Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case GG, Shelf 68, Box G

Blinded For You

Postcard
1915-1918 (printed), 1915-1918 (published)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Britain (printed)
Britain (published)

By the early 20th Century greetings postcards had overtaken folder cards in popularity as they were cheaper to post. A ban on Christmas cards to conserve supplies of paper was mooted during the First World War but the idea was abandoned in the interests of maintaining the troops' morale. This postcard was sold to raise funds for the St. Dunstan's Hostel for Blinded Soldiers and Sailors, founded in 1915.


Object details

Categories
Greeting Cards
Disability
Object type
Postcard
TitleBlinded For You (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Letterpress and colour half tone letterpress on card
Brief description
Postcard, letterpress on card, 'Blinded For You', Britain, World War I, 1915-1918.
Physical description
Postcard in portrait format. On the front, colour printed illustration depicting a WWI British soldier, in uniform and armed with a rifle with fixed bayonet, standing in darkness, his arm covering his eyes and face. Above is an idyllic scene of the English countryside. Lettered in white within the image with the title and in blue below the image with price and the name of the charity benefiting from the sale of the postcard. Lettered on the back with postcard template and an appeal for the charity printed in black.
Dimensions
  • Height: 14cm
  • Width: 8.6cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'BLINDED FOR YOU' (Lettered in white within the image)
  • 'Sold in aid of St. Dunstan's Hostel for Blinded Soldiers and Sailors / PRICE ONE PENNY' (Lettered in blue below the image)
  • 'POST CARD / Since March, 1915, the Blinded Soldiers' and Sailors' / Hostel of St. Duntan's has been hard at work. The / inmates are living, not the passive half-life which is / usually held to be the lot of the blind, but a life probably / fuller than they would have ever known but for their / blindness; and they are learning things which we with / seeing eyes might well believe that no blind man could ever / learn. These brave men have been blinded for you. Will / you not contribute something towards their future welfare? / Contributions will be gladly accepted by the Treasurer, / St. Dunstan's Hostel, Regent's Park, N.W.; or by / The National Institute for the Blind, Gt. Portland St., W.' (On the back, printed in black)
  • 'V&A' (On the back, handwritten in black ink)
  • 'B3.5' (On the back, handwritten in pencil)
  • (V&A Museum stamp) (On the back in indigo ink)
Object history
NB. While the term 'the blind' has been used in this record, it has since fallen from usage and is now considered offensive. The term is repeated in this record in its original historical context.
Subjects depicted
War
Blindness
Soldiers
Uniforms
Rifles
Bayonets
Rural Scenes
First World War
Summary
By the early 20th Century greetings postcards had overtaken folder cards in popularity as they were cheaper to post. A ban on Christmas cards to conserve supplies of paper was mooted during the First World War but the idea was abandoned in the interests of maintaining the troops' morale. This postcard was sold to raise funds for the St. Dunstan's Hostel for Blinded Soldiers and Sailors, founded in 1915.
Other number
B3.5
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.399-2008

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Record createdNovember 24, 2010
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1175758/blinded-for-you-postcard-unknown/
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