Bearded Lady Vintage Postcard - Clémentine Delait

vintage postcards

Clémentine Delait was a French bearded lady from Thaon-les-Vosges. This spunky woman always boasted that she could grow a thicker beard than her dear husband! She wasn't a bit embarrassed by her facial hair. She owned a café which was always hopping with gawking tourists and amassed quite a bit of moolah by selling postcards of her famous hairy chin!

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35 cool cats commented:

moti said...

... thank you for sharing!!!!!!!!
regards

Eli

Lydia said...

Being the owner of one of the most beautiful female cats in the world, who just happens to have a tiny beard, my reaction to this postcard is different than it would have been before she came into my life six months ago!

Marie Reed said...

Seeing this postcard made me not feel bad about the one yucky hair that I ALWAYS have to pluck from my chin!

Sheila said...

What a coincidence! I've just been reading about a book called "The Marvelous Hairy Girls" by Merry Wiesner-Hanks.

Pat said...

Bibi also has a small beard, but then she has full facial hair.

Anonymous said...

Good for her. I might have seen her at The Great Darke County Fair in my youth.

Vodka Mom said...

now THAY made me chuckle!!

Have a lovely day, Marie.

Catherine said...

Better makes money of it, no ? At this time, she was certainly an attraction.

Veronica Lee said...

Thanks for sharing this very interesting info!!

Betsy Brock said...

Wow...good for her for excepting how she looked and making money off of it, too!

Miss_Yves said...

I had heard of this" phénomène", she was an attraction in Barnum Circus...

Alice said...

Great postcard. I think I've seen the picture before but not the postcard. Interesting.

vicki archer said...

How bizarre - at least she was happy with herself! Thank you for visiting French Essence - lovely to find you, xv.

SILVER said...

bearded lady? .. nevermind.

;P What you mean "fake cake" in your comment abt those cake mixes.. got me laughing so hard there!!

The Clever Pup said...

We've got one of these "bearded-ladies" in our neighbourhood.

claude said...

I prefer the famous bride !

KarieK said...

OMG love the blog! Following you from BMC, thanks for visiting and the info on Herring! Love the bearded lady, made me feel pretty this morning with my bed-head! Awesome and have a great Wednesday!

Rosemary said...

Thank you so much for visiting my blog. Your blog is so amazing. You don't know how much time I spend looking for graphics and photos etc. for my work.
Please visit me again.
Rosemary

Anonymous said...

Thank you for visiting my blog..I love vintage wedding so warm! Lovely blog too!

Debby said...

What a fun postcard. Thanks for visiting my blog and I am thrilled to have found your wonderful place.
Debby

Heather at My Coupon Coop said...

How could she stand it? I hate it when a cat hair lands on my face!

dmarks said...

I've blogged on this topic before, after someone kept searching my blog for Hairy Rosanna.

Daryl said...

I am so laughing ... I guess I need to stop tweezing and start making some $$$


;-D

Starman said...

Even without the beard, she looks rather masculine. Are we sure she was a she?

Anonymous said...

I love your site! It's such a beautiful site, you must have fun with it. Glad I'm following. Love the old postcards.

Beth Niquette said...

How absolutely wonderful! She looks like a woman of great humor--which she would have to have in spades. What a fantastic postcard and history lesson! I LOVE it!

Pietro Brosio said...

Very interesting postcard, Marie.
She seems to have a moustache too! :-)

M.K. said...

I'm sorry, but that is just gross! If I were her, I'd at least keep it trimmed close to the face - the bushiness is scary!

love said...

wow that is one awesome lady, a very smart one that is. very strategic planning with the opening of a store and selling her post cards!

Sparky said...

Now THAT'S freaky (but funny)! [lol] :o)

Clueless in Boston said...

I guess she could have given the phrase I learned in school: "ferme la bouche" a whole different meaning.

Sweetnothin' said...

oh damn.. i thought it was a man. lol

nice though

Margo said...

Good heavens! She's gorgeous. I love her!

Mike said...

I couldn't tell it was a woman at first.

stacy di said...

hilarious! I'm loving all of your vintage cards and their descriptions.

and thanks for stopping by my blog too :) I've bookmarked yours!