Retrospective exhibition of reproductions of French Postcards and erotic images around 1890 – 1920
Erotic postcards were the pornography of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Small pocket-sized cards with an erotic photograph on one side and a postcard design on the other. They were mainly produced in Paris—which led to their appellation “French postcards.”
Despite their name these postcards were never intended to be sent via the mail. They were collectible erotica—sold through bookshops and photographic studios and certain gentlemen’s establishments. Due to their pornographic nature, the cards were sold surreptitiously—quite literally under the counter and discretely hidden in brown paper bags.