The Postcard as a Snapshot in Time

At a time when illustrated newspapers were still rare and expensive, and newsreels were an oddity, postcards were a way to capture almost every aspect of society.

Whether on a casual or regular basis, amateur and professional photographers everywhere have been taking pictures of Brittany since 1900.

They have captured both a modern and new France, everyday life, and exceptional current events, as well as the country's older aspects.

In 1900, it took around three days for a postcard to be published, but by 1909, this time had been shortened and a postcard celebrating an event could be published within a few hours of taking the picture.

News of maritime disasters, inaugurations and celebrations, storms, cyclones, heat waves and floods were spread by postcard.

Fires, birthdays—especially centenaries, which were celebrated extensively—official visits, motor races, and records of the dawn of aviation were also subjects of the main news stories in these postcards.

The First World War was only covered at its onset until instructions given on April 21, 1915 by the Ministry of War placed controls on the cards published relating to the fighting and the zones occupied by the military.

Postcard publishers were particularly attentive to small traders. The postcard provides us with an ethnographic mine of insight into these small trades that would disappear or change profoundly after the Great War (World War I).

Small rural trades, clog makers, wood splitters, basket makers, and laundry women are all shown in abundance.

Goat-driven carts and wooden horse carousels are among popular pastimes also captured on the postcard.
All that is missing is the sound of the barrel organ, the laughter and the sound of children to reproduce the party atmosphere.

Many craft activities have been the subject of postcards, which are clearly for advertising purposes. What could be better than an image of the craftsman at work in his studio to highlight the excellence of his creations?

There are plenty of photographs of seafaring occupations featuring their traditional aspects, such as fishermen or more contemporary aspects, such as this deep-sea diver.

The rural world in all its diversity has given rise to hundreds of postcards. And even if the poses may sometimes seem a little forced, the costumes and faces have an authenticity that only photography and the postcard could most accurately reproduce.

It is with a gaze - nostalgic, precise, and historical at the same time—that photographers focused on local celebrities who made the towns and the small street traders famous.

The postcard accurately reflected the topography of towns and villages. Besides the tourist postcard with great monuments, aimed at a passing clientele, there were also postcards for locals.

To satisfy this demand, the small publishers, who were often merchants in the town (such as grocers or coffee makers), had images produced of their store's immediate surroundings.

Popular neighborhoods, crossroads, squares, markets, fairs, public fountains, wash houses, mills, cafes, inns, and railway stations were all tirelessly reproduced.

These cards were indeed likely to tempt the casual traveler, but it was the local clientele in particular who, for a ridiculously low price, could send an image of their neighborhood, or even their own image captured by the photographer.