Friday, February 19, 2010

Motor Cycle Scouts in Action, 1918

T H E  C O L L E C T I O N — This is a World War 1-era postcard, 1918. It shows a pair of motorcycle scouts on a machine with a sidecar. I'll take a wild guess that they were riding a Harley. 

I love scanning early printed pieces like this and seeing the dots and the misaligned registration. I also love the coloring of early printed pieces-the combination of fading inks and stained and disintegrating paper—the colors of life as I have always seen them. 

Interesting concept too—the encroaching modernization of warfare. Young farm-raised American men on an adventure first time away from home, in a foreign land taking aim at an enemy that was probably just like them in more ways than not. Like all photos in this blog, click the thumbnail to see a larger version. If only government propoganda was so beautifully constructed today...



Enlarged detail of another WW1 propaganda postcard showing more young men with guns on motorcycles fighting in the French countryside. Also shows the printing process in great detail. Non-standard tints here.

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