The A surely stands for Agélou. See also GA, GP, JA and many other marks below. The Agélous dominated the 'French postcard' business in the 1910s.

Based in San Francisco (so not strictly Parisian, but up to the same caper), Alta was active in the 1910s and 20s.

Louis-Amedee Mante (1826-1913), worked with his son-in-law, Edmond Goldschmidt, on early colour processes. Some similar cards bear the mark MD, sometimes with the same numbering.

Armand Noyer. Photographer-turned-publisher who distributed work by Mandel and Waléry. See also A Noyer and NP.

A publisher with similarities to Corona and Super. I know of only four series and they could well be by Mandel.

This is the mark of L Branger of Nanterre. ARS published literally hundreds of birthday and other celebration cards as well as those with an erotic intent.

These photos are clearly marked 'The Aurora Studios' (in English) and dated from 1912 to 1915, but that's all anyone seems to know about them.

Starting with simple nudes, the owner of this pre-war mark, A M Weiss, graduated to elaborate tableaus of lascivious gentlemen taking advantage of pretty girls (occasionally with the exchange of money).

A mark of the Biederer brothers (see below). The shots are in the 'amateur' or 'gonzo' style, sometimes with a bondage theme, so not really mainstream for Gracie's collection.

Is it BG or GB? I have no idea. These postcards appear to be pre-WWI, but other than that I have no information about this mark.

This Paris studio was begun by Jacques (1887-1942) and Charles Biederer (1892-1942), Jewish Czech émigrés. In the 1920s and 30s they produced artistic nudes and fetish scenes (with humour). The brothers were transported separately to Auschwitz-Birkenau and murdered.

A mark registered by Bertignault & Martin. I don't know what the 'V' stands for. Many of the models and some of the scenery are to be found under other marks. There are also large-format cards, series 001-147.

N Boulanger is known for producing, around the time of the Great War, patriotic scenes of homecoming soldiers, not to mention rather surreal photo-montages of girls morphing into flowers or insects. 

Bernard Viaux - the name is all I know about this mark. The photos seem to date from around the 1910s. The marks Lyre and Nelly appear to be interchangeable. Some series are shared with Nadar; indeed, some cards have two marks - BV and the N of Paul Nadar.

I don't know what the C stands for, but there are some stylistic similarities with Corona, SAPI and Étoile.

Another mysterious publisher whose name I haven't managed to find. The cards are interchangeable with those marked LD.

The four Cs stand for Charles Collas et Cie de Cognac, though there's a connection with F Fleury & Co in Paris and with L'Helio Nantes. In French, the cloverleaf logo would be called a 'trèfle'. Many cards are unnumbered.

A major producer in the later period belonging to E Kruger, with Jeanne Juilla as their star model.

One form of the logo includes 'CP' standing for Comptoir Philocartiste. The numbers go up very high, but I have few series in my collection. Quite a few feature Miss Fernande.

A titan in the Parisian postcard business, named after Ernest Louis Désiré le Deley (1859–1917). There are also many narrative series under the name E le Deley. See Story 2.

From the early 20s, ELF published rather quirky comedy tableaux against a white backdrop. Other publishers put out similar cards, though not as many as ELF - see BMV (especially), ER and Super. ELF stands for Editions Lafayette. Also see amazing Story 5.

A mystery collection of series from the early period.

The mark was registered to E Rabus before the First World War as a publisher of études et déshabillés (studies and nudes, or perhaps 'scantily dressed women' would be a better translation).

That's French for 'star'. Classifying a postcard as 'Étoile' is contentious as this publisher only used a logo on later cards, so all we can go on are photographic style, the models and the sets. Many have the hallmark of Jacques Biederer. There are also similarities with M and SAPI cards.

This appears to be unconnected to Étoile. Only a handful of postcards found.

A sparse collection with no apparent unifying style. Numbering interchangeable with Foto Ars.

Some staging reminiscent of JR. Numbering interchangeable with Flirt. There's some evidence that the mark is Italian, with a connection to the Fotocelere company of Turin.

Georges Agélou, the elder of the two brothers. It is said that Georges looked after the business side of the partnership, but that hardly explains why his initials are on so many postcards.

It's those Agélous again. The logo is a weedy-looking loop, which I call Gamma. The photos are similar to, or the same as, those under other of the brothers' marks.

Georg Gerlach AG was a prolific producer of portrait and celebrity postcards, based in Berlin. They published some (very tasteful) nudes in later series, some of them with delicate colouring.

Charles Wesley Gilhousen (1867-1929) was an American photographer, not a publisher, but I have some of his snaps in my collection because his nudes (although supposed to be arty) are actually quite similar to those peddled on Parisian cards at the same time - around WWI.

Georges Agélou; P for Paris? This logo seems to have replaced the GA one around series 212, but then the Agélous reissued earlier cards with the new logo, so cards up to 212 can be found with either mark. Georges died in a car crash with his brother Jean in 1921.

The Agélous seem to have had as much trouble cataloguing the cards with Georges' name on them as they did with Jean's (see Story 6). This GP is clearly an Agélou mark, but the numbering is largely incompatible with the main GP and GA, so I've kept them separate.

These are quite rare. The horseshoe logo was registered to an E Gainsborg of 40 rue de Paradis, Paris. Occasionally marked 'ART K'.

I haven't been able to find anything about this publisher. In style, the few HSB postcards in Gracie's Collection most resemble NPG and I wonder if HSB has German origins. Information please, deltiologists.

This is Jean Agélou (1878-1921), brother of Georges and a prolific erotic postcard photographer and producer from about 1900. This mark appears to have been used contemporaneously with JA round; at least they overlapped in time. Why Jean used two logos is a mystery.

Jean Agélou again. This round mark with series seems to have grown out of a system of sequential numbering. There's more about the JA numbering system in Story 6.

These two outfits have so many series in common that I lump them together. Where the numbers are different, I use JAK's system. A lot of coloured cards here, often with elaborate scenery, and some involving lusty lads (no smut though).

Thought to be the initials of Jacques Biederer, these 20s postcards possibly predate the somewhat kinkier '?'-marked cards or were aimed at a more mainstream market - see Biederer.

Jacques Biederer again. JB and OB are used interchangeably; perhaps one succeeded the other?. The 'O' stands for Ostra Studio, named after the brothers' home town of Ostrava, in Czechia. Probably 1900s-1910s.

These cards have all the hallmarks of the Agélous.

This pre-Great-War publisher is a little different from the big houses, so was perhaps independent, though it shares a series with JA round, and is connected with La Grisette, Roundel and Lagache.

Kenzli Frères, based in Zurich from the 1880s to 1914, was a prolific postcard publisher. The ones that interest us here are mostly of the risqué type; the brothers published few nude studies.

A mark that produced lots of cards, but glamour subjects appear to be rare. In the late 20s, the mark was registered to A Chausse at 54 rue de Bondy, Paris.

Has some shots in common with JR, and some appear to have been taken by one of the Agélou brothers. A 'grisette' is a 'French working-class woman, particularly a pretty and flirtatious one', according to the dictionary. Good name.

A rare mark from the early period with a lot in common with CA and LD. The owner was Gilbert Baudiniere (1893-1953).

These come my way very seldom. They look to be pre-WWI, but that's all I know about this publisher.

I read that LD stands for L Dupont, but I have no corroboration for this. The cards are identical with those marked CA and have a lot in common with La Pensée.

Georges Agélou published 'artistic studies' under this mark, though in the 20s (when he died) it passed to Lochard & Petitjean. Leo produced cards in many different colours: sepia, blue and violet. I don't know if there's a connection with Léo de Pradet. Also large format series 10-61.

There are other cards marked 'Lip' with a different logo design; it's not known if they're connected. These cards are similar in style to Corona, PC and Super.

Likely to stand for Léo de Pradet. A small operation whose cards have stylistic similarities with some other 20s publishers such as BMV, ER and Super.

A smallish publisher from the middle period with simple poses and no elaborate scenery. Not to be confused with Lux, a brand belonging to Albert Bouy, which had few erotic products.

Another mark belonging to Georges Agélou. The style of photography and staging of many of these cards have many of the characteristics of the highly prolific brothers.

Reasonably scarce postcards from the early period. Associated with BV and Nelly.

This is one of two imprints owned by the Oliviery company. The photos are stylistically very similar to those from Étoile, SAPI and NP, suggesting that the photography is by Julien Mandel. Could the M possibly be his initial?

It is not known what MD stands for. Early cards are in the style of Elf, ER or BMV; later they adopt classic poses similar to AM.

Mon (Monsieur?) Fleurmont is listed as the owner of this brand in 1907. The erotic cards are often of the narrative type - topless women catching butterflies, being pestered by fleas and so on.

Maurice Manès, Paris, was listed as a printer and owner of this brand in 1904. The erotic series are of the narrative type; one contrived setup has undressed women kissing on a roof.

Paul Nadar (1855-1939) was the son of the famous French photographer Felix Tournachon (nicknamed Nadar) and started making celebrity portraits in his father’s studio. In the 1920’s photo postcards were produced under the Nadar name, some hand coloured.

The style of these cards has much in common with BV and Lyre. Perhaps the logo belongs to Bernard Viaux?

Armand Noyer, photographer from the 1910s, began pinups in the 20s, publishing many Julien Mandel shots. There are three groups here - nightclub dancers, aurographs and standard postcards. See also AN and NP.

This is the third mark to publish signed photos by Julien Mandel. Going by the series numbers, he seemed to change marks in the sequence AN, NP, Noyer, so NP could be another Armand Noyer mark - perhaps 'Noyer Paris'? Mandel's work for other houses wasn't signed.

Neue Photographische Gesellschaft was a group of 35 photographers founded in Berlin. It incorporated in 1894 and became the largest manufacturer of bromide postcards in the world before closing in 1948. The nude classical poses are reminiscent of AM and HSB.

I have only one series with this obscure mark.

I suppose this could be a violet, but I've always called this mark 'Pansy Paris'. The photos are in the Agélou style. See also Pansy BF.

Narrative series featuring lascivious gentlemen wooing innocent young women. The BF stands for Briquet & Fils. Not to be confused with Pansy Paris.

Papeteries de Levallois-Clichy was registered as a printing and card publishing company in 1920s Paris, using the ‘grand luxe marque’ PC and the ‘luxe marque’ Rex.

Another 20s publisher. An anagram of the initials of Société A de Photographie Industrielle, perhaps? See SAPI.

A fairly rare publishing mark from the 20s or 30s. The style is reminiscent of the Biederer brothers. Numbering is individual; not in series.

The logo seems to say 'Praga Phot.', but I don't know if these cards originate in Czechoslovakia or not.

Another publisher from the later period - the 30s perhaps. Numbering is individual; not in series.

Fanciful settings and narrative series. Nancy, between Paris and Strasbourg, was a powerhouse of postcard production in La Belle Epoque.

Cards from around the First World War, with some similarities to Luxe and interchangeable with VG.

This looks like another vehicle for Julien Mandel. SAPI stands for Société A de Photographie Industrielle and was registered as a mark in the early 20s. As well as erotic themes, many occasion cards were also published.

Another studio active on the 20s. At least one series is by Paul Nadar.

Oliviery was founded in 1901 in Nanterre, today a Paris suburb, and licensed to produce postcards and other photos under two marques: the olive sprig and M. SOL experimented extensively with hand-colouring.

This appears to be yet another Agélou vehicle - all the familiar props are there.

The postcards I have are surreal photomontages from the 1900s. The initials indicate the Société de Travaux Photographiques.

One of the major 20s postcard publishers, with a lot in common with Corona, PC and ER. The mark was being used in 1922 by E Rabus of rue Amelot, Paris for the publication of 'studies and scantily clad ladies'. Other associated marks are Perfect and Lilas.

Another mark belonging to A M Weiss. Does SW stand for Studio Weiss perhaps?

What is this? A duck? The Loch Ness Monster? Being charitable, I've always considered this logo to be a swan. Whatever, it seems to represent a minor publisher, perhaps from the '10s.

Is this logo TA or perhaps JA with a reversed J? It is possible that these topless portraits, with their unvarying poses, are the work of Jean Agélou, but there's no supporting evidence. Did Jean ever get any sleep?

Just when we thought we'd come to the end of the Agélou marks, up pops another. These cards, marked by a number inside a triangle, appear to be reprints (counterfeit copies?) of photos from other Agélou series.

These appear to be reissues (copies?) of 20s photographs by Mandel or Biederer previously published by AN and PC.

An Italian mark, an odd mix of classical poses reminiscent of AM or NPG and photo montages, some featuring Miss Fernande.

A mark from the early period, with all the signs of photography by Georges Agélou. Or Jean; who can say?

Another Agélou mark. This seems to be a replacement for RR. Some VG logos are applied over scratched-out RR logos. There are similarities to VC, with connections to GA.

The Yva Richard fetishwear company was begun in Paris in 1914 by L. Richard and his wife Nativa. In the 20s they began taking photos, with Nativa the main model, but were closed down by the Nazis in 1943. Most YR pics are a bit kinky for my collection, but I keep the tasteful ones.

Cleverly disguised mark of Lucien Waléry (aka Count Ostrorog) unless you can read backwards. The numbering is consistent with NP, so these cards may have been distributed by them.