Tuesday, December 21, 2010

New Year Greetings from Belgium

The kind and wonderful Janine bought this card at a flea market in Belgium and sent it to me. Thank you, Janine!

The printed text is in French, but the card's message was written in Dutch. In many ways, the card is similar to other cards that sought to bring attention to the needs of war orphans during and after World War I.
This card points out that it is the powerful who wage war, but that the resulting misery and suffering affect the humble people in their homes. How many men die as heroes defending the flag and leave behind crying wives, mothers, and sisters? And then the little ones who suffer from hunger, to them I reach out my hand. 

The text on the card is signed by Elsa Ghislaine in Brussels and dated 1914, 1915, 1916, and 1917.


Gabriella sent this card to her family in January, 1922 with the following message:
Dear Family,
To celebrate the New Year, we send you our best wishes and greetings from us all.
Gabriella

Be sure to join Janine at her blog to see some of her beautiful artwork.

11 comments:

  1. How sweet the photo is, and a bit of a tear-jerker too!

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  2. What a sweet little card. I love the snow and the old writing on the front!

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  3. OHH wie schön, das du die karte postest und vielen dank für die lieben worte die du für mich gefunden hast
    bis neulich
    Janine

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  4. Interesting how the dates sort of get bigger and bolder each year, as if the writer was trying to exclaim her disbelief in how long the war had gone on... Aside from the horror of that, it is an adorable image.

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  5. Very touching postcard. The layout, content and all set the mood. A really nice layout on the front as well. Great post!

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  6. A lovely and meaningful card, especially the picture of the kids.
    What you said is true about leaving behind widows and kids.

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  7. THe black and white postcard can be appeared to be so special, very touching.

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  8. A superb historical piece of ephemera!

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  9. Such a very heart touching new year messages and lovely image. Thanks for sharing.

    Sandra Cooper xxxx
    Eazyday.blog.com

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