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This French post car shows a bangs hair style worn by boys andd a kind of curls worn by the giels. It also shows us some 1920s clothing styles, althogh given this is a staged scene, we are not sure how common either the hair styles or clothing was. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the card is the relationship behween boys and girls. One French reader explains that boys and girls at the time usually did not olay together and the ball and skilltes symbolized the coloquial names that children called each other.
France in the 1920s was well known for its post card industry. They were commonly used at the time much as greeting cards are today. The French post card indusry was well known throughout Europe. These cards were sold throughout Europe. They were quite popular in England. Note that this card is marked "Made in France," imdicated that it was printed for possible sale in England.
Some of the cards had a rather risque nature--at least for the standards of the day. Actually in England the term "French post cards" means a risque one. But in fact the French post card industry produced a wide range of cards. Many of them featured children in idealized, sentamentalized scenes. Many of these cards are reproduced in HBC showing boys wearing kneepants or short pants, often with kneesocks and sometimes strap shoes.
It is interesting to note that America at this time also had a postcard industry. Beautifully dressed children, however, were never as popular on American postcards as on English and French postcards. Actually beginning in the 1900s and continuing in the 1920s, Americans could choose to have their photographs developed with a postcard back. This allowed the photos to be mailed to family and relativesclike postcards. Large numbers of these cards exist. In France, however, people appeared to have preferred to purchase ready made postcards like this one.
This particular card is a bit of a curiosity. It is not clear to HBC why the girls are teasing the boy or indeed even just what the boy is wearing.
The three girls here are clearly teasing the boy. He seems rather embarassed about what he has done. But why? A HBC contributor suggests, "I may be mistaken, but I think the card shows a boy who while playing his boyish games broke something. The girls are teasing him for being naughty and having broke whatever is at his feet." This occurred to HBC, but to HBC it looks like what is in front of the boy are flowers, not a broken object. We could well be wrong about this, however, as it is not real clear. A comtributor mentions that the flowers could be from a vase that the boy may have broken. This seems a likely senario. Presumably the photographer didn't want to break a vase for the photograph.
A French contributor to HBC provide two interpreptions. I think in order to interpret meaning of this teasing, one has to keep in mind as HBC ponts out that it is not a candid photograph, but a posed scene with four youthful actors around the game called in French "jeux de quilles"--kind of bowling or ninepin.
First interpretation: The boy is asking the girls if he could play with them, he brought some flowers as a gift, the girls teasing him because they would have prefered chocolates...
Second interpretation: The children have had several turns at bowling and the boy lost every one of them and the girls are teasing him for his gawkiness. The two girls at center form with their hands a typical childish gesture we call in french "fi les cornes"
and representing the horns of a snail. The boy looks quite ashamed, no?
Third interpretation: Another French reader tells us that the scene is a play on the coloquial French terms for boys and girls. "Luck would have I found this page. All your explanations are not good.
The mystery about the meaning this postcard is very simple. Untill the 1950s , perhaps 1960 we children only between us, we named the girls " les quilles " and the boys " les boules ". These were very common terms, They were no impolite words, we could say these words in presence of adults without problem. These terms had a connotation a bit sectarian. Remember we girls and boys played separately in school, in summer camp, and other places. It was not exceptional that a boy teased a girl saying " Oh ! la quille ! " and a girl saying to the boy " Oh ! la boule ". In the street or at home, both girls and boys could play together. This image doen't show the children playing skittles, but the girls are three and teased this poor and boy who was all by himself. Notice also that we used this miming with our index fingers to tease. Notice also that the boy had flowers, showing he is thought of as a good child , it was the French mentality in this time. I am sure about my explanations. The new French generation children don't use these terms anymore and I am not even sure they would understand the sense . Language terms: Quilles = skittles and was the denomination for girls Boules = balls was the denomination for the boys.
Fourth interpretation: Here I think the reader above correctly identifies the game of skettles and the coloquial name for boys and girls, the same as the ball and skittles in the name. I think what has happened here was that the boy was playing too rough and broke a flower vase--note all the flowers on the floor in front of them. We do not see, however, the broken vase, perhaps because the image is not real clear. I think rather than ridiculing him they are shaming him and telling him how much trouble he will be in when mother finds out what he has done.
Fifth interpretation: Another French reader tells us, "Looking at this post card and the real sense about this scene.
I'm sure the third interpretation is the only right and without any possible doubt. And about the flowers on the floor, they give a childish addition to this image no any more. Remember that in France 20th children were assimilated with flowers,
By instance in France (excepted in Alsace), one said to the boys that little girls were comimg from a rose. Myself around early 1950s I still believed that. A lot of French post cards 1900-50 show baby girls appearing out a rose or a little boy bringing flowers. That was the Fench mentality in this time. No long ago, I asked my own children if they know the colloquial terms
" quilles " and " boules ". They told me that they did not."
The boy who has Dutch boy bangs seems to be wearing a very juvenile tunic blouse. The tunic looks to be velvet. I'm not sure what color. He wears his tunic with white short pants and grey knee socks.
HBC believes the three children on the left are girls. An HBC contributor, however, notes the second girl in the photo is wearing very short shorts and not a dress. Wouldn't this indicate a boy? Well I guess it could be a dress with short bloomers. I don't think the curls indicate gender for a child this young." HBC continues to believe that all three of the children teasing the boy are girls. The HBC contributor is correct, however, that in the 1920s it was still not common for girls to wear short pants which were seen as a boys' garment. Girls would wear commonly dresses even for play. So HBC is not sure what the girl is wearing. It is possible she was wearing short pants, it is just that it was not very common at the time.
Another question is why you would send a card like this to a boy. The card was selected by the mother of a boy named Simonne. It seems rather a strange card to send Simonne, one of a boy being teased by girls. An Americam reader might think a card of boys playing sports are engaging in some boyish activity might be more appropriate to send. Perhaps such post cards did not exist at the time. Perhaps the card was selected simply because a boy was in the picture and little thought was given to the actual picture. Hopefully our French readers can provide some insights on how such cards were selected for boys in the 1920s. Perhaps as mother selected it, she chose a card with children nicely dressed because she liked it, not because Simonne might like it. The boy's outfit probably looked very sweet to a 1920s French mother. HBC is less sure of what a French boy like Simonne would make of it.
A French contributor points out an error made by HBC. He indicates that the card sent to a little girl, not a boy. "Simonne" in French is a girl's name. Now the choice of the card seems a bit more reasonable if it being sent to a girl.
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The writing on the card was not real clear, but a French HBC contributor was kind enough to send us the following translation. He had to guess at some words that were not very clear:
Petite Simonne [(Dear) little Simonne]
Nous voila jeudi et nous n'avons pas eu de tes nouvelles, comment
vas-tu et ton rhume. [It is now already thursday and we did not get any news from you. How are you and your cold?]
Quand à ta petite mère cela va bien doucement, elle est très fatiguée, dépêches-toi de revenir pour l'aider un peu. [As far as your little mother is concerned, it's going
not to well, she is quite tired, come back as soon as possible to help her a bit.]
Qu'as-tu fais depuis lundi et surtout ne t'ennuies pas, tu vas voir un jour petit père venir te chercher. [What have you been doing since monday and above all don't get bored. You'll see one day little father will come to fetch you.]
Bons baiser à " unreadable ... " et à de toi ma petite poule, de bonnes bises de petit père et petite mère et la petite Lulu. [Warm kisses to "unreadable - maybe aunt so&so" and to you my little darling ( actually hen). Kisses as well from little father and little mother and the little Lulu (abbreviated from Lucie).]
Vite de tes nouvelles, ta maman. [Quickly please some news, your mommy.]
The words "petit père/petite mère (little father/little mother)" could mean grandfather and grandmother.
A French reader writes, "About the words " petite Mère " " petit Père " they are kind terms to tell mother and father. These terms are anymore in fashion to day. Also notice, the capital letter is used to write Père , Mère . That could mean , the person was from an educated familly. In fact this card was written by the mother to her
daughter and this child is for a short time in his uncle's/aunt's familly. The unreable sentence is in fact: Bons baisers à Tantante et Nonnoncle. That means: Warm kisses to Aunt and Uncle ( the mother used children-words to tell them ) To day we say "Tata "and "Tonton".
One has to wonder where Simonne is and why she is not with his mother and father. Perhaps he attends a boarding school. Or perhaps she is at a summer camp. Or perhaps he is staying with an aunt. A French contributor believes that Simonne was spending some of her school vacation (or perhaps a convalescence stay) in the house of some relatives, such as an aunt or godmother. It was not in some kind of youth organisation with other kids, in which case the writing mother would have asked about relations with other children and
adults in charge.
One reader writes, "I remember these terms when I was a little girl. I asked my daughter if she knows the coloquial meaning of quilles and boules ". She didn't know. I can tell you that everyone in France knew the these termms when I was growing up in the late 1940s and early 50s. I myself used the term as a child. I have not, however, heard the terms in recent years. I also notice that the term is not listed in the dictionary.
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