WWI silk postcard sent to Ethell from Daddy June 28 1916

1916
Overview

Embroidered silk postcard sent from France by a soldier (Daddy) to his daughter, Ethell, 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 surrounds are made from embossed cream card with horseshoes in each corner, connected by strands of shamrocks.
The reverse of the card has a central line and the words 'Fabrication Francaise' printed in black and the message written by Daddy to Ethell 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

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-119-RoW00680
Width
141 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 France to Dear
Ethell hopeing [sic] to find you well as it
leaves me pretty well at present
Well Et Mother tells me that Glayds
is moving and freting [sic] about now
you must play with her when you are
and home and not let her do that for
me that's a good girl you learn [sic] her
to write and read so she will not
be thinking of me all the time i
hope you are getting all the PC and Han
i am sending you Mother told me that
you was [sic] disappointed you did not get
a letter Well Ethell i wrote you letters
just the same as Glayds so you did
not get it sometimes i dont get any for
a long time to [sic] i have not got any Parcels
of Tobboca [sic] that Mother sent me i am
waiting for a nice smoke i might
them some day i think i will close
and go to bed Good night and God Bless
you with keep of love from Dad
to Dear Ethell
XXXXXXXX"

"Fabrication Francaise"

Place made
France
Year
Primary significance criteria
Artistic or aesthetic significance
Historic significance
Social or spiritual significance
Comparative significance criteria
Interpretive capacity
Last modified
Monday, 25 August, 2025
Completeness
100
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Recollections of War

Recollections of War

Organisation details
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WWI silk postcard sent to Ethell from Daddy June 28 1916
WWI silk postcard sent to Ethell from Daddy June 28 1916
Reverse of WWI silk postcard sent to Ethell from Daddy June 28 1916
Reverse of WWI silk postcard sent to Ethell from Daddy June 28 1916
Envelope of WWI silk postcard sent from Daddy to Ethell
Envelope of WWI silk postcard sent from Daddy to Ethell

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