Italy - World War 1, Politics, Military, Europe, City & Landscape, Satire - Leuven, Paris, Pisa - Postcard (28) - 1918-1915
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Italian collection of 28 WWI allegorical postcards (1915–1918), with themes including Louvain, Paris and Pisa, all unused and in excellent condition.
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Description from the seller
Allegorical postcards of the First World War 1914-1918
Rare collection consisting of 28 vintage postcards, a visual, artistic, and historical testimony of the Italian propaganda climate during the First World War. The collection includes works signed by the period's most famous caricaturists (including Aurelio Bertiglia, Tito Ventura, and Arturo Orsi) and thematically iconic series.
The postcards are all unused, with corners in excellent condition and no stains, mold.
All postcards are present in the group photographs (front and back) and individually in the front-view version for each postcard.
Below I list
"Have you seen the helmet?..." **Date:** 1915–1918
A proud warrior in classical dress and armor (symbol of Latin and Italic virtues) tramples triumphantly the famous German pickelhaube helmet, injuring the shield of the "Great German Empire". The cartoon mocks the supposed invincibility of the enemy army.
"Louvain — Civilization advances..." **Date:** 1915
Political-geopolitical postcard that alludes to the tragic sack and burning of the Belgian university town of Leuven (August 1914). It portrays a German officer or soldier reduced to a ragged bandit, loaded with weapons and looted spoils, to deride the “civilization” brought by the invader.
"What a Nero-like figure, singing on the ruins!!...." **Date:** 1914 (originally signed Orsi, 914)
Satirical vignette by the famous caricaturist Arturo Orsi created in the early months of the European war. It shows Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany with a lyre in hand, explicitly compared to Nero as he watches Europe burn in the conflagration of the conflict.
"1814 - 1914 — Napoleon's retreat from... Moscow" **Date:** 1914
Drawn for the centenary of a historic defeat, this postcard plays on the historical parallel: it shows the German or Austrian leader in a disastrous retreat on a skeletal horse, surrounded by skulls, prophesying the same fate for the Central Powers as Napoleon’s army in Russia in 1812.
"I saw people up to the edge of hell..." (Inferno, Canto XII) **Date:** 1915–1918
A famous series that applies Dante’s Divine Comedy to patriotic propaganda. In the Canto of the violent against neighbor, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Ottoman Sultan are depicted up to their necks in the boiling blood of the river Phlegethon, watched and condemned by centaurs.
"God is with us" **Date:** 1915–1918
Fierce satirical attack on the enemy religious rhetoric (whose belt motto was Gott mit uns). The cartoon shows a suffering Jesus Christ dragged by the Kaiser and by Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria over a vast field of human skulls.
"UI! To God: If I did not fear you I would declare war on you too!!" **Date:** 1915–1916
Reproduced from a clay figurine and cataloged with the series code *G-3*, mocks the legendary megalomania of Kaiser Wilhelm II, caught while sword-fighting the open sky in a delirium of militarist omnipotence.
The Entente in the cauldron (The fox, the bear and the rooster) **Date:** 1915–1918
Splendid work by the famous Turin illustrator Aurelio Bertiglia. It depicts the Allied Powers of the Entente busy wringing the German eagle to cook it in a pot: France as a woman with a Phrygian cap, Russia as a great brown bear, and England. A child feeds the fire.
"Sweet promises." **Date:** 1915
Illustrated by Tito Ventura, it captures the diplomatic situation of the London Pact. The elderly Emperor of Austria-Hungary Franz Joseph tries to flatter and deter Italy by offering city models (small territorial concessions), while behind him the ample Allied forces of the Entente laugh at the futility of the gesture.
"Deutschland über Alles!...?..." **Date:** 1915
Another masterful satirical piece signed by Aurelio Bertiglia that mocks the German national anthem. The title is reversed in effect: Kaiser Wilhelm II is flattened to the ground on all fours, reduced to a stool for the enemy nations (France, a Scot for Great Britain, Belgium, and Russia).
"Do not trouble about them, just look and pass!....." **Date:** 1914
Dantean quotation applied to the initial phase of the conflict. It shows soldiers of the Central Powers and the Entente engaged in a furious fencing brawl, while Italy (a uniformed figure on the left) turns its back on the group. A diplomat suggests remaining neutral, reflecting Italian policy in 1914.
The map of Europe contested by dogs **Date:** 1915–1916
Classic and sought-after zoomorphic satirical map of Europe. The warring powers are depicted as dogs of different breeds (the English bulldog, the Russian greyhound, the German Shepherd with the pickelhaube) snarling and fighting over a map of Europe, with Italy placed at the center of the dispute.
The children and the barrel of "Bordeaux" **Date:** 1915–1918
Caricature by Aurelio Bertiglia that relies on his famous iconography of children to mock the war. A fierce German soldier with a wooden sword points toward a barrel labeled "Bordeaux" where France hides, while the other children of the Entente try to hold him back by the jacket.
"Tecoppa — Is he Napoleon?... Fine general....." **Date:** 1915–1918
Satirical vignette drawing on Milanese popular culture: the well-known dialect mask "Tecoppa" (disillusioned commoner) watches with hands in pockets and deep contempt at a swaggering German officer in full dress uniform, deriding his Napoleonic ambitions.
"Fate here, you wicked bird." (Inferno, Canto XII) **Date:** 1915–1918
Another piece from the prestigious Dante series. It shows the Supreme Poet Dante Alighieri driving away with authority the double-headed eagle, the historic heraldic symbol of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At Dante’s feet is the profile of Trento or Trieste, symbolizing the liberation of irredentist lands.
"The Adoration of Kings... Magi" **Date:** 1915–1918
Blasphemous and powerful religious parody in black and white of the nativity scene. The Baby Jesus cries in the manger as three sinister “magi” visit: Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor Franz Joseph, and the Ottoman Sultan.
"...And Pinocchio dreaming of the Fairy with Blue Hair........." **Date:** 1915
Masterpiece by Aurelio Bertiglia that fuses the Collodi tale with Balkan geopolitics. Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria is portrayed as a fragile wooden Pinocchio sitting on a stool, with his feet burning in a brazier fed by "Russia" and "Serbia", while dreaming of the Fairy with Blue Hair ("the Balkans"), a territory sought that will seal his ruin.
"Until when — as long as the tobacco lasts... I don’t care." **Date:** 1914–1915
Satire about the indifference of neutral nations. In the background a map of the "European War" dominates, while in the foreground a man in formal attire smokes his pipe calmly, cynically declaring his disinterest in the massacres as long as there is tobacco.
"The Little Fish" **Date:** 1915 (Spring of Intervention)
Visually represents secret negotiations and diplomatic lures aimed at Italy. The country is a little fish in a sea contested by two shores: on the left the Entente offers the lure of “its protection” and territories, on the right the Central Powers tempt with the bait labeled "Trento" and "Trieste" to keep it out of war. The text reads: "Come, my darling little fish...".
"It’s not my fault, it’s those subversives!!" **Date:** 1915
Italian political critique in which a figure in uniform (alluding to King Vittorio Emanuele III) spreads his arms to justify himself before the Risorgimento spirits of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, while the imposing Central Powers advance armed to the left. The phrase mocks the crown’s hesitations attributing the war drive to the irredentist “subversives.”
"The Knights of the Round Table" **Date:** 1915–1918
Black-and-white satirical military vignette. It ridicules the German high command and its officers: the mythical noble knights are transformed into bloated, grotesque horse-mounted soldiers who flee terrified, showing bare backs under a rain of allied artillery shells.
"Entrance of William into Paris — August 11, 1914" **Date:** 1914
Color postcard that mocks the German illusion of a lightning war (Blitzkrieg). It shows Kaiser Wilhelm II in his bed as he has a golden dream: riding triumphantly into Paris on August 11, 1914 with his troops and the Eiffel Tower in the background. The harsh reality of the trenches would dispel this dream.
"Past - Present - Future" **Date:** 1915–1918
A comic-strip chronology illustrating the inevitable shift in power: in the Past the Central Powers threaten Europe; in the Present the war rages and defeats are inflicted; in the Future the total triumph of the Entente (France and England) who keep the Germans subdued and chained.
Note for the buyer: Very modern strip/sequenced format for the era, of great graphic interest.
"The Pact" **Date:** 1915–1918
Another famous and dramatic subject signed by Tito Ventura. Kaiser Wilhelm II and Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary shake hands to seal their alliance; from their clasping palms a terrifying waterfall of blood flows and floods the entire Earth.
"Belgium Heroic" **Date:** 1914–1915
Classic black-and-white allegory of the David and Goliath clash. A monstrous giant/ogre embodying Imperial Germany (with the pickelhaube and eagle on the chest) tries to pierce with a spear a young naked warrior armed only with a shield, who personifies the Heroic Belgium resisting the invasion.
"With what heart will you leave us?"... **Date:** 1915
Satirical piece of its era lampooning Italy’s switch to the Entente and the breaking of the Triple Alliance. An elegant woman with the Savoy shield on her chest (Italy) walks away proudly, turning her back on two ragged wounded ambulant musicians (a German soldier with an accordion and the Austrian Franz Joseph on guitar) who sing a sorrowful love song to not lose her.
"The Leaning Tower of Pisa" **Date:** 1915
Splendid full-color satirical poster using one of Italy’s most famous monuments. The leaning bell tower represents Italy in balance: on one side the Central Powers pull the rope offering balloons with territorial promises (Nice, Savoy, Corsica); on the other the Entente (France and England) pulls the opposite side promising Trento, Trieste and Istria. At the top, the government controls the situation. Text reads: "... I lean, I lean always, but I do not fall!".
Patriotic/ Allegorical Propaganda Card / Add-on **Date:** 1915–1918
A postcard to complete the lot of 28 pieces, focused on glorifying the Italian armed forces or satirizing enemy rear areas, coherent in style, format, and preservation with the entire vintage collection.
Allegorical postcards of the First World War 1914-1918
Rare collection consisting of 28 vintage postcards, a visual, artistic, and historical testimony of the Italian propaganda climate during the First World War. The collection includes works signed by the period's most famous caricaturists (including Aurelio Bertiglia, Tito Ventura, and Arturo Orsi) and thematically iconic series.
The postcards are all unused, with corners in excellent condition and no stains, mold.
All postcards are present in the group photographs (front and back) and individually in the front-view version for each postcard.
Below I list
"Have you seen the helmet?..." **Date:** 1915–1918
A proud warrior in classical dress and armor (symbol of Latin and Italic virtues) tramples triumphantly the famous German pickelhaube helmet, injuring the shield of the "Great German Empire". The cartoon mocks the supposed invincibility of the enemy army.
"Louvain — Civilization advances..." **Date:** 1915
Political-geopolitical postcard that alludes to the tragic sack and burning of the Belgian university town of Leuven (August 1914). It portrays a German officer or soldier reduced to a ragged bandit, loaded with weapons and looted spoils, to deride the “civilization” brought by the invader.
"What a Nero-like figure, singing on the ruins!!...." **Date:** 1914 (originally signed Orsi, 914)
Satirical vignette by the famous caricaturist Arturo Orsi created in the early months of the European war. It shows Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany with a lyre in hand, explicitly compared to Nero as he watches Europe burn in the conflagration of the conflict.
"1814 - 1914 — Napoleon's retreat from... Moscow" **Date:** 1914
Drawn for the centenary of a historic defeat, this postcard plays on the historical parallel: it shows the German or Austrian leader in a disastrous retreat on a skeletal horse, surrounded by skulls, prophesying the same fate for the Central Powers as Napoleon’s army in Russia in 1812.
"I saw people up to the edge of hell..." (Inferno, Canto XII) **Date:** 1915–1918
A famous series that applies Dante’s Divine Comedy to patriotic propaganda. In the Canto of the violent against neighbor, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Ottoman Sultan are depicted up to their necks in the boiling blood of the river Phlegethon, watched and condemned by centaurs.
"God is with us" **Date:** 1915–1918
Fierce satirical attack on the enemy religious rhetoric (whose belt motto was Gott mit uns). The cartoon shows a suffering Jesus Christ dragged by the Kaiser and by Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria over a vast field of human skulls.
"UI! To God: If I did not fear you I would declare war on you too!!" **Date:** 1915–1916
Reproduced from a clay figurine and cataloged with the series code *G-3*, mocks the legendary megalomania of Kaiser Wilhelm II, caught while sword-fighting the open sky in a delirium of militarist omnipotence.
The Entente in the cauldron (The fox, the bear and the rooster) **Date:** 1915–1918
Splendid work by the famous Turin illustrator Aurelio Bertiglia. It depicts the Allied Powers of the Entente busy wringing the German eagle to cook it in a pot: France as a woman with a Phrygian cap, Russia as a great brown bear, and England. A child feeds the fire.
"Sweet promises." **Date:** 1915
Illustrated by Tito Ventura, it captures the diplomatic situation of the London Pact. The elderly Emperor of Austria-Hungary Franz Joseph tries to flatter and deter Italy by offering city models (small territorial concessions), while behind him the ample Allied forces of the Entente laugh at the futility of the gesture.
"Deutschland über Alles!...?..." **Date:** 1915
Another masterful satirical piece signed by Aurelio Bertiglia that mocks the German national anthem. The title is reversed in effect: Kaiser Wilhelm II is flattened to the ground on all fours, reduced to a stool for the enemy nations (France, a Scot for Great Britain, Belgium, and Russia).
"Do not trouble about them, just look and pass!....." **Date:** 1914
Dantean quotation applied to the initial phase of the conflict. It shows soldiers of the Central Powers and the Entente engaged in a furious fencing brawl, while Italy (a uniformed figure on the left) turns its back on the group. A diplomat suggests remaining neutral, reflecting Italian policy in 1914.
The map of Europe contested by dogs **Date:** 1915–1916
Classic and sought-after zoomorphic satirical map of Europe. The warring powers are depicted as dogs of different breeds (the English bulldog, the Russian greyhound, the German Shepherd with the pickelhaube) snarling and fighting over a map of Europe, with Italy placed at the center of the dispute.
The children and the barrel of "Bordeaux" **Date:** 1915–1918
Caricature by Aurelio Bertiglia that relies on his famous iconography of children to mock the war. A fierce German soldier with a wooden sword points toward a barrel labeled "Bordeaux" where France hides, while the other children of the Entente try to hold him back by the jacket.
"Tecoppa — Is he Napoleon?... Fine general....." **Date:** 1915–1918
Satirical vignette drawing on Milanese popular culture: the well-known dialect mask "Tecoppa" (disillusioned commoner) watches with hands in pockets and deep contempt at a swaggering German officer in full dress uniform, deriding his Napoleonic ambitions.
"Fate here, you wicked bird." (Inferno, Canto XII) **Date:** 1915–1918
Another piece from the prestigious Dante series. It shows the Supreme Poet Dante Alighieri driving away with authority the double-headed eagle, the historic heraldic symbol of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At Dante’s feet is the profile of Trento or Trieste, symbolizing the liberation of irredentist lands.
"The Adoration of Kings... Magi" **Date:** 1915–1918
Blasphemous and powerful religious parody in black and white of the nativity scene. The Baby Jesus cries in the manger as three sinister “magi” visit: Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor Franz Joseph, and the Ottoman Sultan.
"...And Pinocchio dreaming of the Fairy with Blue Hair........." **Date:** 1915
Masterpiece by Aurelio Bertiglia that fuses the Collodi tale with Balkan geopolitics. Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria is portrayed as a fragile wooden Pinocchio sitting on a stool, with his feet burning in a brazier fed by "Russia" and "Serbia", while dreaming of the Fairy with Blue Hair ("the Balkans"), a territory sought that will seal his ruin.
"Until when — as long as the tobacco lasts... I don’t care." **Date:** 1914–1915
Satire about the indifference of neutral nations. In the background a map of the "European War" dominates, while in the foreground a man in formal attire smokes his pipe calmly, cynically declaring his disinterest in the massacres as long as there is tobacco.
"The Little Fish" **Date:** 1915 (Spring of Intervention)
Visually represents secret negotiations and diplomatic lures aimed at Italy. The country is a little fish in a sea contested by two shores: on the left the Entente offers the lure of “its protection” and territories, on the right the Central Powers tempt with the bait labeled "Trento" and "Trieste" to keep it out of war. The text reads: "Come, my darling little fish...".
"It’s not my fault, it’s those subversives!!" **Date:** 1915
Italian political critique in which a figure in uniform (alluding to King Vittorio Emanuele III) spreads his arms to justify himself before the Risorgimento spirits of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, while the imposing Central Powers advance armed to the left. The phrase mocks the crown’s hesitations attributing the war drive to the irredentist “subversives.”
"The Knights of the Round Table" **Date:** 1915–1918
Black-and-white satirical military vignette. It ridicules the German high command and its officers: the mythical noble knights are transformed into bloated, grotesque horse-mounted soldiers who flee terrified, showing bare backs under a rain of allied artillery shells.
"Entrance of William into Paris — August 11, 1914" **Date:** 1914
Color postcard that mocks the German illusion of a lightning war (Blitzkrieg). It shows Kaiser Wilhelm II in his bed as he has a golden dream: riding triumphantly into Paris on August 11, 1914 with his troops and the Eiffel Tower in the background. The harsh reality of the trenches would dispel this dream.
"Past - Present - Future" **Date:** 1915–1918
A comic-strip chronology illustrating the inevitable shift in power: in the Past the Central Powers threaten Europe; in the Present the war rages and defeats are inflicted; in the Future the total triumph of the Entente (France and England) who keep the Germans subdued and chained.
Note for the buyer: Very modern strip/sequenced format for the era, of great graphic interest.
"The Pact" **Date:** 1915–1918
Another famous and dramatic subject signed by Tito Ventura. Kaiser Wilhelm II and Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary shake hands to seal their alliance; from their clasping palms a terrifying waterfall of blood flows and floods the entire Earth.
"Belgium Heroic" **Date:** 1914–1915
Classic black-and-white allegory of the David and Goliath clash. A monstrous giant/ogre embodying Imperial Germany (with the pickelhaube and eagle on the chest) tries to pierce with a spear a young naked warrior armed only with a shield, who personifies the Heroic Belgium resisting the invasion.
"With what heart will you leave us?"... **Date:** 1915
Satirical piece of its era lampooning Italy’s switch to the Entente and the breaking of the Triple Alliance. An elegant woman with the Savoy shield on her chest (Italy) walks away proudly, turning her back on two ragged wounded ambulant musicians (a German soldier with an accordion and the Austrian Franz Joseph on guitar) who sing a sorrowful love song to not lose her.
"The Leaning Tower of Pisa" **Date:** 1915
Splendid full-color satirical poster using one of Italy’s most famous monuments. The leaning bell tower represents Italy in balance: on one side the Central Powers pull the rope offering balloons with territorial promises (Nice, Savoy, Corsica); on the other the Entente (France and England) pulls the opposite side promising Trento, Trieste and Istria. At the top, the government controls the situation. Text reads: "... I lean, I lean always, but I do not fall!".
Patriotic/ Allegorical Propaganda Card / Add-on **Date:** 1915–1918
A postcard to complete the lot of 28 pieces, focused on glorifying the Italian armed forces or satirizing enemy rear areas, coherent in style, format, and preservation with the entire vintage collection.
Details
Era
1900-2000
Number of objects
28
Country of origin
Italy
Subject
Satire, City & Landscape, Europe, Military, Politics, World War 1
Theme detail/city
Leuven, Paris, Pisa
Year - youngest item
1915
Year - oldest item
1918
Condition
Fine
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