamo Lo Savio, 1910). The wedding of Marozia, with her, left the moustached Hugh, King of Italy (unknown actor). The two young men on the right could be Marozia's two sons, Stanislas Ciarli as (Pope) John and Francesco Di Gennaro as Alberico.

Marozia (1910) tells about a Tuscan princess, Marozia, who lived in Rome in the 10th century. She is the daughter of Princess Theodora, and like her mother, she holds the Holy See under her control. She has her son Giovanni/John (possibly a son of Pope Sergius III) appointed in place of Albérico (Alberic), her eldest son, whom she hates. The new Pontiff, John XI, celebrates his mother's marriage to Hugh of Provence, King of Italy. A young captain of the people, Jacopo, who is in love with Princess Marozia and driven by jealousy, leads a conspiracy against King Hugh with the complicity of Albérico. Marozia discovers their plot and warns King Hugh, who expels his wife's eldest son from his palace. The latter, distraught by the insult, hastens his revenge, stirs up the Roman people and has his mother and brother imprisoned in the fortress of Saint Angelo. In reality, during the historical uprising by Alberico, right during the wedding festivities of his mother, Hugh managed to flee, but Marozia was imprisoned and died five years later. John was kept as a puppet at the Lateran palace, while Alberico was de facto in power.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Berthe Bovy in Le Duc de Reichstadt - Napoléon II (1811-1832) (Georges Denola, 1911). It is unknown who the other actors are.

The moment on this card of Le Duc de Reichstadt - Napoléon II (1811-1832) (1911) was also a key moment in the stage play 'L'Aiglon (1900) by Edmond Rostand, in which Sarah Bernhardt played Napoleon II. Hailed at birth not only by the French people but also by Europe, which believed he was a guarantee of peace, Napoleon II seemed destined for the highest of destinies. However, he would add yet another name to the list of children born into sorrow on the steps of a throne. An involuntary guest of Austria after the exile and death of Napoleon I, the King of Rome, frail and sickly, wasted away in Schönbrunn, reminiscing about his father's glories. An old grenadier of Napoleon's, Sergeant Roger, hatched a plot to restore his father's throne, which the young prince overheard in a Viennese inn. Hope is reborn in his heart, and a brief romance with the sergeant's daughter (Bovy) brightens his final days. Defeated by illness, the King of Rome succumbs just as his dreams are about to come true and bids a final farewell to the brave hearts who devoted themselves to his cause.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Berthe Bovy in Le Duc de Reichstadt - Napoléon II (1811-1832) (Georges Denola, 1911).


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Gustave Hamilton as the piper Fafarifla and Berthe Bovy as Florine in the fairytale Fafarifla ou le fifre magique (Gaston Velle, 1911). Velle also scripted the film.

In the fairytale Fafarifla ou le fifre magique (Gaston Velle, 1911), Princess Florine loves the fife player Fafarifla, but King Castafiol wants her to marry a prince of royal blood. Fortunately for poor Florine, the chamberlain Mouskador takes pity on her and arranges a meeting with Fafarifla. Castafiol, informed of their recklessness, vows to punish the guilty parties. But the fairy Melusine protects them, and when the king tries to get dressed, his slippers start dancing so wildly that he is forced to stay put. However, he does not give up on his revenge, and the princess becomes a prisoner in his castle. The good fairy, to soften her captivity, turns her beloved Fafarifla into a bird so that she can keep him with her day and night. Unfortunately, the king, surprised by Florine's resignation and suspecting the truth, wants to kill the enchanted bird. He is immediately punished for his wickedness by the fairy, who imprisons him behind solid iron bars. Castafiol then agrees, in exchange for his freedom, to unite the two lovers.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Scene from Le Roman de Catherine (N.N., 1911).

In Le Roman de Catherine(1911), a young peasant, Colas, loves the charming Catherine. But Colas is poor and cannot win her hand. Desperate, he enlists in the army. He is sent to Tours, where he takes a liking to his new life. Soon, he forgets his love, and the unfaithful soldier, won over by new loves, writes to Catherine to ask her to release him. After a bout of heartbreak, the young girl decides to go and join her fiancé to try to win him back. But when she sees that she has been supplanted, her despair bursts forth. Colas, moved, overcome by his former love, dries her tears with kisses, and the two lovers exchange new vows.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Maria Fromet as Pierrot and Carina as the little sweep in Oiseau de printemps, hirondelle d'hiver (Georges Denola, 1911). Scripted by E. M. Laumann. Not visible on this card are Pierrot's parents, who were played by Georges Dorival and Darmody. Auguste Mévisto played the little sweep's master.

In Oiseau de printemps, hirondelle d'hiver (Georges Denola, 1911), little chimney sweeps fill, as sad winter swallows, the streets of Paris with their cries, heralding the arrival of frost. When Pierrot wakes up, he finds a little chimney sweep in his room and, full of joy, starts playing with his unexpected friend. His mother finds him covered in soot, blacker than his new friend, and after scolding him, sends him back to his studies. The poor chimney sweep, back in his hovel, mistreated by his master, remembers the happy hour he spent in Pierrot's house. While his master is sleeping off his wine, he takes to his heels and goes to join his new friend. Meanwhile, instead of learning his lessons, Pierrot wants to play chimney sweep and pulls the lit stove out of the chimney. The poor little boy, succumbing to asphyxiation, would have perished as a victim of his disobedience, had it not been for the providential intervention of the little chimney sweep, who saw the boy lying on the floor through the window. Little Jean, adopted by Pierrot's family, will finally know happy days.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Georges Vinter as the detective Nick Winter in Le Pickpocket mystifié (N.N., 1911).

Nick Winter, the astonishing detective, is in Le Pickpocket mystifié (N.N., 1911) hot on the trail of a clever crook. Winter catches him in a bank where he is robbing a bank clerk's wallet with unparalleled skill and audacity, using a cleverly rigged cane. In an instinctive move, the detective reaches into the thief's pocket, but this gesture makes him look like a thief himself in the eyes of the bank clerk, who calls the police. Nick, handcuffed, is taken to the police station, followed by his thief, who has now become the complainant. But there, the roles are reversed, and the clever policeman has no trouble exposing his adversary.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Blémont as Mme Plumeau in Le pot de confitures (Georges Denola, 1911). Not visible are M. Plumeau, played by the comedian Bach and Madeleine Guitty, who played the aunt.

In Le pot de confitures (Georges Denola, 1911), Léonce Plumeau receives news at his office that his elderly aunt Ursule is very ill. After expressing his unbridled joy, he writes to his wife to urge her to go immediately to take care of the inheritance and to bring his aunt one of the jars of jam she is making. The aunt welcomes her warmly and shows her the will, which names her as the sole heir. Léontine returns delighted. Immediately after her departure, the aunt, who loves jam, hastens to open the jar and taste its contents, when she notices her nephew's handwriting on the lid. Is it a kind dedication to her? She adjusts her glasses and deciphers a few fragments of sentences: "My dear Léont... I received a telegram... the doctor announces... old spinning top of Aunt Ursule... has decided to pass away... Go there immediately because... to claim her inheritance..." Aunt Ursula, suffocated, has a violent nervous breakdown. A few days later, she dies, leaving her entire fortune to her maid and to her nephew and niece... the jar of jam they so generously gave her.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Max Linder, Olga Demidoff, Jacques Vandenne and Paulette Lorsy in Max et sa belle-mère (N.N., 1911).

In Max et sa belle-mère (1911), Max harbours feelings of hostility towards his mother-in-law. When his mother-in-law announces her imminent arrival to her children, Max, furious, enlists the help of the servants to make her stay unbearable. They assist him admirably. Thanks to their zeal, Mother-in-law stumbles from one mishap to another, getting sprayed by the gardener, covered in dust from beaten carpets, and having a bowl of boiling soup dumped on her head; her bed collapses while she is sleeping. Finally, after a series of unspeakable misadventures, the mother-in-law falls into the clutches of Max's best friend, a real bear, and, bewildered, distraught and bruised, she jumps on the first train leaving, vowing never to return.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Charles Prince as Rigadin in Rigadin a perdu son monocle (Georges Monca, 1911).

In Rigadin a perdu son monocle (Georges Monca, 1911), Rigadin, afflicted with extreme short-sightedness, has lost his monocle when it slipped into his coffee cup. An errand girl he is trying to win over takes advantage of the situation to tease him mercilessly. Indeed, after making passionate declarations to a mannequin, then to some bathrobes drying on a line, and finally to a driver whom he mistakes for the mischievous girl, Rigadin returns home, duped and unhappy, to find his monocle in his coffee cup.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Wilhem as little Germaine, the daughter and Georges Tréville as Hugues de Prasdin, her father, in Heureux accident (Georges Denola, 1911), scripted by Georges Le Faure and Georges Denola.

Heureux accident (Georges Denola, 1911) features Hugues de Prasdin, cornered by gambling and unfortunate speculations. He appeals to the generosity of his father-in-law, Darcourt, to pay off an urgent debt. Rejected by him, the desperate bon vivant contemplates suicide. While he is writing to his family to say goodbye and explain the reasons for his decision, his daughter, little Germaine, plays hide-and-seek with her brother. Hiding behind a curtain, she overhears her father's terrible plan. When she is alone, the little girl, trembling, comes out of her hiding place and tries to unload the revolver that her father left on the table before leaving. But it is too difficult for her small fingers to handle; the bullet is fired and wounds her hand. The whole family rushes to the poor girl's side, and she secretly slips the desperate man's letter to her ruthless grandfather. The old man is moved by the child's silent plea, and her father is saved thanks to the happy accident.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Wilhem as little Germaine, the daughter, in Heureux accident (Georges Denola, 1911).


French photo car by. Pathé Frères. Wilhem, Georges Tréville, Catherine Fonteney as the mother and Albert Dieudonné as the grandfather in Heureux accident (Georges Denola, 1911).


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres (SCAGL). Edmond Duquesne as the old bird feeder and accompanist in Le Pain des petits oiseaux (Albert Capellani, 1911). Script by Georges Le Faure and Albert Capellani. We have three cards for this film.

In Le Pain des petits oiseaux (Albert Capellani, 1911), Father Darblay is an elderly accompanist who collects the leftovers from diners at the restaurant for his little bird friends. As the good old man feeds them, an unexpected bird joins them. It is a poorly dressed little girl who hungrily devours the sparrows' food. At this sight, the old musician's kind heart is moved. He takes in and adopts the child. In the artistic milieu in which she lives, Ginette's vocation takes shape. Darblay and an established elder dancer discover Ginette's dancing talent. She becomes a professional dancer, and soon, as an upcoming star, she leaves to tour America: the little bird flies out. Months pass, and the poor little girl has become a great artist, applauded and celebrated. The new star is shining brightly in Monte Carlo and is surrounded by persistent admirers when she learns that, in her absence, her adoptive father is consumed with grief. Only her presence can save him. The artist does not hesitate. She takes the first train and finds old Darblay with his sparrows on the bench where he had once rescued her. Now it is the young girl's turn to help the old man. Her care and tenderness soon restore his joy and health.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres (SCAGL). Stacia Napierkowska as Ginette in Le Pain des petits oiseaux (Albert Capellani, 1911). Script by Georges Le Faure. The young man behind the old charmer is Lucien Callamand.


French photo card by Pathé Frères. Photo: Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres (SCAGL). Stacia Napierkowska as Ginette and Edmond Duquesne as Mr. Darblay in Le Pain des petits oiseaux (Albert Capellani, 1911).

Sources: Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé et IMDb.

Check out the first post on the Pathé album of 1911. Next month, we will post more cards from this album.

Ethel Barrymore

American actress Ethel Barrymore (1879-1959) was a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Her career as a stage, screen and radio actress spanned six decades, and she was regarded as 'The First Lady of the American Theatre'. She made 15 silent pictures between 1914 and 1919, most of them for the Metro Pictures studio.


American postcard by Fotofolio, NY, NY, no. P204. Photo: Apeda, N.Y. / Photoworld. Caption: Ethel Barrymore (1879-1959), as the spirit of equity.


American postcard in the O.K. Series by American Post Card Co., New York. Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.


American postcard by Herman Shumlin / National Theatre, N.Y.C. Ethel Barrymore in 'The Corn is Green' by Emlyn Williams.

Large dark eyes that seemed to look out from her very soul

Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia in 1879. She was the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore (whose real name was Herbert Blythe) and Georgiana Drew. Her father was nearly killed four months before her birth in a famous Old West encounter in Texas while heading a travelling road company. She was named for her father's favourite character — Ethel in William Makepeace Thackeray’s 'The Newcomes'. She was the sister of actors John and Lionel Barrymore, the aunt of actor John Drew Barrymore and actress Diana Barrymore, and the great-aunt of actress Drew Barrymore. She was also a granddaughter of actress and theatre-manager Louisa Lane Drew (Mrs. John Drew), and niece of Broadway matinée idol John Drew Jr and early Vitagraph star Sidney Drew.

She spent her childhood in Philadelphia and attended Roman Catholic schools there. In 1884, the family sailed to England and stayed for two years. Maurice had inherited a substantial amount of money from an aunt and decided to exhibit a play and star in some plays at London's Haymarket Theatre. Ethel recalled being frightened on first meeting Oscar Wilde when handing him some cakes and later being reprimanded by her parents for showing fear of Wilde.

Returning to the U.S. in 1886, her father took her to her first baseball game. She established a lifelong love of baseball and wanted to be a concert pianist. In the summer of 1893, Barrymore was in the company of her mother, Georgie, who had been ailing from tuberculosis and took a curative sabbatical to Santa Barbara, California. Georgie did not recover and died in 1893, a week before her 37th birthday. Essentially, Ethel's and Lionel's childhood ended when Georgie died. They were forced to go to work in their teens without finishing high school. John, a few years younger, stayed with their grandmother.

Barrymore's first appearance on Broadway was in 1895, in a play called 'The Imprudent Young Couple' which starred her uncle John Drew, Jr., and Maude Adams. She appeared with Drew and Adams again in 1896 in 'Rosemary'. William McPeak at IMDb: "Her youthful stage presence was at once a pleasure, a strikingly pretty and winsome face and large dark eyes that seemed to look out from her very soul. Her natural talent and distinctive voice only reinforced the physical presence of someone destined to command any role set before her."

In 1897, Ethel went with William Gillette to London to play Miss Kittridge in Gillette's 'Secret Service'. She was about to return to the States with Gillette's troupe when Henry Irving and Ellen Terry offered her the role of Annette in 'The Bells'. A full London tour was on and, before it was over, Ethel created, on New Year's Day 1898, Euphrosine in 'Peter the Great' at the Lyceum, the play having been written by Irving's son, Laurence Irving. Men everywhere were smitten with Ethel, most notably Winston Churchill, who asked her to marry him. Not wishing to be a politician's wife, she refused. Winston, years later, married Clementine Hozier, a ravishing beauty who looked very much like Ethel. Winston and Ethel remained friends until the end of her life. Their 'romance' was their own little secret until his son let the cat out of the bag 63 years after it happened.


Vintage postcard in the Rotograph Series, no. B 353. Photo: Burr McIntosh, N.Y.


British-American postcard by Bamforth & Co. Publishers, Holmfirth (England) / New York, Series no. 2043.

Outdrawing two of the most prominent actresses of her day

After her season in London, Ethel Barrymore returned to the U.S. Charles Frohman cast her first in 'Catherine' and then as Stella de Grex in 'His Excellency the Governor'. After that, benefactor and friend Frohman finally gave Ethel the role that would make her a star: Madame Trentoni in 'Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines', which opened at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End in 1901. Unbeknownst to Ethel, her father Maurice had witnessed the performance as an audience member and walked up to his daughter, congratulated her and gave her a big hug. It was the first and only time he saw her on stage professionally.

When the tour concluded in Boston in June, she had outdrawn two of the most prominent actresses of her day, Mrs. Patrick Campbell and Minnie Maddern Fiske. Following her triumph in 'Captain Jinks', Ethel gave sterling performances in many top-rate productions. In Thomas Raceward's 'Sunday', she uttered what would be her most famous line, "That's all there is, there isn't any more."

She portrayed Nora in 'A Doll's House' by Henrik Ibsen (1905), and Juliet in 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare (1922). Barrymore, along with friend Marie Dressler, was a strong supporter of the Actors' Equity Association and had a high-profile role in the 1919 strike. AEA came into being primarily to allow performers to have a bigger share in the profits of stage productions and to provide benefits to elderly or infirm actors.

This angered many producers and cost Barrymore her friendship with George M. Cohan, an actor, songwriter and producer. Ethel Barrymore's involvement in AEA may have been motivated by the fate of both of her parents, both long-standing actors, her mother, who had needed proper medical care and her father, who required years of institutionalised care.

In 1926, she scored one of her greatest successes as the sophisticated spouse of a philandering husband in W. Somerset Maugham's comedy, 'The Constant Wife'. Maugham counted himself among her admirers, saying that during rehearsals for the play he had "fallen madly in love with her." She starred in 'Rasputin and the Empress' (1932), playing the czarina married to Czar Nicholas. In July 1934, she starred in the play 'Laura Garnett', by Leslie and Sewell Stokes, at Dobbs Ferry, New York.


British postcard in The Film Shots Series by Film Weekly. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). Ralph Morgan, Tad Alexander, Ethel Barrymore and John Barrymore in Rasputin and the Empress (Richard Boleslavsky, 1932).


British postcard in The Film Shots Series by Film Weekly. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). John Barrymore, Ralph Morgan, Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore in Rasputin and the Empress (Richard Boleslavsky, 1932).


Dutch postcard for Rembrandt Theater, Utrecht, 1933. Photo: M.G.M. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). John Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore in Rasputin and the Empress (Richard Boleslavsky, 1932).

Her engaging wit and humanity stood out in even supporting roles

In 1914, Ethel Barrymore appeared in her first feature film, The Nightingale (Augustus Thomas, 1914). Members of her family were already in pictures. Uncle Sidney Drew, his wife Gladys Rankin, and Lionel Barrymore had entered films in 1911, and John Barrymore made his first feature in 1913 after having debuted in Lubin short films in 1912. She made 15 silent pictures between 1914 and 1919, most of them for the Metro Pictures studio. Most of these pictures were made on the East Coast, as her Broadway career and children came first. A few of her silent films have survived: for example, one reel from The Awakening of Helena Richie (John W. Noble, 1916) and The Call of Her People (John W. Noble, 1917).

The only two films that featured all three siblings - Ethel, John, and Lionel - were National Red Cross Pageant (Christy Cabanne, 1917) and Rasputin and the Empress (Richard Boleslawski, 1932). The former film is now considered a lost film. She returned to the stage, where she had her most endearing role in 'The Corn is Green', during a tour that lasted from 1940 to 1942. Barrymore came back to California and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the mother of Cary Grant in the film None but the Lonely Heart (Clifford Odets, 1944), but made plain that she was not overly impressed by it.

She appeared in The Spiral Staircase (Robert Siodmak, 1946) and The Paradine Case (Alfred Hitchcock, 1947), in which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She played the repressed wife of Charles Laughton's character. William McPeak: "Her engaging wit and humanity stood out in even supporting roles, such as, the politically savvy mother of Joseph Cotten in The Farmer's Daughter (H.C. Potter, 1947) and, once again with Cotton, as sympathetic art dealer Miss Spinney, with those eyes, in the haunting screen adaptation of Robert Nathan's novel Portrait of Jennie (William Dieterle, 1948)." Barrymore also appeared as Miss Em opposite Jeanne Crain in the Academy Award-nominated film Pinky (Elia Kazan, 1949), for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Her last film appearance was in Johnny Trouble (John H. Auer, 1957) with Stuart Whitman. On the radio, Barrymore starred in the situation comedy Miss Hattie (1944-1945). Barrymore also made several television appearances in the 1950s, including one memorable encounter with comedian Jimmy Durante on NBC's All-Star Revue in 1951. In 1956, she hosted 14 episodes of the TV series Ethel Barrymore Theatre. In 1955, she published her book 'Memories, An Autobiography'. Barrymore died of cardiovascular disease in 1959, at her home in Hollywood, after having lived for many years with a heart condition. She was less than two months shy of her 80th birthday. She was entombed at Calvary Cemetery.

Ethel Barrymore married Russell Griswold Colt in 1909. In 1911, Barrymore took preliminary divorce measures against Colt, much to Colt's surprise, and later recanted by Barrymore as a misunderstanding by the press. At least one source alleged that Colt abused her and that he fathered a child with another woman while married to Barrymore. They divorced in 1923. The couple had three children: Samuel 'Sammy' Colt (1909–1986), a Hollywood agent and occasional actor; actress-singer Ethel Barrymore Colt (1912–1977), who appeared on Broadway in Stephen Sondheim's 'Follies'; and John Drew Colt (1913–1975), who became an actor. Ethel Barrymore never remarried. The Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City is named for her. In 1960, Barrymore was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion picture star for her contributions to the film industry. Her star is located at 7001 Hollywood Boulevard.


American postcard by Kline Poster Co. Inc., Phila. Image: Metro.


British postcard by Valentine's in the Film Stars and Their Pets series, no. 7113 M. Caption: Ethel Barrymore - A sister of John and Lionel Barrymore, Ethel was born on August 15th 1879. She took to the stage in 1894 and toured Britain with the Lyceum Company. Her latest film is Rasputin, the great Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production. She is seen here with her two splendid Russian wolfhounds.

Sources: William McPeak (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

Nathalie Baye (1948-2026)

On Friday, 17 April, French film, television, and stage actress Nathalie Baye (1948-2026) has died at the age of 77, her family has announced. Baye began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. She has won more than ten acting awards, including the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for Une liaison pornographique (1999). Baye won four Césars, for Sauve qui peut (la vie) (1980), Une étrange affaire (1981), La Balance (1982) and Le petit lieutenant (2005). Baye’s health had been a cause for concern for some time. According to her family, she "died on Friday evening at her home in Paris from Lewy body dementia". Lewy body dementia is the third most common form of dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.


Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.


French postcard by Editions La Malibran, Paris, no. CF 32. Photo: Pierre Zucca. François Truffaut and Nathalie Baye in La Nuit Américaine (François Truffaut, 1973).


French postcard at Editions P.I., Paris, no. 3647. Photo: Eva Sereny / Sygma.

Recognised as one of France's leading actresses

Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye was born in Mainneville, Normandy, in 1948. She grew up in unconventional circumstances as the daughter of a bohemian painter couple, Claude Baye and Denise Coustet. She was dyslexic, dropped out of school at the age of fourteen and took ballet lessons in Monaco. Three years later, at age 17, she toured with a dance company in the United States. She stayed in New York to complete her training with the Ballets Russes and to broaden her horizons.

On her return, she attended the Cours Simon and then the Conservatoire, which she completed in 1972. Baye made her film debut as Giselle in Faustine et le bel été / Faustine and the Beautiful Summer (Nina Companeez, 1972), starring Isabelle Adjani. The next year, she became famous with the supporting role of the script girl Joëlle in the film La Nuit américaine / Day for Night (1973) by François Truffaut.

After that, she worked with another great director, Maurice Pialat, on La gueule ouverte / The Mouth Agape (1974). Other supporting roles followed, including a brief appearance in Truffaut's L'Homme qui aimait les femmes / The Man Who Loved Women (François Truffaut, 1977). Throughout the 1970s, she played the good girlfriend or nice provincial girl in film and television. She played her first major leading role as Truffaut's partner in his film drama La Chambre verte / The Green Room (François Truffaut, 1978).

Since the early 1980s, she has been recognised as one of France's leading actresses, thanks to performances such as in Claude Goretta's La Provinciale / The Girl from Lorraine (1981). Baye has been honoured with four César awards, including Best Supporting Actress in 1981 for Sauve qui peut (la vie) / Every Man for Himself (Jean-Luc Godard, 1980) and 1982 for Une étrange affaire / Strange Affair (Pierre Granier-Deferre, 1981) as well as Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1983 for La Balance / The Nark (Bob Swaim, 1982).

After changing her image by playing a streetwalker in La Balance / The Nark, she widened her scope with more obscure characters in J'ai épousé une ombre / I Married a Shadow (Robin Davis, 1983) and En toute innocence / No Harm Intended (Alain Jessua, 1988). In 1986, she returned to the theatre with an interpretation of 'Adriana Monti'. At the Venice Film Festival in 1999, she received the award for Best Actress for her role in Une liaison pornographique / A Pornographic Relationship (Frédéric Fonteyne, 1999) with Sergi Lopéz. Her other film successes included her role as a teacher in Une semaine de vacances / Holidays for a Week (Bertrand Tavernier, 1980) and she was one the beauticians in the highly acclaimed Vénus Beauté (Institut) / Venus Beauty Institute (Tonie Marshall, 1999), which won multiple César Awards, including for Best Film.


Franco-Swiss poster postcard by CVB Publishers / News Productions. Image: Collection Cinémathèque Suisse, Lausanne. Nathalie Baye, Jacques Dutronc and Isabelle Huppert in the Franco-Swiss film Sauve qui peut (la vie) (Jean-Luc Godard, 1980).


French poster postcard by Editions F. Nugeron, no. E 157. Design: Landi / Spadem. French affiche for La Balance / The Nark (Bob Swaim, 1982) with Nathalie Baye, Philippe Léotard and Richard Berry.

A celebrity couple with a French Rock and Roll legend

Nathalie Baye has appeared in more than 65 films. Most of these are French-language, though not exclusively. For instance, she starred in the American films Two People (Robert Wise, 1972) with Lindsay Wagner and Peter Fonda, The Man Inside (Bobby Roth, 1990), alongside Jürgen Prochnow and Monique van de Ven, and Catch Me If You Can (Steven Spielberg, 2002) starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.

From 1982 to 1986, Baye formed a celebrity couple with French Rock and Roll legend Johnny Hallyday. Together, they made the film Détective (1984), directed by Jean-Luc Godard. With Hallyday, she had a daughter, Laura Smet, in 1983.

Laura Smet has also played several film roles since 2003. In 2017, Baye starred for the first time with her daughter in an episode of the TV series Dix pour Cent / Call My Agent! (2015) about the lives and jobs of people working at a talent agency in Paris. The two women were reunited for the first time in the cinema by Xavier Beauvois in Les Gardiennes / The Guardians, a historical drama set in 1915.

In 2006, Nathalie Baye won her fourth César for her role as a middle-aged woman detective in Le petit lieutenant / The Young Lieutenant (Xavier Beauvois, 2005). Young Canadian film prodigy Xavier Dolan offered her the role of the mother of a man wanting to have a sex change in Laurence Anyways (Xavier Dolan, 2012).

More recent films in which she appeared include the French drama-thriller La Volante / The Assistant (Christophe Ali, Nicolas Bonilauri, 2015), the drama Juste la fin du monde / It's Only the End of the World (Xavier Dolan, 2016) and the historical drama Downton Abbey: A New Era (Simon Curtis, 2022) from a screenplay by Julian Fellowes. It was the sequel to Downton Abbey (Michael Engler, 2019), based on the television series of the same name created by Fellowes.


French autograph card by Editions P.I., Paris. Photo: Sygma.


French autograph card by Editions P.I., Paris. Photo: Sygma. Check out the differences.

Sources: Allociné (French), Wikipedia (Dutch, French and English) and IMDb.

The Finest of the Fair: Paul's selection

Italian postcard, reproduction after the original. Design: Enzo Van Dock. During the 1900s and 1910s, Italian artist Enzo Van Dock designed many caricatures which were turned into postcards.

On 3 and 4 April 2026, the editors of EFSP visited the VerzamelJaarbeurs in Utrecht, the Netherlands. This collectors' fair is Europe's largest market for vintage items, antiques, curiosities and pop culture. Under the title, 'The Finest of the Fair', we will post some of our newest acquisitions from the VerzamelJaarbeurs. Last week, Ivo Blom selected 16 of his postcards for this post. Next week, EFSP will present Marlene Pilaete's selection. And here's the selection of Paul van Yperen.


British postcard by Pictures L.t.d, London, in the "Pictures" Portrait Gallery, no. A 10. Paul: "Nazimova is one of the mysterious divas from silent Hollywood who keeps fascinating me. I had never seen this portrait of her before, and I like it.

Alla Nazimova (1879–1945) was a grand, highly flamboyant star of the American silent cinema. The Russian-born film and theatre actress, screenwriter, and film producer was widely known as just Nazimova. On Broadway, she was noted for her work in the classic plays of Ibsen, Chekhov, and Turgenev. Her efforts at silent film production were less successful, but a few sound-film performances survive as a record of her art.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 803, 1925-1926. Paul: "Louis Davids is one of the greatest Dutch artists ever, but there are only a few vintage postcards of him. Marlene has this German Ross postcard from the 1920s, and I am so happy I also found it. Why did Ross publish this card of this Dutch entertainer? I want to do some research on that.

Louis Davids (1883-1939) was a Dutch cabaretier and revue artist who also appeared in twenty Dutch films, both silent and sound. He is widely considered one of the Netherlands biggest names in performing arts, and many of his songs are evergreens in the Netherlands.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1007/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Oertel, Berlin. Asta Nielsen in Die freudlose Gasse / The Joyless Street (G.W. Pabst, 1925). Paul: "Dutch artist Pyke Koch was a huge fan of Nielsen. He even saved her films under his bed. They are now in the collection of the Eye Dutch Filmmuseum. Koch used this photo for his 1929 portrait of Asta Nielsen."

Danish silent film actress Asta Nielsen (1881-1972) was one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1910s and one of the first international film stars. Of her 74 films between 1910 and 1932, seventy were made in Germany, where she was known simply as 'Die Asta'. Noted for her large dark eyes, mask-like face, and boyish figure, Nielsen most often portrayed strong-willed, passionate women trapped by tragic consequences.


German postcard. Photo: Deutsch-Nordische Film-Union. La Jana in Die Weisse Geisha / Den hvide Geisha / The White Geisha (Valdemar Andersen, Karl Heiland, 1926). Caption: The white Geisha and the Rikshaman. Paul: "I was curious when I found this card. Never heard of this film before. It's a bonus that the geisha is La Jana in her film debut."

Die Weisse Geisha / The White Geisha explores themes of intercultural romance and exotic adventure in the style typical of Weimar-era cinema. The film was released during a period of international collaboration in European filmmaking. It was produced by Nordisk Film in Denmark and released in both countries. La Jana portrayed the titular White Geisha, a Western woman who adopts the traditions of geisha life in Asia, serving as the film's central female character in this silent drama.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1875/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Paramount / Fanamet. Paul: 'The flappers of the 1920s were all so beautiful and so much fun. I love Louise Brooks, Joan Crawford and Colleen Moore, but there was only one 'It' girl. "

American actress Clara Bow (1905-1965) rose to stardom as an uninhibited flapper in silent films during the 1920s. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film It (1927) brought her global fame and the nickname 'The It Girl'. Bow came to personify the Roaring Twenties and is described as its leading sex symbol.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4719/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Universal. Merna Kennedy in Broadway (Paul Fejos, 1929). "Last year, I found a card of Merna in The Circus, and this time, I found one of her second film, Broadway. We definitely need to make a post about her."

American actress Merna Kennedy (1908-1944) was best known for her debut as the lovely circus rider in Chaplin’s classic The Circus (1928). She acted in dozens of early sound films till she married Busby Berkeley.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 181/4. Photo: Ufa. Hubert von Meyerinck and Lilian Harvey in Ich und die Kaiserin / The Only Girl (Friedrich Hollaender, 1933). Paul: "There were so many great postcards of Lilian Harvey at the fair, but I like this one especially because of Hubert von Meyerinck, who is one of my new heroes."

British-born, German actress and singer Lilian Harvey (1906-1968) was Ufa's biggest star of the 1930s. With Willy Fritsch, she formed the 'Dream Team of the European Cinema'. Their best film was the immensely popular film operetta Der Kongress tanzt / The Congress Dances (Erik Charell, 1931).

Complete with a waxed moustache and monocle, bald, straight-backed German actor Hubert von Meyerinck (1896-1971) looked every inch a poster boy for Prussian militarism. After his debut in Berlin in 1917, he became a prominent stage actor as Marlene Dietrich's partner in the 1927 revue 'Es liegt was in der Luft', as Mephisto in 'Faust' and as Mack the Knife in Brecht's 'Threepenny Opera'. From 1929, he appeared in 294 films, normally in supporting roles. Audiences loved him as oily swindlers, impoverished aristocrats out to marry for money, bigamists, effete movie folk or obtuse officials.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4475/1, 1929-1930. Photo: First National / Defina. Paul: "Another adorable flapper. White was the original Dorothy while Ruth Taylor was the original Lorelei Lee."

During the late 1920s, sexy and bubbly Alice White (1904-1983) was one of Hollywood's most popular stars who received more than 30,000 fan letters a month. She was Warner Bros' blonde answer to Clara Bow, and among her film hits were Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928) and Show Girl (1928). Tabloid reports about a violent love triangle seriously damaged her reputation and her career.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4895/1, 1929-1930. Photo: MGM. Paul: "Great picture of one of the lesser-known 'Dancing Daughters' of the jazz era. Sadly, 'Slam' could not keep her drinking in control."

Dorothy Sebastian (1903-1957) was a US actress who rose to fame in the last days of silent cinema. She played 'the other woman' opposite Garbo in The Single Standard (1929).


Dutch postcard by J. Sleding N.V., Amsterdam, no. 1250. Photo: Paramount. Paul: "I admire Astaire, but I bought this card because of the shadow."

American dancer, choreographer, singer, and actor Fred Astaire (1899-1987) was a unique dancer with his top hat and tails, his uncanny sense of rhythm, perfectionism, and innovation. He began his highly successful partnership with Ginger Rogers in Flying Down to Rio (1933). They danced together in 10 musicals in which he made all song and dance routines integral to the plotlines. Another innovation was that a closely tracking dolly camera filmed his dance routines in as few shots as possible. His career in film, television and theatre spanned a total of 76 years.


Dutch postcard by Takken / 't Sticht, no. AX 1018. Photo: Paramount. Bob Hope, Jane Russell and Roy Rogers in Son of Paleface (Frank Tashlin, 1952). Paul: "Interesting combination of stars, and I like the director."

British-born American comedian Bob Hope (1903-2003) started his career, which spanned nearly 80 years, onstage as a dancer and comedian. He made his film debut in Paramount follies (1938) singing 'Thanks for the Memory', which became his signature song. With Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, he appeared in the highly successful Road to ... comedies (1940-1952), and in many other films until the early 1970s. During World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, he spent much time entertaining the troops in the field. For these activities, he received five honorary Academy Awards.

American film actress Jane Russell (1921-2011) was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1943, she had her first film role in Howard Hughes' The Outlaw. In 1947, Russell delved into music. Her film career revived when she was cast as Calamity Jane opposite Bob Hope in The Paleface (1948). After starring in several films in the 1950s, including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Russell again returned to music while completing several other films in the 1960s. She starred in more than 20 films throughout her career.

American singer and cowboy actor Roy Rogers (1911-1998) was one of the most popular Western stars of his era. Known as the 'King of the Cowboys', he appeared in over 100 films.


American Arcade Card. Paul: "American actors who moved to European cinema in the 1940s and 1950s interest me. Latimore was quite popular as the dashing hero of Italian Swashbucklers during the 1950s.

Frank Latimore (1925-1998) was a supporting actor in Hollywood in the 1940s. From 1947, he took up residence in Italy, and a few years later in Spain. In both countries, he enjoyed a productive career with successes in melodramas, swashbucklers, and Spaghetti Westerns.


American Arcade Card. Paul: "40 years ago, someone gave me an Etta James record, and I was hooked forever. At last, I found a postcard, a real Arcade card of her."

Etta James (1938-2012) was an American singer and songwriter who sang in various genres. Her deep and earthy voice bridged the gap between R&B and rock and roll. She started in 1954 and had a career that spanned six decades. Her enduring hits include 'The Wallflower' (1955), 'At Last' (1960), 'All I Could Do Was Cry' (1960), 'Something's Got a Hold on Me' (1962), 'Tell Mama' (1967) and 'I'd Rather Go Blind' (1967). She lived a rough-and-tumble life and faced heroin addiction, physical abuse and incarceration, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album 'Seven Year Itch' (1988). The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named her "one of the greatest voices of her century" and "forever the matriarch of blues.


British postcard by The Badger Press, Westbury, Wiltshire, Ref. M.7. Photo: John Coleman. Programme of the Winter Gardens in Morecambe, Great Britain, of 1955, 31 October 1955. The main attraction was the Australian illusionist, The Great Levante, and his magical "How's Tricks". Caption: Third World Tour. A Bombshell of Bewilderment. Tons of Illusions. 20 Highly Skilled Assistants. Singers, Dancers, Comedians and Novelty Acts. Two Hours without a Blush, A Real Family Show. This and 1000 Other Surprises. Paul: "Last Summer, Professor Vanessa gave Ivo and me a tour through the Winter Gardens while it was being restored. It's an amazing venue and Vanessa and her team are doing a terrific job."

The Winter Gardens is a Grade II listed building in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. Designed by architects Mangnall and Littlewood, with Frank Matcham as a consulting architect, it was originally built as the Victoria Pavilion Theatre in 1897 and opened on Monday, 19 July 1897. It was an extension to the existing Winter Gardens complex, which has since been demolished. The theatre closed to the public in 1977 and was listed the same year. It is one of Morecambe's most significant features, and a campaign for its restoration has been ongoing since 1986. It will officially reopen on 26 August 2026!


Vintage postcard by Star PC, no. SP 171. Photo: Laszlo Willinger / Warner Bros, 1961. Ty Hardin as Bronco Lane in the TV Western series Bronco (1958-1962). Paul: "Although he later proved to be a complete nutcase, I have a soft spot for handsome Ty when he was young and sweet."

Blonde American actor Ty Hardin (1930-2017) was probably best known as hunky TV cowboy Bronco. This fame led to several film appearances in Hollywood and Italy.


Dutch postcard, no. AX 3689. Paul: "Loved this picture. These fingers, these lips. What a woman."

Della Reese (1931-2017) was an African-American actress and singer. She began her career in the 1950s as a gospel, jazz and blues singer. Later, Reese focused on acting. She is known for her role as Tess, the angel in the television series Touched by an Angel.

Check out The Finest of the Fair: Ivo's selection.