A Rickshaw, Franco-British Exhibition, London 1908

This postcard is one in a series of 'Giant' colour lithographic postcards produced by Valentine & Sons, official postcard printers for all White City exhibitions that took place between 1908 and 1914. The vast White City exhibition grounds were built by the impressario Imre Kiralfy as a commercial venture. The site opened with the Franco-British exhibition of 1908 at which this image was taken. The exhibitions were presented as a celebration of Empire at a time when the British Empire was at its most powerful and rarely challenged.
Rickshaw drivers were brought to London from India to work at the White City exibitions that ran from 1908-1914. They transported visitors around the vast exhibition grounds. The rickshaws were regarded as a popular novelty attraction for visitors; their presence enhanced the atmosphere of the exhibition whose pavilions and buildings were inspired by Indian architecture.
As well as Rickshaw drivers White City contracted craftspeople, villagers and performers from around the British Empire to travel to London to take part in the exhibitions and demonstrate their culture and society as 'live displays', often in reconstructed villages and workshops. These voyeuristic displays of 'natives' ruled by the British were naively intended to inform visitors but inevitably resulted in misrepresentation and misunderstanding.
The sale of official exhibition postcards was an important form of income for the private enterprise of White City. A post office was located within the exhibition in the British Industries Palace and a special handstamp created for the event. Many visitors purchased, wrote and sent postcards during their visit to the exhibition. Post was collected four times each day and taken to the Paddington sorting office.