Erotic Hold-to-the-Light Picture Cards.
(France: c. 1930s). A group of five erotic optical toys, each measuring 5 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches (139x89mm). On one side of each card, hand-colored cut-outs show men and women engaged in various activities, including dancing and bathing. When held up to a light source and flexed slightly inwards, the silhouetted figures move. A woman standing in front of a mirror wearing only stockings and high heels fixes her hair, and a man in a robe and slippers sprays perfume on a naked woman stepping into a bathtub. A turbaned belly dancer gyrates, and a Lady Godiva-type character rides a donkey nude. The cards are stamped "Faites tourner une lumiere de ce coté / Work a light in this side" on the side to which the cut-outs are affixed. It is likely that these are later piracies of a series of similarly themed cards produced by Lambert in Paris for the tourist market. Faint staining to one edge of belly dancer card, else fine in original cardboard box, which is partially split along one edge of the top. Item #26526
Price: $450.00