This card was supplied by a reader, and it changed the course of the week, for I was planning to celebrate Poisson d`Avril with simply French fish. The reason for that was that although I knew there were postcards for this event, I did not know there were proper trade cards, and now I do.
A lot of collectors call this set "mois", or months, but that is not strictly correct. It also leads to confusion with another Au Bon Marche set, which is called "Mois", or more correctly, "Mois de l`Annee", which means moths of the year. Our set is actually name "Calendrier" or calendar, because the panel on the front is a calendar of dates.
The cards in our set are :
- Fevrier. Le Carneval [The carnival, possibly Mardi Gras]
- Mars. Les Oeufs de Paques [Easter Eggs]
- Avril. Le Poisson [April Fools Day]
- Mai. Mariage aux Champs [country wedding]
- Juin. Grand Prix [horse racing - presumably Longchamp]
- Juillet. Les Bains de Mer [bathing at the seaside]
- Aout. Les Voyages [holidays]
There is actually a bit of advertising amongst these cards, for if you look at our card, in the calendar panel there are words in red ink, namely "Expositions des robes & costumes", and that is a company announcement, for "Exhibitions of dresses & costumes". Likewise, on the February card it marks the 16th as "Mise en Vente - de blanc, toiles, lingerie, rideaux" - which means "For Sale - white goods, canvases, lingerie, curtains". And on the March card there are two events, marking the 1st as "Mise en Vente - des Gants & Dentelles", namely gloves and lace, and the 15th through 17th as "Expositions des Nouveautes d`Ete" which are new goods for the Summer.
The one thing nobody seems to know is why only seven months were issued. Do you?