Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum > Records

First World War Postcard of ‘Egyptian Types and Scenes - Arab Girl’, Egypt

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Leon & Levy

1900 - 1919

Overview

A black and white studio postcard depicting a girl in simple dress carrying a clay pot on her head. She wears a scarf that wraps over her head, under her chin and around her neck in a dark fabric with a light pattern and a partially open short sleeve top in the same fabric. She has a large fabric sash tied around her waist and carries a palm frond in her left hand. Her right hand steadies the pot on her head. She has three plain bangles on her right arm and two slightly more ornate bangles at her left wrist. The postcard is in good condition with slight damage to the corners. The front is printed with a description of the image, and the reverse is a pale green colour with proforma printing.

Historical information

During First World War, Allied soldiers stationed in Egypt, including Australians, New Zealanders, and British troops frequently bought and mailed local commercial postcards. These cards often featured staged studio portraits, exoticized "pin-up" images, or everyday street scenes of Egyptian women.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-12-2022.1.167

Item type

Postcards

Themes

War and Conflict > World War 1

Material

Card

Width

89 mm

Height or length

140 mm

Inscriptions and markings

In machine printing, on the front “187 EGYPTIAN TYPES AND SCENES. – An Arab Girl. - LL.”. On the reverse, “187 SCENES ET TYPES. – EGYPTE. / Fille Arabe. – LL”.

Contextual information

This image is likely taken by Gabriel Lekegian who was a renowned Armenian painter and photographer active in Cairo from the 1880s to the 1920s.

Keywords

First World War

Egypt

10th Light Horse Regiment

Place made

Egypt

Year

1900 - 1919

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance