Postcard, silk embroidered postcard

Silk embroidered postcard sent by a soldier serving on the front line in France to his wife. The postcard has a blind-embossed border of horseshoes and mistletoe framing a central panel of organdie, silk embroidered with an idyllic cottage surrounded by a pink ribbon garland and the wording embroidered in blue 'To my dear wife' The organdie panel includes a flap, similar to that of an envelope within which is inserted a handkerchief and a small printed card. The handkerchief has a laced border and is emboidered with flowers and the words 'Souvenir de Lorraine'. The small card is printed 'I'm thinking and dreaming of some one'.
On the reverse of the postcard is the handwritten message 'With fondest love' and the sender's signature.

During World War I, the sending of silk-embroidered postcards became a standard form of greeting from soldiers serving in the trenches to loved ones at home. The cards were produced in France by a number of publishers with the silk embroidery added by hand on a cottage-industry basis, the designs being worked over lightly printed guidelines. The beauty of the cards masked the true horror of the conditions under which the soldiers were living and fighting.