Oeillet de Cheramy

A little calendar for 1939 advertising perfume, Oeillet de Cheramy. Another small find at a bookseller's stall in the Dauphine market of Les Puces.

Bonne Fete

A happy birthday card, found in the Dauphine market, at a bookseller's stall that also had ephemera and scraps. The signed artist on this card is Tito Saubidet. No year, but it was mailed to Mademoiselle Chantal de Solages at the Hotel Cosmopolitan in Cannes.

Dauphine Market

The Dauphine Market is the newest at the Saint-Ouen flea market, according to my guidebook, "Paris Deco." At the store where I found the scraps, fabric and vintage wallpaper were also for sale. The small drawers contained hundreds of scraps, but unfortunately customers were not welcome to browse the drawers on their own. Truth is, there were just a handful of designs with a ton of backstock of the same images. One cute cutout of a baby chick dressed in a bonnet was 30 euros -- about $35. Not many bargains here. When my husband asked for paper dolls, the owner showed us a classic cutout from the Ladies Home Journal!

Francoise paper doll

The same man who had the Phosphatine Falieres cutouts had this paper doll. It was my first paper doll find in Paris. Poor Francoise has no features -- the ink has rubbed off. I wouldn't be surprised if Patricia at Agence Eureka has this one in better shape.

La Phosphatine Falieres cut-outs

This was found in the Saint-Ouen flea market, near Jules-Valles. Phosphatine was apparently a soup for children, an all-around curative for growing bodies.

I've added two more that I picked up at the Jules-Valles stall. There are no dates, but the reference to Indochina as a French Colony could indicate the late 1940s, early 1950s... Could it be earlier? Don't know. Remember to left click to enlarge image.

Gene Maiden

Deanna Williams informs me that Gene Maiden died early this morning with his sister and nephew at his bedside. He brought a lot of joy and knowledge to the world of paper doll collectors. I thought of him in Paris when I passed a marionette theatre in the Jardin du Luxembourg--I believe he was something of an expert on puppets.

From Paris, I mailed him a card with a doll figure dressed partly with flower petals. It was the kind of elegant whimsy that reminded me so of him.

I'll cherish the memory of his singalongs. Godspeed, Gene.

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen is one of the largest and oldest flea markets in Paris, comprised of some 15 markets. Before you get to the heart of it, you might see a lot of street vendors selling new things, but keep going. Once inside, say near the Rue Jules-Valles, you'll see many of the vintage and antique items. The navy blue dress in the top photo was marked Courreges, the famous 60s designer.