Just Lie Back...

A fairly common set-up, no doubt inspired by film, involves the woman lying back on a fancy sofa or chair while the man romances her. 

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A Willy and Aline card. 

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The Geometric Backdrop

Around 1931, Art Deco hit these postcards. Creators experimented with Art Deco-inspired frames, and, more often, backdrops painted with striking geometric designs. I've already shared one stunning example; here are several more. All are also metallic. 

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Incidentally, though this postcard is French, made by PC Paris, it has been printed with a Dutch greeting, and mailed in the Netherlands. To make things even more interesting, it was sent in 1943. 

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Coastal Romance

Around 1931, the makers of these postcards decided that really nowhere was more romantic than a rocky coast:

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(great shoes, eh?)

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Romance on Vacation

Are you and your lover getting bored of dates by the same old stairs and balustrades? Why not venture farther afield, to new views and new types of railings to make out against!

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Beneath a Golden Sky

One more digression before getting back into the history: this stunning pair of "sister" cards painted over with a Japanese-inspired background and gold-coloured paint. Like many "sisters" from the same photoshoot, the tinting style is the same between them but there is a colour variation. So far I've only seen a few examples of this kind of card, where a background or shapes are painted onto the card after printing (always including gold-colouring), but they're pretty great. 

The message on this one is sweet-- it is a brother and sister wishing their brother happy birthday. 

Romance by the Fireplace (Backdrop)

Still on the background theme, but back to backdrops. I included a fireplace backdrop in my post on backdrops painted with interiors (included in this post); however, I've since discovered that same fireplace backdrop twice more! This is the first time I've found the same backdrop used more than once (and in postcards published by different companies, too!). Interesting eh? 

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A Willy and Aline postcard. I have two more from this same photoshoot-- one also from Willy to Aline, the acquired from the collection of a very kind friend. 

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Postcard from the collection of that kind friend.  

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The tinted version-- you can pick out the clock much more easily, and see more of the backdrop. 

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Romance on the Balustrade

Another of the favourite outdoor settings, this one almost oddly specific--the balustrade! (isn't it where you go on all your dates?)

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Romance on the Stairs

By the later twenties, the popularity of white or painted backdrops seems to have lost ground to the outdoor setting. While there is a lot of variety in the outdoor settings used, some became standards. Today, that (apparently) favourite haunt of young lovers--the staircase!

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(the toning on this one is odd--sort of a greenish purple! I suspect it isn't regular dye-toning but maybe an experiment in a certain kind of metallic toning... not sure though!)

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(this is actually the same shade of pink as that last one, just the scanner and editing software didn't think it should be! I will rescan eventually)

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(see also this postcard's untinted twin)

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Moonlight Serenade

Following on from the moonlight post earlier this week, an even more specific trend-- men serenading their women with stringed instruments against a (pink) moonlit starry sky.

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I'm not really sure what's with the lamp in this one. 

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In the Moonlight

Postcards of lovers and the moon. 

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Of course, with these cards, even moonlight isn't necessarily subdued:

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En Rouge

Today, a bit of a strange trend-- painting blank backgrounds bright red. This never seems to have been a popular variation-- I've only ever seen four examples, and all published by the same house, ARS. Two of mine are from the same photoshoot, and the other one seems to feature the same models. Honestly I think it looks terrible, but it's interesting that at some point, someone thought it would be cool, and some people bought them, agreeing. 

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This card was sent in 1938, but it's an outlier--the look of romance postcards in general had totally changed by the mid-1930s, the date on the other dated postcard in this post is 1924, and as this red background seems never to have become popular, it probably didn't last very long in the first place. 

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In this one, from the same photoshoot as the last (and with the same number), the woman's dress gets silver tinting, one of a couple examples I have where images from the same photoshoot have just slight variations-- I suspect this might mean they weren't made at exactly the same time/place, but I don't know. 

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Dated 1924.