Cartes Postales de Paris

Postcards from Paris. What an exciting treat to get a beautiful postcard from a loved one on their holiday in such a fabulous city. If you know me at all, you know that Pairs holds an extraordinary place in my heart. I was fortunate enough to spend quite a lot of time in this lovely city while I lived in Germany. We were only 2.5 hours away on the ICE fast train; we defiantly took advantage of this proximity and would travel to Paris every few months.

It was always such a treat to find vintage Paris souvenir items when we would visit shops and flea markets across Europe. On one visit to the flea market in Metz, France, with our friends Laurence and Sylvain, I came across this Paris postcard book. It was almost completely filled with postcards from the early 20th century. What a fantastic find!

As I flipped through the pages, I spied some of my favorite spots in Paris. What a treat to see places that I’ve experienced many times through the eyes of a visitor from over 100 years ago.

This location, the Casino de Paris holds a special place in my heart. In 2018 I saw Dita Von Teese here during her Art of the Teese tour. While I was sitting at my table I was tapped on the shoulder by Jean Paul Gaultier. He simply wanted to compliment me, and tell me that I looked very beautiful. I don’t know if he’ll ever know just how special that evening was for me. If you’d like read more about that trip click here for the post.

Perusing through the book, I noticed that a few post cards had postage stamps on them.

As I turned over the cards, the most stunning penmanship beamed up at me and all of sudden these flat paper cards came to life for me. I held memories in my hand that a loved one penned during in the years 1907 and 1909 to send back well wishes and updates to someone they cared for.

I’ve been learning French for many years now and with the help of my friend Laurence, I was able to translate what this post card says.

St. Maur
9 Sept, 1907

Cher Sol,

Je t’adresse aujourd’hui le reste des cartes, ce sont des rues de Paris. Hier j’ai envoyé celles de Rouen que je t’ai pris dernièrement à mon retour de Dieppe. Toute la famille va très bien, et tous rentrent dimanche prochain c’est fini pour cette année. Le bonjour à tous et poignée de mains. Quand viendras-tu nous voir? 

Dear Sol,

I am sending you the rest of the cards today, these are from the streets of Paris. Yesterday I sent the ones from Rouen that I picked up from you recently on my return from Dieppe. The whole family is doing very well, and they all come home next Sunday that is over for this year. Hello everyone and a handshake. When will you come see us?

I haven’t been able to figure out the signatures yet, one looks like it might be Armand, but the other one is more difficult to read. I will treasure this book forever and hope to find out more information about the senders and receivers of these postcards. What are some treasures you’ve found that have special place if your heart?