FRENCH FOLDING FAN. HAND PAINTED SILK LEAF, SIGNED C. ALBERT, EMBROIDERED WITH TINY SEQUINS AND EDGED WITH A SHORT FRINGE. TORTOISE SHELL COMET SHAPED STICKS, DECORATED WITH STEEL DOTS. THE STAR IS ESAGRAM SHAPED, AND COVERED AT THE RIVET WITH A MOP PLAQUE. METAL LOOP WITH A SMALL RING. TO BE NOTED THE SECONDARY GUARD, WHICH HAS A FRONT. MRS. ANNE FERRETTE SUGGESTS THAT THE AUTHOR MAY BE THE FRENCH ARCHITECT CAMILLE ALBERT (1852-1942) WHO WAS ALSO A VERY GOOD PAINTER. THE FAN IS A TRILOBATE BALLON, SO ITS SHAPE IS TYPICAL OF 1905/1910'S, BUT WE CAN ALSO FIND SO SHAPED EXEMPLARS IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE XIX CENTURY. ON MAY 1910 THERE WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL PASSAGE OF HALLEY'S COMET, VISIBLE ALSO DURING THE DAY. MANY NEWSPAPERS ("SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICAL", "LOS ANGELES EXAMINER") REFERRED THE EARTH WOULD HAVE GONE TROUGHT ITS TAIL, CONTAINING CYANOGEN GAS, CONSIDERED VERY DANGEROUS. MANY SUICIDES HAPPENED, BUT ALSO "COMET PARTIES" WERE ORGANIZED ALL OVER THE WORLD, CONVINCED OF THE EUPHORIC EFFECT OF THE GAS AND ALSO LONGING FOR CRAZY JOY, IN THE CASE THAT THE END OF THE WORLD WAS NEAR. THIS ONE COULD BE ONE OF THE FANS REALIZED IN THIS OCCASION, OR FOR THE PASSAGE OF WELLS COMET FOR CHRISTMAS 1882, BUT ALSO FOR THE HOLMES COMET IN NOVEMBER 1892. WE HAVE STILL TO UNDERSTAND THE ANACHRONISTIC STYLE OF THE PAINTING, BECAUSE THE LADY REPRESENTED AS A SHEPERDESS HAS SUITS AND HAIR-STYLE ABOUT 1835/1850. CM. 19 x 26 x 3. STICKS 6+2.