De qui ce joli poisson?

Who sent you this lovely fish? That's often the question when it comes to the first day of April and the French tradition of April fish. People in France don't do it much anymore, but they used to send each other cards with fish on them accompanied by messages of affection. Often the card included only a simple message, such as 'guess who.' I have posted many of these Poisson d'Avril cards over the past few years. If you go back to the first post, you can read about the history and traditions of the holiday.

I love these cards because the combination of fish and romance seems so unlikely, but then again, it's fish, romance, and humor - the best combination.

Here are the backs of the first card and the last card.

To Monsieur Narischkine from Nice

Yesterday's post on trams in Nice, France made me want to post another non-tram postcard of Nice. There are so many wonderful details on this card, some of them undiscovered since I do not speak Russian. If there are any Russian speakers out there who can provide a translation, I would be very grateful, because the back of this card seems to have just as much going for it as the front.

The front of the card shows the fairly typical scene of Nice, with well-dressed people out for a stroll.

 It would be easy to overlook some of the added elements, such as the man with the balloon.

There's also the woman (?) on the left-hand side of the card with the umbrella.

And then there's the kiosk, selling magazines and newspapers from all over the world.

 

And finally, there's the back of the card. The message is written in Russian, so I can't begin to decipher it, but it is addressed to Mr. Narischkine at Palazzo Galitzine in Rome. Who is this Mr. Narischkine and what is Palazzo Galitzine?

I found a reference in the New York Times, February, 1918 referring to a Prince Cyril Narischkine  and his marriage to opera star Genevieve Vix. This doesn't guarantee that our postcard recipient is Cyril Narishkine, but the address of the card at Palazzo Galitzine in Rome is another clue. The Galitzine (Golitsyn) family was also a noble family of Russia with hereditary connections to the Narishkine family. It's also possible that our recipient was M.B. Narischkine, who liquidated an extensive art collection in 1883. That's where that Russian translation might help.

Tram Tuesday - TNL

Tramways de Nice et du Littoral (TNL) operated the tram lines in Nice, France as well as those connecting Nice to other places along like the Côte d'Azur. Back in January of last year, I put up a post on trams in Nice, including an overview of the history and a look at the sleek new system. I won't repeat the information from the previous post, but I do have a number of additional views to show you. Each Tuesday for the next four weeks I will post cards that feature views from different areas of the Côte d'Azur tram lines. Today’s card show you some views in the city of Nice itself as you might have seen them while riding the trams at the turn of the century.

Avenue de la Victoire:

Avenue de la Gare:

Le Casino Municipal: