The French Factrice: 2008

Alfred Hitchcock Hearts Barbie

Hoorah for the new apocalyptic themed Barbie! How dare those beaked buzzards peck away at her plantinum blond hair- do! Quelle Horreur!

Johnny Quincy Adams' Gator

John Quincy Adams kept a gator in the East Room White House tub! The French aristocrat and American hero of the Revolutionary war, the Marquis de Lafayette, gave him this snapping souvenir. That's my kind of pet!

Monkey Brand Soap Santa Vintage Postcard

This Santa is hawking Monkey Brand Soap. Mmmmm.. primate perfume.... I'm ditching my honeysuckle bathgel. This anthropoid aroma will turn heads!

Merry Chri..... Nooooo! It's my Birtthday tomorrow too! My day is somehow always overshadowed by that Jesus kid:)

I nicked this image with permission from the very gracious Phil Beard. Please go visit his delightful blog!

Dolly Vintage Postcard

Santa shouldn't dole out dolls! Eeek! How frightening. There is a huuuugge doll museum in Paris. Millions of glass eyes staring at you is ghastly. I'll stick to the Louvre:)

Vintage Ice Skating Beauty

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I went ice skating yesterday! This butterfingery klutz fell 4 times:) I only knocked over a few toddlers! I'll certainly stuff a pillow in my pants the next time. I need that extra bit of bun protection!

Dangerous Vintage Postcard Snowman

This coaly eyed snowman is holding a giant stick! Doesn't it look like he is about to whack this unsuspecting vintage postcard lad in the noggin? Beware of grumpy icy creations!

Snowman Vintage Postcard Obsession

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I'm not dreaming of a White Christmas..... obsessing would be a closer assessment! This vintage postcard lady wants to build snowMEN. I'm hopping on a plane soon to visit my parents where there should be oooodles of virgin snow. I've been online reading about rainbowing up all of that crystalline water with food coloring. I can't wait to freeze my mittens off. What fun!

The Pickled Heart Of Louis XVII

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You probably know that the little son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette died of tuberculosis in prison. His royal heart was secretly cut out (gulp) during his autopsy and plopped in alcohol. The doctor who did this kept it on his shelf as a curiosity.

Of course nobody actually belived that it was the heart of the young Dauphin. The DNA was fairly recently compared with that of the trimmed hair of Marie Antoinette and it's a humdinger of a match. This little urn is at rest in the Basilique Saint Denis. This vintage postcard lady saw it over the weekend (eeeeek where are my smelling salts)

Vintage Postcard Angel

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This Christmas vintage postcard angel looks like she is about to knock on the window! How polite is that! There is no sneaking about or shocking heart attack inducing apparitions. This is a heavenly being with manners:)

Hesitant Smooch

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I suppose that it would have been quite unromantic to ask this returning soldier to shave off his mustache before giving a kiss....... ouch beard burn!! Doesn't she look a bit hesitant? vintage postcards

Famous Bride

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Do you recognize this lovely lady? It took a bit of squinting and pounding my head onto my desk... ouch....until it clicked! Norma Jean! Hello Marilyn:) This was taken before she got hitched to James Dougherty! vintage postcards

Stick Figure Humour

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I found these online and was amazed by how much humour could be jammed packed into such simple drawings! vintage postcards

This issssssssss about my drawing level.

I might have a future as a cartoonist too! vintage postcards

Thanksgiving Vintage Postcard

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This vintage postcard is a heart - warming humdinger! Look closely at the plates in front of the handsome chaps. They are empty! These boys are cutting air...... or maybe they are stabbing the last pea off their plates :)

Yuck! Who likes peas anyway? vintage postcards

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving 101

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I am forcing my Frenchman to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving tonight! The proper chow is bowled and ready to be crunched! Thanksgiving 101 can now begin! vintage postcards

- Two slices of buttered toast (I don't actually have a toaster buttt I popped sliced baguette into the oven:)
- Some pretzel sticks
- A handful of popcorn
- A few jelly beans vintage postcards

French Wedding Cake

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This is a Croquembouche! Cream filled puff pastry is threaded together with caramel to form this very French wedding cake. They are usually decorated with candied almonds and chocolate flowers. Yum! vintage postcards

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Meet Marie

Bonjour and welcome to The French Factrice! Factrice means postmistress in French:) I'm a bouncy, chirpy, and enthusiastic vintage postcard collector with over 400,000 cards! I have shelves and shelves and shelves and shelves of paper baubles that I've found at antique shops and markets throughout France. Enjoy!

Picnik.com - Postcard Fun

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Picnik.com is a tremendous online photo editor! They have a huge new Christmas selsction of stamps and postmarks that you can add lickety split to your images. I am adding a blank postcard back to this post so that you can create a nifty message for Santa too:) vintage postcards

Napoleon's Wedding Night

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Josephine's dog Fortune bit ole Nappy on the leg on their wedding night! Fortune didn't want to share his warm bed with the general. Ouch! vintage postcards

I am currently obsessed with Napoleon. I just ordered 10 books on him and can't wait to geek out. My name is Marie and I am a historyaholic.

Christmas Cadbury Creme Eggs

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You can finally get a Cadbury egg from Santa! They have come out with a red foil wrapped version of this sugary sensation:) I am stiilll having trouble waiting though.. If only they had Cadbury turkey eggs for Thanksgiving! vintage postcards

Cadbury Cake

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I made a chocolate cake last night at 3 am ! Hooray for insomnia! It was the perfect cake - warm, spongy and allllll mine:) vintage postcards

Q: What do you get when you cross an insomniac, an agnostic, and a dyslexic?
A: Someone who stays up all night wondering if there is a Dog.

Undersized Emperor?

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Napoleon was not an undersized emperor! He was neither short nor sweet. He was actually a bit taller than the average Corsican of the 19th century. The diminuative size Napoleon is so noted for was just a miscalculation.

After his death in 1821, the French emperor's height was recorded as 5 feet 2 inches in French feet. (BUTTTTTTTT)This corresponds to roughly 5 feet 7 inches in Imperial (British) feet, or 1.686 meters

Creepy Halloweeny Poisonous Platypus

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Male platypuses (platypi) are poisonous! They have sharp stingers on the heels of their rear feet and can use them to deliver a strong toxic blow to any foe. I had always thought of them as being so cuddly wuddly in a far out down under sort of way! vintage postcards

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