WWI silk postcard sent to Glayds from Daddy June 28 1916

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1916

Overview

Embroidered silk postcard sent from France by a soldier (Daddy) to his daughter, Glayds, on June 28 1916.
It features the words 'Hands across the sea' in gold thread in a curve along the bottom. Above this are two forearms extending from each side, holding a central gold cross hatched heart.
The arm on the left is that of as woman wearing a pale blue, long-sleeved shirt or dress. The arm on the right is that of a man wearing a white dress shirt fastened with a gold button or cufflink and a black over jacket.
Extending from the wrist of the woman is a depiction of a French flag on a blue flagpole, and on the opposite side, a Union Jack flag also on a blue flagpole. In the centre above the gold heart is a spray of pale blue flowers and buds and green foliage.
The placement of the silk insert is off centre, with the embroidery too far to the left.
The surrounds are made from embossed cream card with horseshoes in each corner connected by strands of ivy leaves.
The reverse of the card has a central line and the words 'Fabrication Francaise' printed in black and the message written by Daddy to Glayds in purple pencil.
The original envelope, made from see through, shiny brown paper, is with the card.

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. This card is an example of that, having been sent to one of two young daughters of a soldier who wrote regularly to his wife and both daughters.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00679

Item type

Themes

Communication
Social History
War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 1

Material

Width

142 mm

Height or length

91 mm

Inscriptions and markings

On front of postcard:

"Hands across the sea"

On reverse of postcard:

"Wensday [sic] June 28/1916
Dear Glayds
A nice Post Card from Daddy to his Dear
little girl trusting you are well. Dad is better
again. My cold is better. Well Dear Mother
told me in her letter that you have a lot
of crys [sic] for Dad Well dear little girl dont
you cry anymore i dont like to hear Mother
say you are freting [sic] like that I will be
be home some day to you again you tell
Mother i said she was to take you and
Ethell out for walks and not to stay at
home all the time Aunt Beat told me
that you and Ted are great playmates
and you like Grandfather very much
Well Glayds i recieved [sic] you loveing [sic] little
letter to [sic] and it nearly made me - to read
it when you are worrying about me my word
it ls lovely to get letters from you all
you are sending me a pipe and some Tabboco [sic]
i hope it i have not recieved [sic] any of
Mothers Parcels yet and i am
waiting for some nice Tobboco [sic] to smoke
I hope you and Et get the nice little Han
i sent you and these nice cards I saw
Uncle Walter's Potho [sic] in the paper you sent
me Well dear little girl don't cry any more
with Best wishes and fondest love
from Daddy to dear little Irene Glayds
from France
Good night God Bless You
XXXXXXXXXXXXX"