Bourgeois Frères Postcards (Cat Drinking Absinthe), Set of 10

This postcard is a reproduction of a 19th-century advertisement for the absinthe brand Bourgeois Frères (Bourgeois Brothers). The image is one in a series of photos featuring a black cat drinking milk, which is a play on an absinthe louche. Absinthe, typically clear or a light greenish-yellow in color, becomes milky white once water is added and the anise in the absinthe reacts with the water. This process is called a louche, an old French term meaning cloudy or hazy.