Some vintage postcards are interesting because of their publisher, postmark or handwritten message. Others are interesting because of the person pictured on them.
This French postcard features Sarah Bernhardt, one of the most famous actresses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Her name still appears on antique photographs, theatre programmes, posters and postcards more than 100 years after her death.
And Sarah Bernhardt was anything but ordinary.
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Who Was Sarah Bernhardt?
Sarah Bernhardt was born Henriette Rosine Bernard in Paris on 22 October 1844.
After studying at the Paris Conservatoire, she joined the Comédie-Française in 1862. Her first spell there didn’t last long, and she subsequently joined the Odéon theatre.
Her reputation grew during the late 1860s, with an important success in Le Passant in 1869. She returned to the Comédie-Française in 1872 and went on to play major roles including the Queen in Victor Hugo’s Ruy Blas, Doña Sol in Hernani and the title role in Racine’s Phèdre.
Bernhardt eventually became internationally famous. Tours took her to Britain, continental Europe, the United States, Australia and South America, helping to make her name known far beyond France.
She became known as “The Divine Sarah.”
One of the World’s First Modern Celebrities
Sarah Bernhardt wasn’t simply a successful actress. One of the most interesting things about her is how effectively she used her image and fame.
Long before Instagram, television or even radio, Bernhardt understood publicity.
Photographs of her circulated widely, journalists followed her activities and admirers sought her autograph. She appeared in advertising and sold merchandise connected with her celebrity. This ability to cultivate a public image has led to her being described as one of the first modern celebrities.
Photography was particularly important.
Bernhardt was photographed in glamorous portraits and theatrical costumes, helping people who might never see her perform recognise her face.
By the golden age of the picture postcard, that same celebrity image could be reproduced cheaply and sent around the world.
A postcard like this wasn’t therefore simply a photograph of an actress. It was an early form of celebrity memorabilia.
Did Sarah Bernhardt Really Sleep in a Coffin?
This is one of the strangest stories associated with Sarah Bernhardt – and surprisingly, there is truth behind it.
Bernhardt owned a coffin lined with white satin and was famously photographed lying in it by photographer Achille Mélandri around 1880.
According to research published for the Petit Palais exhibition marking the centenary of her death, when Bernhardt’s sister was seriously ill and staying with her, Sarah gave her sister her bed and slept in the coffin in the same room.
People began talking about the unusual arrangement.
Rather than being embarrassed by the gossip, Bernhardt apparently did what she did particularly well: turned it into publicity.
She asked Mélandri to photograph her in the coffin, and the resulting image attracted considerable attention and proved financially successful for both actress and photographer.
So the story that Sarah Bernhardt slept in a coffin isn’t simply a modern internet myth.
Exactly how regularly she slept in it over the years is harder to establish, and accounts vary. What we do know is that the coffin existed, Bernhardt did sleep in it on at least some occasions, and she deliberately used the resulting fascination to add to her extraordinary public persona.
Sarah Bernhardt Played Both Women and Men
Bernhardt also became famous for taking on roles that challenged the conventions of her time.
Perhaps the most famous example was Hamlet.
She played Shakespeare’s Danish prince in 1899 when she was in her mid-50s and later performed the role in London and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Her career wasn’t confined to acting either.
Bernhardt managed theatres and was also an accomplished sculptor. One surviving example of her sculpture is a marble funerary portrait of her husband, actor Jacques Damala, made around 1889 and now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
She was, in other words, much more than the glamorous woman we see on old postcards.
Sarah Bernhardt Continued Performing After Losing a Leg
Bernhardt’s career continued well into the 20th century despite serious health problems.
In 1915, her right leg was amputated following complications from an earlier injury.
Even that didn’t end her acting career.
She continued performing in roles that could accommodate her disability and remained a celebrated public figure until her death in Paris on 26 March 1923.
Sarah Bernhardt Vintage Postcard
The postcard abov shows Sarah Bernhardt seated in an elaborate dark theatrical costume.
Her name, SARAH BERNHARDT, is printed prominently beneath the photograph, along with the number 1320.
The reverse is printed in French and has a divided layout for correspondence and the address.
It also carries the publisher or distributor details:
D.L.M.
11 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre
This copy is unused, with no handwriting, stamp or postmark.
Unfortunately, that means there isn’t a postmark to help date this particular example.
Without firmer evidence for this specific series, I wouldn’t assign the postcard an exact publication year. It belongs to the period in which photographs of Bernhardt were being widely reproduced as collectable postcards and other celebrity memorabilia.
How Much Is a Sarah Bernhardt Postcard Worth?
Being famous doesn’t automatically make every Sarah Bernhardt postcard particularly valuable.
She was photographed extensively and her image appeared on many postcards, so surviving examples aren’t necessarily rare.
Current UK asking prices give us a useful indication of the ordinary end of the market. I’ve found original Sarah Bernhardt postcards offered at around £2.50 to £7, including examples at £2.50, £4.99, £5.95 and £6.95. A specialist theatrical-postcard dealer also has several different Bernhardt postcards priced at around £3.50.
There are exceptions. Scarcer cards, unusual photographs, autographed material and especially desirable artist-designed cards can be worth considerably more, so it’s important not to value every Bernhardt postcard alike.
For an original, unsigned Sarah Bernhardt photographic postcard such as this one, a realistic general retail value at approximately £4–£10, depending on the particular image, publisher, age, rarity and condition. This unused example has an attractive theatrical portrait and is in good overall condition, so I would place it towards the middle to upper part of that range rather than at the very bottom.
A Small Piece of Celebrity History
This is one of those postcards that becomes much more interesting once you know the story behind the person in the photograph.
Sarah Bernhardt lived at a time when photography, mass printing, international travel and popular entertainment were changing the meaning of fame.
She didn’t just become famous because of her performances. She understood how photographs, publicity and even scandal could keep people talking about her.
More than a century later, we’re still looking at her photographs and telling stories about the actress who played Hamlet, toured the world, continued acting after losing a leg – and really did sleep in a coffin.
That’s quite a lot of history to find on one little postcard.
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