Propaganda Postcards of the Great War, Silks (embroidered postcards)

Embroidered postcards from World War One are generally known as "WW1 Silks". They were first produced in 1914 through 1918 and declined substantially in 1919 onwards and are not found after around 1923. The WW1 cards were generally hand embroidered on strips of silk mesh with as many as 25 on a strip. They were mostly produced by French and Belgian women refugees who worked in their homes and refugee camps, and then sent the finished strips to factories for cutting and mounting on postcards. Because of their beauty and uniqueness, the WW1 Silks were wildly popular with British and American servicemen on duty in France. This is why the themes for most of the silks produced, are patriotic and feature British, French and American flags, symbols and greetings.

Some of these cards had the central portion cut as a flap so that a tiny printed greeting card could be inserted in a pocket behind the silk front and the stiff back. One such popular card was "To my dear Mother".
Most cards do not have postage stamps as they were mailed home at no charge to the sender in Military Mail pouches. These cards became treasured mementos from "the boys over there" and are excellent examples of front-line patriotic art quite unique to this specific period in history. It has been estimated that as many as 10 million handmade cards were produced during the wartime period. In 1930 through 1945 a machine made card was produced which was simpler and plainer with less variations. These Silks however never regained the popularity of their WW1 predecessors.


1915	In Honour Bound	United we stand


R.A.M.C.	Union is force	A. & S. H.	British & French flags.


Christmas Greetings	A happy Easter	Happy Christmas


To my dear Wife	Remembrance	Happy Birthday	Right is Might (1)


Right is Might (2)	Good Luck	Don't forget me


Souvenir from France	1914 - 1918 Souvenir from France	Greeting card: To my dear Mother