Figure 1.--This hand tinted French postcard was part of a series. A reader suggests that they were created to celebrate the first time a boy got to wear long trousers. HBC suspects that because of the boy's age, they reflect his breeching and the first time he has worn pants in general rther than dresses and other skirted gaments. Click on the image for a discussion of the term "culotte". A British soldier in France selected it to send home to his little girl. Image courtey of the MD collection,

World War I soldiers in 1917 mut have dispaired that the War would never end. American entry into the War in April 1917 brought great cheer tothe Allied soldiers and people. Many did not understand that t would be more than a year before America could train and field a significant army. The 1917 card we have was dated Thursday September 13, 1917 and was sent by a British soldier in France to his daughter in England. There is no posting address so we assume that the card was enclosed with a letter to the childs mother. The message on the card reads, " My dear little Girl, Just a card to add to your collection. I am giving you a change tonight a little boy instead of a little girl. Goodbye and God Bless you with best love from Dada xxxxxxxx" Apparently his daughter like many children at the time collected postcards. Apparently he was stationed where he could select from a range of cards and usually chose images of little French girls for his daughter.

Created: February 20, 2003
Last updated: February 20, 2003