WWI silk postcard with French shield and flags

« Prev Item Next Item »

c. 1915

Overview

Embroidered silk postcard in the form of an envelope. The flap of the scalloped fabric envelope is bordered with white thread and has a central shield with a red and gold border representing the French flag, with the letters RF (République française) sewn on top in gold.
Two French flags extend outwards from the shield, with the outer red section having two triangles rather than a solid rectangular stripe. The flags are on blue flagpoles with gold finials.
A spray of leaves extends from the lower edges of the central shield, under the flags to the top. There is a yellow star or flower in the middle. The dates '1914' and '1915' are sewn in gold on the lower left and right of the silk insert.
Inside the lifted flap is a small cream coloured greeting card featuring on the left side the flags of the allies (France, Belgium, Imperial Russia and the United Kingdom) attached to a central post topped with a French battle axe.
The words 'Souvenir de Glorieuse Memoire' (Souvenir of glorious memory) is printed above and the dates '1914, 1915' below in blue. On the right hand side is another French phrase 'Gloire à la France éternelle' (Glory to eternal France). The reverse of the insert card is plain.
The surrounds are made from embossed cream card with a decorative pattern of flowers, berries and leaves.
The reverse of the postcard is plain other than a line separating the areas for writing and address and lines for the address to be written on. The words 'Paris Depose' are printed on the lower left.

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-RoW00668

Item type

Themes