Flags, Flowers and Front Lines

Among the most charming collectables from the First World War are silk postcards, hand-embroidered on fine mesh and mounted in embossed card frames. Produced mainly in Belgium and France between 1914 and 1919, they were often sent home inside envelopes to protect them from damage – though many still show the wear of time, thanks to their delicate construction and glued borders.

Some of the most sought-after examples feature tiny silk ‘envelopes’ sewn into the design, allowing a small printed greeting card to be tucked inside. These inserts can actually be worth more than the postcard itself, so they’re always worth looking out for.

Patriotic cards, those decorated with flags, regimental crests, or stirring verses like “For the Right”, are popular and still reasonably affordable at £5-10 each. Birthday or generic greeting cards fetch a little less, usually £3 to 5. The real prize pieces, however, are those showing regimental badges of smaller or rarer units, which can command £20-100 depending on condition.

Delicate, colourful, and steeped in history, these postcards are miniature snapshots of wartime sentiment and a reminder that even in the bleakest of times, people found ways to send a message of hope back home.