Skating, train wrecks and sales!

FRENCHKISSED update: This freebie is no longer available for download, but I'll get it listed in my shops. Any time you see a scan on my blog that you can't find in my shop, lemme know and I'll get it listed ASAP:)
For someone who doesn't like winter, I seem to keep coming back to these wonderfully romantic images of playing in the snow and ice! The above download is a cropped closeup I took from a 1200 dpi scan of this postcard: An artist-signed postcard but unfortunately, I couldn't find anything about a G. Lorenzo on Google. The name sounds Italian and may be, but the postcard itself was printed in Vienna, Austria. My original card is unused, but dating it from others in the series, I'm guess-timating around 1909 or 1910. I was so taken by the one bit of bright red-orange in the image and I believe it has been painted on by hand. Why anyone would dab paint on an already full color print, I don't know. But I love the way the ice skater's red-orange bow resembles a heart. Maybe you'll want to match that shade of red-orange and add your own holiday greeting in the 'ice'? Indeed, it's not a typical "FrenchKissed" image but I love the tranquility of the scene. Hopefully, you do, too!

I was able to have some tranquility myself after the hectic and wee bit stressful cleaning and cooking holiday called Thanksgiving:) The Hubby took me into the Big City to see a movie that my inner child just couldn't wait to see: Hugo. If you have young children (10-ish or so?) or grandchildren, you won't want to miss the chance to go see Hugo with them. Hugo is a heartwarming story of an orphan boy who lives at the Montparnasse train station in Paris, circa 1925. While the Hugo character is fictional, his 'enemy' who becomes his savior is based on the life of Georges Melies, a pioneer in film-making heralded as the father of special effects. His 1902 film "Journey to the Moon" is famous for this iconic image:

I was disturbed to learn that Thomas Edison "acquired" a copy of one of Melies' films and had quite a successful showing of it here in the United States "however, Edison did not pay any revenues to Méliès." When I first learned that, I immediately went and turned off a light switch as my way of flipping off Edison. So tired of folks who don't know what it means to make an HONEST dollar....
While being thoroughly entertained and mesmerized by the scenery (views of the Eiffel Tower from Hugo's clock perch), you'll learn other interesting things, too, from watching Hugo. Director Martin Scorsese pays tribute to the famous train crash that happened at the Montparnasse station in 1895. I have seen postcards of this infamous accident. That's the only reason I knew it really happened and wasn't just a fictional scene in the movie. Wikipedia says, "Two of the 131 passengers sustained injuries, along with the fireman and two conductors. The only fatality was a woman on the street below who was killed by falling masonry."
The next time I get to Paris, I'll be walking around the Gare Montparnasse with a fresh perspective, giving wide berth on the sidewalks less any train coming flying through -- and looking for Hugo behind the clockworks ...

OH, Oh! In honor of Cyber Monday, I'm offering 2 freebies with the purchase of 4 scans. I designed a new banner to announce my sale. Click here and you'll go straight to my Zibbet shop. The sale offer is good on Etsy, too! This special is good through the end of the year. You can take advantage of the sale price ONCE a day. This special can't be combined with other discounts.