Women in World War II greeting cards collection
Scope and Contents
The Women in World War II Greeting Collection is comprised of 25 World War II greeting cards designed to appeal to woman. To pass the censors, the cards were inoculated with light-hearted humor as well as some risqué humor. The cards represent a wide range of patriotic themes including the physical dangers, probable lack of food, interactions with superiors, and encounters with the opposite sex.
Dates
- Creation: 1942 - 1945
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open and available for research in the Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections' reading room.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright is retained by the authors of the items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. For photocopy and duplication requests, please contact the Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections, Michigan State University Libraries.
Biographical / Historical
In response to the United States War Department's order to reduce paper use by 25%, the Greeting Card Association (GCA) was formed in 1941 under the leadership of George Burkhardt. Seeking the preservation of the greeting card industry, the GCA launched defense stamp Christmas cards and v-mail greeting cards to promote the sale of bonds and war stamps. These efforts were soon followed by the campaign, greeting cards in wartime, an effort to keep families and soldiers in touch with each other and boost morale. In conjunction with the Red Cross, the industry provided millions of cards to wounded soldiers to write home. The cards were designed to appeal to women and to pass military censors. They are innocuous and light-hearted with some featuring risqué humor.
Extent
.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by author/sender.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired by purchase October 8, 2012
Processing Information
Processed by Leslie M. Behm in November 2012.
- Title
- Finding Aid for the Women in World War II greeting cards collection,1942-1945
- Status
- 4 Published And Cataloged
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Leslie M. Behm.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections Repository