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Postcard

1915 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
France (made)

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
Greeting Cards
Object type
Postcard
Materials and techniques
Blind-embossed card with lithography, letterpress and embroidered silk
Brief description
Postcard, embroidered, France, World War I, 1915.
Physical description
Postcard (portrait format) with blind-embossed border surrounding white silk panel embroidered in coloured silks with design depicting Romanov flag, oak and laurel leaves and circular frame emclosing printed image of Tsar Nicholas II. On the back: handwritten correspondence and address, 2 x postmarks, censor's stamp, V&A Museum stamp, publisher's mark.
Dimensions
  • Height: 14cm
  • Width: 9cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Campagne 1914-15 _ TZAR de toutes les Russies' (Lettered within the printed image on the front)
  • (postmarks) x 2 (On the back, stamped in black ink)
  • 'PASSED BY CENSOR / No 1193' (On the back, stamped in red ink (faded))
  • (V&A Museum stamp) (On the back, stamped in black ink)
  • 'V&A' (On the back, top left corner, handwritten in black ink)
  • 'On active service' (On the back, top right, handwritten in pencil)
  • 'Mrs Dyer / 95 Overstrand Mansions / Battersea Park / London' (On the back, right hand side, handwritten in black ink)
  • 'PARIS (monogram) DÉPOSÉ / FABRICATION FRANÇAISE' (On the back, bottom left corner, printed in black)
  • (partially illegible correspondence) (Handwritten in pencil on the back (faded))
Subjects depicted
War
Flags
Foliage
Tsar Nicholas II
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. 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
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.391-2008

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Record createdNovember 19, 2010
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1175670/postcard-unknown/
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