Small embossed cards

[andrew pugh]

Hi All

Several years ago I was given 2 small cards by a French lady who lived in Mailley-Maillet. Her mother or Grandmother either ran or worked in an estaminet. These cards were most probably sold to the soldiers who used the estaminet to send home. They are about 70mm X 40mm in size. One has the words To My Dear Wife and the other has an embossed bunch of flowers with the words Greetings from the Trenches. Would they be considered to be rare. I will attempt at some point to put a picture on the forum.

Kind Regards

Andy

[FROGSMILE]

23 hours ago, andrew pugh said:

Hi All

Several years ago I was given 2 small cards by a French lady who lived in Mailley-Maillet. Her mother or Grandmother either ran or worked in an estaminet. These cards were most probably sold to the soldiers who used the estaminet to send home. They are about 70mm X 40mm in size. One has the words To My Dear Wife and the other has an embossed bunch of flowers with the words Greetings from the Trenches. Would they be considered to be rare. I will attempt at some point to put a picture on the forum.

Kind Regards

Andy

No I don’t think that they’re rare, although as the decades move on they will undoubtedly become more so.  Back in the 70s and 80s I recall stalls on markets that sold such ww1 era cards to collectors.  Some were made with some silk or elaborate embroidery as part of the design, but there were a variety of formats.  Many women local to soldiers billeting in rest areas found ways to make a little money from soldiers.  Mostly this was comestibles, but there was also a thriving trade in souvenir items for soldiers to send home to loved ones.  They are often described as ‘sweetheart cards’.

Edited 6 September , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[andrew pugh]

Hi Frogsmile

Thanks for your reply. I guess I will hang onto them for a little while longer then. They mean a lot to me because as i mentioned in my initial question they were given to me by a lady called Paulette Pecort who lived in the last house on the left as you leave Mailley- Maillet towards Serre. She was quite a character and had a very good sense of humour. She couldn't speak English and we couldn't speak French but we always got by when we stayed there. Once again, Thanks for replying.

Kind Regards

Andy 

[FROGSMILE]

36 minutes ago, andrew pugh said:

Hi Frogsmile

Thanks for your reply. I guess I will hang onto them for a little while longer then. They mean a lot to me because as i mentioned in my initial question they were given to me by a lady called Paulette Pecort who lived in the last house on the left as you leave Mailley- Maillet towards Serre. She was quite a character and had a very good sense of humour. She couldn't speak English and we couldn't speak French but we always got by when we stayed there. Once again, Thanks for replying.

Kind Regards

Andy 

I’m glad to help Andy and understand why they have sentimental value to you.  Mme Pecort sounds quite a character and having seen her country occupied twice by Germany we can only imagine the experiences she must have had.  If you carry out a Google images search (or Bing, which I find better recently) using the phrase ‘WW1 sweetheart cards’ you will see lots of examples of the souvenirs sold at auction.

Edited 6 September , 2023 by FROGSMILE