Once again, I’ve chosen an image that is apparently straightforward but, on closer examination, deserves some questioning. The lady is obviously showing off a set of cheese cutter and utensils but to me she doesn’t look overly excited by it. Perhaps she’s making a suggestion for a gift. Or maybe she just received it herself and is trying her best to look overjoyed.
I believe the publisher, Ceko, was located in Holland and seems to have published quite a few postcards back in the ‘20s and ‘30s. I also have a hunch that it may have been a promotional effort for a vendor or manufacturer and I’ll bet there was purchase information on the reverse.
OK, so here’s the back story.
Andreja was into glamour. She devoured the French and American fashion magazines, garnering all she could from them, especially the latest dress styles and hair dos. She dreamed of working as a model and did her best to dress up differently every day, hoping that she would someday be noticed by a photographer or someone who could really see her.
Well, as often happens to someone obsessed by a dream, she stumbled right into it. Her uncle Liam had told her that his best friend had a kitchen utensil company that was doing well and needed a secretary. If she was interested in the opportunity he would put in a good word for her. She was and he did so on the next Monday morning she presented herself to the business owner and thoroughly impressed him with her office skills. He was so taken by the pretty young lady that he inquired about the possibility of her posing for some advertising post cards that he wanted to do for some new products he was introducing. She was overwhelmed by the offer and of course responded with an excited “Ja!”.
He gratefully paid her a whopping five guilders for her help and told her there would be more if she wanted. The photographer was also impressed with her photogenic presentation and asked her if she would be interested in helping him with his portfolio. He was able to introduce her to several of his high paying clients and they loved her too.
So a star was born.
Vogue did a layout with her in 1933 that really sky rocketed her career. So much so that the Hudson Bay Company in Canada hired her to do an Arctic shoot featuring a line of fur coats they were introducing. It was the hardest job she’d ever had, and certainly the coldest, but she was a gamer and pulled it off, to everyone’s great satisfaction. While there she met a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman named Dudley Dewrite and fell madly in love with him. They settled down in Saskatoon which, as you might suspect, made it ever more difficult to land the high paying jobs she was accustomed to. But she didn’t care because at the side of her ruggedly handsome husband the two were soon the toast of Saskatoon society. Dudley was encouraged by his friends to launch a political career and in a matter of just a few years was elected premier of Saskatchewan.
Andreja was happier than she’d ever been and even though her modeling career was over she had no regrets!
(To own your very own copy of this historic image printed as a note card, just click here!)
New Old Photo of the Week
I’ve scanned hundreds of old slides in the last few months and continue to find a gem here and there. This week I moved on to California, a state I know well and have explored thoroughly. Let’s see what pops up . . .
Embarcadero Plaza, S.F. © 2020 David Ryan
The 2-Sentence Novel
© David Ryan 2023
Call My Agent
Lori somehow managed a smile, as did her companion.
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