Souvenir de Paris
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1903
This object is an erotic postcard titled 'Souvenir de Paris', designed by artist Xavier Sager. Produced around 1903 in France, it is executed as a colour halftone print on paper. The postcard measures approximately 9 cm in height by 14 cm in width.
The recto of the postcard depicts an illustration centred on a large leaf shape bearing a photographic view of the Eiffel Tower. Peeking out from behind the leaf are the heads, limbs, and figures of a man and a woman in an amorous embrace, with the composition creating a phallic visual allusion where the Eiffel Tower stands in for an erect penis. Towards the bottom edge of the postcard, the title inscription 'SOUVENIR DE PARIS' is printed.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The postcard forms part of the Milford Haven Collection, an assemblage of 442 French, Italian, and German erotic postcards—termed 'Cartes postales fantaisistes'—dating from the early twentieth century. Mounted across three bound albums, the collection originally belonged to a member of the Milford Haven family before being acquired by E. J. Dingwell in 1960 alongside a typed catalogue.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Colour halftone print
- Dimensions
- Height (album): 13.6 cm; Width (album): 21 cm; Depth (album): 5.5 cm; Height (card): 9 cm; Width (card): 14 cm
Technical characteristics
- Inscriptions
- Date: Text: Research required; Latest: Research required; Earliest: Research required; Note: Labels and text printed on album cover; Type: Research required; Medium: Research required; Method: Research required; Script: Research required; Content: 'SECTIONS 7 8 10 11 12 / Post Cards / The Milford Haven Collection / of / Post Cards. / Numbers 323 - 326 / " 336 - 340 / " 420 - 441 / " 453 - 504 / " 508 - 515'; Language: Research required; Position: Research required; Inscriber: Name: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Association: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Description: Research required; Translation: Research required; Interpretation: Research required; Transliteration: Research required Date: Text: Research required; Latest: Research required; Earliest: Research required; Note: printed on postcard, recto; Type: Research required; Medium: Research required; Method: Research required; Script: Research required; Content: 'SOUVENIR DE PARIS'; Language: Research required; Position: Research required; Inscriber: Name: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Association: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Description: Research required; Translation: Research required; Interpretation: Research required; Transliteration: Research required
- Maker recorded
- Sager, Xavier
- Place recorded
- France
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Souvenir de Paris
- Museum object number
- E.524:506-2001
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.