Xavier Sager

Come on Giles, I hear you say- you're better than that. Straight in with the smut, eh?! Well yes and no. Whenever French postcards are mentioned, the usual reaction is a mixture of guffaws and elbow nudging based on all of them being pornographic. Whilst there was and is a healthy market for these, it represents only a small proportion of what was produced and I personally couldn't see the point in collecting them, but there will always be room for some slightly risqué images if one wants to represent what was after a highly decadent era.

Having said all that, the main reason for this being my first post is the artist himself, Xavier Sager. He seems to be almost unique in the annals of French graphic art in that he pretty much exclusively devoted himself to postcards. He signed thousands of them, many of the 'kiss me quick' variety, and yet almost nothing is known about him apart from the fact that he lived in Paris at some point. There are even two completely different sets of birth and death dates, leading to the inevitable conclusion that there may have been two artists of the same name. Anyway, keep a look out for him as he will probably crop up again from time to time.

As for the card itself, it doesn't leave too much to the imagination. It is a fairly standard dirty old man chases provocatively-dressed young woman scenario, familiar to all ' Carry On' fans in this country and quite a major genre in early 20th century France. Why pigs? They are certainly associated with sexual obsession and general naughtiness, and in this case seem to be referring to the lady's substantial posterior, but whatever other symbolism there may be it was regarded as just a bit of fun in those unenlightened times. I have also chosen it as a good example of lively illustration and quality colour printing, both parties decked out in classic early 1900s costume. Next time, something a bit classier!