This postcard is by Ellen Clapsaddle artist and entrepreneur.
I know you have had a hard life.
As Levon Helm sings "You got to move a long train."
How do I know?
Because you read to find the truth, you travel the world wide web of words
for
answers.
We found these 100 year old old postcards somewhere and I looked up the artist.
Ellen, according to accounts on the web, was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She was doing this captivating art for card companies. She ended up in Germany and was probably on the verge of being more successful in creating and selling cards. She had a partner in New York. A well travelled woman of early 1900's. World War 1 broke out and she was caught up in who knows what?
She was lost, no one heard from her. Her partner found her 6 years later in bad shape. She died in a mental institution where she played with dolls. This postcard haunted me. Such a playful artist.
I think of Ellen when think I am having a hard day. What did she do to survive? Could I have?
Hope you have a brighter day thinking of Ellen.
Incredible! My mother, daughter and I had a retail store for many years called "The Paper Garden" in San Antonio, TX. My mother started it we finally sold it after my dad became ill with cancer.
ReplyDeleteWe sold reproductions of those postcards. She was fabulous. I am glad you brought her name back into the forefront especially with Valentine's Day around the corner.
This story clenched my heart. I believe she painted her own child like self. I wondered what must have happened to her being so vulnerable. This Valentine is a sweetie.Thanks for stopping by, Mary
ReplyDelete