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

Postcard

1914-1918 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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. A thriving market in embossed and embroidered postcards grew up in France for servicemen from both sides in the conflict to send home to loved ones.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Blind-embossed card, letterpress and woven silk
Brief description
Postcard, woven silk, France, World War I, 1914-1918.
Physical description
Postcard (landscape format) with blind-embossed border surrounding woven silk picture depicting the bombardment of Dixmude in 1914. Printed in black on the back and handwritten in purple pencil or crayon.
Dimensions
  • Height: 9cm
  • Width: 13.9cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'DIXMUDE / 1914' (Embroidered in silk, within the design)
  • 'CARTE POSTALE - POSTCARD / THIS SIDE FOR CORRESPONDENCE / CORRESPONDANCE / THIS SIDE FOR ADDRESS / ADDRESSE / Soie tissée E. D. Paris' (On the back, printed in grey/faded black)
  • 'August 1916 / August 1916 / Geoffrey / How's this for a souvenir?' (Handwritten on the back in purple pencil)
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
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. A thriving market in embossed and embroidered postcards grew up in France for servicemen from both sides in the conflict to send home to loved ones.
Collection
Accession number
E.390-2008

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Record createdNovember 18, 2010
Record URL
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