Postcard, letterpress on card, 'In Loving Memory of the Sausage', published by E.L.P. Co., Britain, World War I, 1914-1918.

Postcard in portrait format. On the front: humorous "poster" announcing the death of "The German Sausage" with text and illustrations printed in black within a black border. On the back: postcard template printed in green, V&A Museum stamp in black ink, former number and pressmark handwritten in black ink.

This postcard formed part of a group transferred from Photographs to Prints for accessioning. In the process of cataloguing them and releasing them from the boards onto which they had been mounted it was discovered some of the postcards had already been numbered with 1969 numbers (now noted in the 'other number' field as 'numbered in error'). When the Photographs accessions register for 1969 was consulted two unrelated groups of material with the same run of numbers was discovered. One of these groups, which included this postcard was credited as being 'Given by Mrs Harrington'. Registry could find no record of a donation from a 'Mrs Harrington'.

By the early 20th Century greetings postcards had become more popular than folder cards as they were cheaper to post. During the First World War a ban on Christmas cards was mooted to conserve supplies of paper but the idea was rejected in the interests of maintaining morale. The propaganda potential of the postcard was exploited for the war effort as this satirical card at the expense of the German Kaiser illustrates.

E.409-2008