WWI silk postcard sent for 'A Happy New Year' from William to Jean

c. 1915
Overview

Embroidered silk postcard, featuring the words 'A Happy New Year' in lilac thread on the bottom right, with mistletoe, shamrock and rose foliage, berries and flower buds above and to the left.
The surrounds of the rectangular card are made from embossed cream card with decorative patterns.
The card was sent to Mrs. Wm Kerr of Glasgow by William.
The reverse of the postcard has a line separating the areas for writing and address and lines for the address to be written on. The maker's details appear at the lower left. However, the sender has written on the card upside down, so it appears at the top right.
The address of the recipient, Jean, is written in black ink on the left, and a message from William on the right.

Historical information

According to the Australian War Memorial, woven silk postcards were first produced in Krefeld, Germany in 1898 as a combination of printed postcards and large woven silk pictures, known as Stevengraphs. The early cards were woven on machines. Being machine made, the woven cards always maintained a high standard.
Embroidered silk postcards were first made in 1900 for the Paris Exposition. The popularity of silk postcards peaked during World War One. A thriving cottage industry began around 1915 and the quality of the early silks was quite high. However later, to satisfy demand, the workmanship was often not quite as high.
Postcard companies began to employ women to produce silks on a rough assembly line basis. The cards were generally hand embroidered on strips of silk mesh with as many as 25 on a strip. They were mostly embroidered by French women in their homes and then sent to the factories for cutting and mounting on postcards.
Some postcards were made with little envelopes which could contain a smaller card with a sentimental message.
Production continued steadily through World War One, declining substantially in 1919, until ending around 1923. An estimated 10,000,000 hand made cards were produced from 1915 to 1919.

There are a large number of silk postcards in the collection, including several groupings relating to individual soldiers and their families.

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-119-RoW00651
Width
141 mm
Height or length
90 mm
Inscriptions and markings

On front of postcard:

"A Happy
New Year"

On left side of reverse of postcard:

"Mrs Wm Kerr
42 Taylor St
Townhead
Glasgow"

On right side of reverse of postcard:

"From William
To Jean
With Best
Love xxx"

Upside down at top right:

"PARIS DEPOSE
FABRICATION FRANCAISE"

Place made
France
Year
Primary significance criteria
Artistic or aesthetic significance
Social or spiritual significance
Comparative significance criteria
Interpretive capacity
Last modified
Thursday, 14 August, 2025
Completeness
100
Recollections of War

Recollections of War

WWI silk postcard sent for 'A Happy New Year' from William to Jean
WWI silk postcard sent for 'A Happy New Year' from William to Jean
Reverse of WWI silk postcard sent for 'A Happy New Year' from William to Jean
Reverse of WWI silk postcard sent for 'A Happy New Year' from William to Jean

Scan this QR code to open this page on your phone ->