PC_FrWWI_0107The thought (pensée) of the allies in the form of a pansy (pensée) Images (clockwise from bottom left) : Albert I, King of the Belgians (1909-1934); King George V; Raymond Poincaré, President of France (1913-1920); and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (1894-1917).
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PC_FrWWI_0125Presumably a reference to The Battle of Liège (August 1914). The Battle of Liège was the opening engagement of the German invasion of Belgium and the first battle of the First World War. The attack on Liège, a town protected by the fortified position of Liège, a ring fortress built from the late 1880s to the early 1890s, began on 5 August 1914 and lasted until 16 August, when the last fort surrendered. The siege of Liège may have delayed the German invasion of France by four to five days. For a British perspective see PC_PunchWWI_0009 .
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PC_FrWWI_0131Early French political cartoon/caricature postcard depicting President of France, Émile Loubet, as a charmer of birds. Émile François Loubet (1838-1929) was President of France from 1899 to 1906. According to his obituary in the New York Times in December 1929, he was known as a “conciliator" and an "apostle of peace.” The “birds” in the cartoon appear to be (clockwise from top left) : (1) King Alfonso XIII of Spain (2) King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (3) Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany (4) Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (5) King Edward VII (6) Sultan Mehmed V of the Ottoman Empire (7) US President Theodore Roosevelt (8) King Carlos I of Portugal (9) King Leopold II of Belgium I cannot identify the “birds" on the tree above Kaiser Wilhelm - one with a képi, the other in black face.
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PC_FrWWI_0133Early French political cartoon/caricature postcard Pub: J Maseri, Lausanne “On les aura” - "We’ll get 'em" The image appears to show the Allies attempting to capture Kaiser Wilhelm and his son, Crown Prince Wilhelm, in Holland in 1918/19 following the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles. The people shown - numbers added to version on the right - are, I think : (1) Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany (2) Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany (3) US President Woodrow Wilson (4) ? Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (5) UK Prime Minister David Lloyd-George (6) ?? (7) French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau
PC_FrWWI_0134Unused postcard published in aid of “Asiles des Soldats Invalides Belge” (PC_FrWWI_0134) “La Vielle Chanson” by James Thiriar. James Thiriar (1889-1965) was a Belgian artist from Brussels. He fought as member of the 'Garde Civique' (civil guard) and was wounded during the early days of WW1. He later escaped to London and joined the regular Belgian army. The Illustrated London News and other periodicals published his drawings. A series of his watercolors depicting life on the Yser and behind the front lines was used as heading for writing paper that was sold to raise money for wounded Belgian soldiers and convalescent homes. Like most Belgian war-time artists, he was not particularly interested in depicting military scenes involving battle or combat. Instead he preferred to illustrate the everyday life of soldiers behind the front.
PC_FrWWI_0135Used, but unfranked postcard published by the Chambre Syndicale Française des Edit's de la Carte Postale Illustrée. The Flags of the Allies - France, GB, Belgium, Russia, Netherlands and Japan.
PC_FrWWI_0136Unused postcard published in aid of “Asiles des Soldats Invalides Belge” (PC_FrWWI_0136) “L’Arrivée au Cantonnement” by James Thiriar. James Thiriar (1889-1965) was a Belgian artist from Brussels. He fought as member of the 'Garde Civique' (civil guard) and was wounded during the early days of WW1. He later escaped to London and joined the regular Belgian army. The Illustrated London News and other periodicals published his drawings. A series of his watercolors depicting life on the Yser and behind the front lines was used as heading for writing paper that was sold to raise money for wounded Belgian soldiers and convalescent homes. Like most Belgian war-time artists, he was not particularly interested in depicting military scenes involving battle or combat. Instead he preferred to illustrate the everyday life of soldiers behind the front.
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PC_FrWWI_0139Unused postcard published in aid of “Asiles des Soldats Invalides Belge” (PC_FrWWI_0139 see also PC_WWI_BelgianWarFund)) “Heros" by Belgian artist, Maurice Wagemans (1877-1927)
PC_FrWWI_0140-aEarly French political cartoon/caricature postcard depicting President of France Maurice de MacMahon Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (1808-1893), was a French general and politician who served as President of France from 1873 to 1879. The reference appears to be to events in May 1871 when, as head of the army of the French Third Republic, under President Adolphe Thiers, MacMahon led the Semaine Sanglante, the bloody week-long military campaign which defeated the Paris Commune and placed the city under the authority of the Third Republic.