History: World War One

While the colours of hand-tinted postcards experienced little change through the 1910s, the First World War certainly had an impact on the visuals of romance postcards. The pressure of war added an urgency to love. More couples were separated, with less certainty about their future. Postcards were sent back and forth between soldiers and their sweethearts (you can see a great set here, with a happy ending). In this context, the depiction of couples shifted. The chaste gazes began to give way to touching and kissing. While 'dirty' postcards always co-existed with this more romantic, hand-tinted meant-for-sending type, the lines began to blur more and more. It is not uncommon to see postcards of this type depicting women in lingerie (though of course, lingerie at this time was much less revealing than it would become) or indeed, couples lying in bed together (unfortunately this post includes no examples--still on my 'to acquire' list! However, examples can be see here, here, here, and here).

The kind of postcard pose we see in the pre-WWI postcards, with the gentleman changed to a soldier (these did remain common): 

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(I'm not sure why the address and message side are reversed on this... quite odd). 

Another fairly chaste pose... with the prominent addition of a bed in the background. 

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1917. 

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The kind of passionate embrace rarely seen before WWI:

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1917. 

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A woman flat-out sitting in a man's lap: 

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1917. 

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The kiss, staple of the 1920s cards but almost never seen pre-WWI:

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August 1918. 

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History: Early Colours

As we've seen, the hand-tinted postcards of the 1900s and 1910s were mostly muted colours, a stark contrast from the near-neons that characterize the 1920s cards. However, they were not the only coloured postcards around. In the same time period, postcard creators were also experimenting with bright, vibrant dyes and dye-combinations. These were almost always done on cards depicting women or couples--a definite predecessor to the extreme colours of 1920s dye-toned postcards. Some varieties, in fact, use dye in creative ways that were never quite repeated. 

This post is made possible by a dear friend of mine, who also collects vintage postcards. All but one of these postcards come from her collection, and are reproduced with many thanks.

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1914, sent from Hungary.

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1913.

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History: Early Days

Time for a short journey into the past (well, the farther past!). The postcard this blog is all about come from the 1920s and early 1930s--but where did they come from? 

As you've already guessed, yes, they had ancestors. The hand-tinting, the romantic couples, even the bright colours and glitter-- none of it was new, though it certainly took a new direction in the early 1920s. 

Of course, determining where exactly something starts is always difficult. From the 1890s to the mid-1910s all kinds of postcards were wildly popular, with millions sent every year. I will admit my research has not yet been exhaustive, but hand-tinted, real photo postcards featuring beautiful women (clothed!) seem to have begun to be popular in the first couple years of the 1900s. At this point many of them are already famous as actors, singers, or dancers, but anonymous women are also featured. 

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Postmarked 1904, before the introduction of the split-back postcard. 

This postcard, sent 1904, is not a real photo postcard, but features hand-tinting and a lot of glitter:

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By the mid 1900s, if not earlier, we see models posing as couples in commercially produced hand-tinted photo postcards:

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No date, but early 1900s-- I don't know exactly when the split-back postcard was introduced in France, but it was 1907 in the United States and from the dated postcards I have it seems to have been about the same time. 

Amour en Rose

Happy Valentine's Day! A few very lovely, very romantic postcards for the day. Straight dye-toned pink postcards can (usually) be overwhelming, but when the pink dye-toning is done to metallic cards, as in these examples, I feel it adds such an air of romance, especially when added to poses like these. 

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(This one, of course, you will recognize from the banner)

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The Art Deco Frame

Postcards from the early 1930s with images set in wide, elaborate, tinted frames. Though  never common, these come in a wide variety of styles-- these are just a sample!

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