Revillon's Patchwork of Luxury - 2012 1912 SCARCE PHOTO POSTCARD REVILLON FUR TRADE COMPANY JAMES BAY CANADA $50.00 CAD Scarce postcard photo originating in the remote James Bay area of Canada, and forwarded to the Post Office in Cochrane Ontario by the Revillon Fur Trading company. Winter photo taken in a forest. A woman in a fut coat is sitting with a man on a log. They are watching some other men cooking over fire. Written in right margin of photo: "Halte sous bois. Repas de midi L.D." (Halt under woods. Midday meal L.D.) L.D. are the initials of the sender, L. Deaullette. Adressed to Cherbourg France. Stamp is missing. Postmarked twice ‘COCHRANE ONT OC 21 12’, second is partial. Receiving postmark ‘CHERBOURG MANCHE 1-11 12’. Stamped at bottom ‘Forwarded from James Bay by REVILLON BROS, Ltd.' Revillon Frères (Revillon Brothers) was a French fur and luxury goods company, founded in Paris in 1723. Then called la Maison Givelet, it was purchased by Louis-Victor Revillon in 1839 and soon, as Revillon Frères, became the largest fur company in France. Branches were opened in London in 1869 and in New York in 1878. At the end of the 19th century, Revillon had stores in Paris, London, New York City, and Montreal. In 1899 Revillon Frères opened a wholesale warehouse in Edmonton, Alberta and by 1903 had 23 stores across Canada. Owned by Victor Revillon, Revillon Frères eventually set up a network of fur-trading posts in northern Canada in direct competition with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) composed of an eastern division and a western division. The eastern division was in the region of James Bay and Ungava Bay in the north of Quebec which was served by their own fleet of ships. By 1909, Revillon had forty-eight stores in its Eastern Arctic division while HBC had fifty-two. Many of the Inuit villages in Nunavik, in northern Quebec, Canada, are located on sites originally occupied by Revillon Frères trading posts. It was incorporated in Canada in 1912 as the Revillon Frères Trading Company Ltd. source Photo caption: #1 1912 scarce photo postcard Revillon fur trade company James Bay Canada #2 1912 scarce photo postcard Revillon fur trade company James Bay Canada #3 Revillon Spotted Seal Coat French, 1960s source - Unsold at $900 - $1,200 2006