WWI silk postcard with allied flags sent by George

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c. 1915

Overview

One of three souvenir silk postcards purchased and sent by a soldier named George from France during World War One.
Embroidered silk postcard in the form of an envelope. The flap of the scalloped fabric envelope is bordered with white thread.
In the centre of the flap are five flags representing the allies - the Belgian flag and a red ensign on the left, the French flag in the middle and the flags of Imperial Russia and Serbia on the right, all with gold fringing. The flagpoles are obscured by the flags but have gold finials.
A wreath of green leaves and red berries extends along the lower borders of the flap and a sprig of three leaves appear each side of the flags. A sprig of five green leaves is depicted in each corner of the lower silk insert.
There may have been a small card inserted inside the flap when it was made and purchased, but this is not present.
The surrounds are made from embossed cream card with a decorative pattern of flowers and leaves.
The reverse of the postcard is plain aside from the printed black instructions and maker's details, all in French. A greeting from Geo. (George) is written in purple pencil.

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, being one of three sent by George (Geo.) from France as souvenirs.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00671

Item type

Themes