Saturday 6 February 2016

French Valentine postcards: the romantic, the cute and the bizarre!

Do you get Valentine's cards? Do you send them? Or do you think it is a waste of time and money?

I have always loved old cards and postcards, and since Valentine's Day is fast approaching, I thought I would post a selection of old French cards -  not mine, since these as a little too old for me and unfortunately I only ever got one in my whole life!

I have found a selection of a few charming old ones. What do you think?





Now for the cute...French illustrator Raymond Peynet created his characters 'les amoureux' in 1942. The poet and his lover have become emblematic of Valentine Day in France and have inspired the famous George Brassens' song 'Les amoureux sur les bancs publics', featured in numerous books and posters and have even been made as dolls which are sought after collectables. A museum in Antibes is entirely devoted to his cartoons and drawings and well worth a visit.
You can find some information about it here http://www.peynet.com/index_ang.php



And finally, the frankly bizarre...


She doesn't look that keen about him trying to kiss her whilst smoking his cigarette, don't you think? Maybe that's why she is wearing so much lipstick... 

What was the loveliest Valentine's card you ever received?










4 comments:

  1. Ha! Maybe he dropped hot ash on her face!Fascinating post, Marie. I absolutely love the Peynet :) As for Valentine's cards, my husband and I first started dating a couple of weeks before Valentine's Day (23 years ago!) and in the week running up to it, he posted a Valentine's card to me every single day. Of course, that gave me the impression that he was a very romantic person, but it turns out it was just a besotted phase he was going through!

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  2. How lovely of your husband, Helen! No wonder you thought he was romantic after all that. I do love these old fashioned cards, and the Peynet ones are just really cute. Thank you for your comment!

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  3. Marie, I enjoyed the beautiful valentines in your post. I have vintage valentines of my parents and some when I was younger. I so enjoy looking at them. Thank you for a great post.

    Happy Valentine's Day!

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    1. Thank you very much for visiting and for your comment, Susan. These cards are lovely, aren't they (well apart from the last one!). You are lucky to have vintage cards from your parents. It must be lovely to be able to look at them.

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