The Depiction of Women in Edwardian Era Postcards

Jul 21, 2011
Wendy Craig

Postcards Portrayed Domineering Women - Wendy Craig

The depiction of women in Edwardian era postcards reflected society's stereotypes of females: domineering suffragettes, idealised beauties and saucy misses.

Real photographs, risqué drawings and cartoons were all used in postcards of the early years of the 20th century to depict women in Edwardian society.

The postcards of women between 1901 and 1910 during the reign of King Edward V11 can be divided into several groups: famous women, women as romantics, women as the dominant partners in a relationship, women as the ideal form of female beauty, and 'naughty' women.

Postcards of Real Women

Actresses, music hall stars and vaudeville celebrities were all photographed for postcards. People collected sets of these in much the same way as cards of baseball players and movie stars are collected today. The actress Marie Lloyd was particularly popular in Britain.

Many of these real photograph postcards showed the women in close-up head and shoulders pose, looking directly at the viewer, or in full length shots to show off their dresses or theatrical costumes.

Women as Romantics Postcards

These postcards are of nicely-dressed young women in the chaste embraces of young men. At the most, a peck on the check is shown. Many of these postcards were real hand-coloured photos. Sometimes a sentimental verse about love accompanied the picture.

Dominant and Desperate Women Postcards

The suffragette movement of the late 1890s and early 1900s turned the established order of society on its head. Demonstrations, street marches and protests by women challenged the idea of the man being the head of the house. Many previously male occupations were increasingly being done by women.

The reaction of many men was to ridicule females. Postcards were produced showing women as domineering or desperate, the opposite of the obedient and dutiful home-maker.

In these cards sturdily-built, imposingly tall, ugly women tower over skinny, small, weak-looking husbands. Often they are contradicting him or laying down the law of what he should do.

Other cards, usually cartoons, show ugly, wrinkled, old spinsters desperate for a kiss or a dance with a man so they won't die an 'old maid'.

The Idealised Female Beauty Postcards and the Gibson Girl

The ideal look for an Edwardian woman was the 'S' shape. Controlling corsets gave a shelf-like mono-bosom, a tiny waist and larger derriere. Often cartoons on postcards exaggerated this shape to balloon-like proportions, with a man leering in the background or making a suggestive comment about the woman.

The 'Gibson Girl' was created by an American illustrator, Charles Dana Gibson in the late 19th century. His pen and ink drawings of beautiful young women were used in advertisements for corsets, shoes, clothing and also in postcards throughout the early 1900s. .

The 'Gibson Girl' was an idealised form of female beauty. She was tall and slender. Her hair was piled up in a chignon or she had on an ultra-fashionable large hat. She wore a blouse and long skirt and represented modern, active women.

The 'Saucy Miss' Postcards of Women

With the expansion of the railway network in Edwardian Britain, day return trips to the seaside became very popular. And those going to the beach wanted to buy postcards to send to their friends and families or as mementos of their day out.

Cartoon 'naughty' postcards became all the rage. These had a slightly risqué message, usually a double-entendre that hinted at sex. The women were portrayed as 'saucy' misses, often in their bathing costumes or holding up their long skirts to paddle on the shore, showing their legs and ankles.

Some cartoon postcards depict variations on the picture of a man walking on the beach with two or three beautiful women and the message, 'I am very busy right now in ...' with the name of the seaside resort written in. Others showed seaside hotel maids in compromising situations with male guests.

Collecting Edwardian era postcards is a fascinating hobby, not just for the styles and photographs, but for the way they give us an insight into the social mores of the times.