Up for auction/sale is a beautiful pair of what I believe to be prints depicting Southern Belles or possibly Victorian era women dressed in a form of hoop skirt. One has a pair of these females twirling each other amongst a floral setting. The other, a similarly dressed woman holding her hat in what appears to be a courting scene with a well dressed gentleman. I have seen several similar Bernard Pictures Company items with a copyright statement on their reverse, and these had the same copyright statement but the print was too faded to read. For the similar items, they all appear to be dated in the 1940's and judging by the original framing materials and age conditions I found these in, I feel comfortable stating these are from this 1940's era as well.

While researching these prints, there were several write ups which referred to these as water colors and hand touching. While I cannot testify to any of this, I can state looking at the white dots in the ladies dresses, the white  highlights in the flowers and the gentlemen's lapels, all these little bright white details look hand applied (not perfectly even or flat like all the other color).

I have taken several pictures for your review, the first pictures represent their freshened state, and the last three depicting the condition of the frame and print as I found them. Happily, the frames and glass were dirty and the reverse tattered, but the condition of the prints is very good. No water stains, no rips, no tears and no mold. The velvet surface does have some minor blemishes, the edge of the prints a few dings, and the glass a few pits/scratches, but nothing which detracts from the overall presentation. The frames had too many dings and some paint loss to present well, so I painted them with an ivory colored Krylon paint to bring out the artwork. Also, between the print and the cardboard backing, I placed a sheet of acid-free paper to preserve the print going forward, applied a new dust protector, and restrung the hanging eyelets with Softstrand plastic coated wire.

Although one of the original Bernard labels was tattered/torn, I did preserve both of the original labels and placed them on the backing for future reference. The frames, glass, prints, backing board, and eyelets are original and with the freshening of the paint and acid-free preservation step, these should last another 70+ years with proper care.

The frames are wooden and have a rough overall dimensions of 18 3/4" T x 16 3/4" W, with an image area of 17 1/2" T x 15 1/2" W and weigh just under 7 lbs.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.