A French postcard is a small,

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

-sized piece of cardstock featuring a photograph of a nude or semi-nude woman. Such erotic cards were produced in great volume, primarily in France, in the late 19th and early 20th century. The term was adopted in the United States, where such cards were not legally made. The cards were sold as postcards, but the primary purpose was not for sending by mail, as they would have been banned from delivery. The cards sometimes even depicted naked lesbians. French street vendors, tobacco shops and a variety of other vendors bought the photographs for resale to tourists.

French postcard images

A number of photographers and studios produced French postcards, with some of them featuring particularly popular models. File:JA-Serie-040 French postcard-number2.JPG, Jean Agélou
Model: Fernande French-postcard-no-series Two-women Pseudo-classical kithara.jpg, Pseudo- classical scene with kithara Naples, Italy - Old vintage erotic postcard.JPG, Image of the

Gulf of Naples The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9.3 mi) gulf located along the south-western coast of Italy (province of Naples, Campania region). It opens to the west into the Mediterranean Sea. It i ...

with

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...

on left File:Les Nymphes Samusent by Alexandre-Jacques Chantron.jpg, Alexandre Jacques Chantron File:Nudo di donna - Formato Gabinetto - fotografia Pantano, Napoli.jpg, "Formato Gabinetto"
Pantano,

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

File:Zoro PC3.jpg, Zoro Garden Nudist Colony
San Diego, California File:Five Nude Women.jpg, E. Le Delay
"Five nude women in dance" File:Postcard of French Woman.jpg, "Postcard of French woman", non-nude
in style of French postcards File:Nu-Femme assise posant au pied d'un buste-années 20.JPG, Postcard, Seated woman with a herma, 1920s

Orientalist images

Many photographers and studios specialized in images with an Orientalist theme. File:Algérie. Jeunes Femmes Mauresques. Photochrome originale d'époque. Circa 1890. 18 x 24 cm.jpg,

Adia The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ( ar, جهاز أبوظبي للاستثمار, ADIA) is a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (in the United Arab Emirates) founded for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Gover ...

Algerian Moorish girls File:ES - 14 - Esclave marocaine servant ses maitres.jpg, Aqua-Photo L.V.S.
Moroccan slave serving her master File:Behar - 322 - Jeune fille arabe.jpg,

Behar Behar, BeHar, Be-har, or B'har ( — Hebrew language, Hebrew for "on the mount," the fifth word, and the Incipit, first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 32nd weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Judaism, Jewish cycle of Tor ...

Arab girl File:J. Boussuge - Esclave.jpg, J. Boussuge
Moroccan slave from Casablanca File:Combier - 007.jpg, Combier (CIM) File:CAP - 6300 - La Sieste.jpg, Compagnie des Arts Photomécaniques
"The

siesta A ''siesta'' (from Spanish, pronounced and meaning "nap") is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those in warm-weather zones. Th ...

" File:P. Cousin et Cie - 514T - Bedouine.jpg, P. Cousin et Cie
" Bedouin" File:Prostitutes in Algérie - 1910 ca. - Roger-Viollet Alinari.jpg, Roger-Viollet/Alinari
Two prostitutes in an Algerian brothel File:Fille egyptienne a la fontaine 2.jpg, Ephtimios
Egyptian girl at the fountain File:J. Garrigues - Jeune bedouine.jpg, J. Garrigues
Young Bedouin girl File:Jean Geiser - 156 - Jeune bedouine.jpg, Jean Gieser
Young Bedouin girl File:Idéale PS - 4 - Mauresque.jpg, Collection idéale PS
"Moorish" File:720 - Types d'Orient.jpg, Lehnert & Landrock
"Oriental Type - slave" File:Levy & Fils - 6267 - Mauresque B.jpg, Levy & Fils
"Moorish" File:Jeune algérienne, 1920.jpg, Frères Neurdein
Young Algerian woman File:Regence - 67 - La belle Zinah.jpg, Regence
"Beautiful Zinah" - Algiers File:SIP - Jeune fille arabe 2.jpg, Société Industrielle de Photographie (S.I.P.)
Young

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

girl File:Raphael Tuck & Sons - An egyptian beauty.jpg,

Raphael Tuck & Sons Raphael Tuck & Sons was a business started by Raphael Tuck and his wife in Bishopsgate in the City of London in October 1866,Picture Postcards and Their Publishers, by Anthony Byatt, page 288 selling pictures and greeting cards, and eventually se ...

Egyptian beauty File:Viala - 74 - Jeune femme au massage.jpg, F. Viala
"Young woman at Moroccan massage" File:JA-Serie-39 French-postcard.jpg, Pseudo-Oriental theme
Jean Agélou
Model: Fernande

French postcard images

Orientalist images

References

Further reading