Guide to the Embroidered Remembrance Card MSS.2335
Embroidered Remembrance Card
- Publication:
W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
Mary Harmon Bryant Hall
February 2009
500 Hackberry Lane
Box 870266
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35487-0266
205.348.0500
archives@ua.edu
- Creation:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2010-10-20T13:20-0500
- Language Usage:
English
- Description Rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Embroidered Remembrance Card
- Unit ID:
MSS.2335
- Repository:
W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
- Quantity:
0.1 Linear feet (one embroidered card)
- Dates:
1919
- Abstract:
Piece of silk mounted in the window of two pieces of cardboard. The card is tied with a purple ribbon and "Remembrance" is stamped in gold below the embroidered "1919 Souvenir de France."
- Preferred Citation:
Preferred Citation note
Embroidered Remembrance Card, W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
Scope and Contents note
The collection contains one card with a piece of silk mounted in the window of two pieces of cardboard. The card is tied with a purple ribbon and "Remembrance" is stamped in gold below the embroidered "1919 Souvenir de France." The numbers "1919" are embroidered with the flags and colors of the Allied Powers.
While most World War I Silks (embroidered postcards) had a solid cardboard back for address and postage, this card is not meant to be mailed since the silk is exposed on both sides.
- Processing Information:
Processed by
Martha Bace, 2010
- Acquisition Information:
Provenance
donated by Wade Hall, 2006
Biographical/Historical note
Embroidered postcards from World War One are generally known as "WW1 Silks". They were first produced between 1914 and 1918 and declined substantially in 1919 onwards and are rarely found after 1923. The WW1 cards were generally hand-embroidered on strips of silk mesh with as many as 25 on a strip, and were mainly produced by French and Belgian women refugees who worked in their homes and refugee camps. They then sent the finished strips to factories for cutting and mounting on postcards. Because of the beauty and uniqueness, the Silks were very popular with British and American soldiers serving in France.
Thousands of designs were produced and as a thing of beauty in a harsh war environment they became treasured keepsakes for the troops and for their loved ones. A considerable number were sent home by the "boys over there" and are excellent examples of front-line patriotic art quite unique to this specific period in history.
Card Box SC0010 Folder 2335.01