1905 Remembrance Monument by Dubois Nancy France Postcard

About This Vintage Postcard

This moving phototypie postcard captures the sculpture group Le Souvenir (Remembrance) located in the Place Saint-Jean in Nancy, France. Created by the renowned sculptor Paul Dubois and inaugurated in 1899, the bronze monument depicts two women in mourning , one representing Alsace and the other Lorraine, comforting each other following the loss of these territories after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The figures are dressed in traditional regional costumes, with the characteristic large bows. Set against the backdrop of the Saint-Jean Church, the monument served as a powerful symbol of French patriotic sentiment and the "revanchisme" movement that desired the return of the lost provinces to France.

Details

Era: Divided Back (1905–1906)
City: Nancy
State or Region: Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine
Country: France
Topic: Le Souvenir Monument, Paul Dubois Sculpture, Alsace-Lorraine History, Patriotic French Art, Nancy Landmarks
Condition: Uncirculated
Postage: None
Address Side: divided back
Orientation: Vertical (Portrait)
Artist / Photographer: Paul Dubois (Sculptor)
Publisher: Imprimeries Réunies de Nancy (No. 56)
Printer: Imprimeries Réunies de Nancy
Print Type: Collotype

Additional Information

The manufacturing date for this card is narrowed to 1905–1906. The publisher, Imprimeries Réunies de Nancy (IRN), was formed in May 1905 through a merger of local firms. This card features the early transitional divided back layout with the "M" notation for "Monsieur/Madame" in the address section, a style used by IRN immediately following their formation before the adoption of international disclaimers. The monument itself was a gift from the women of Alsace and Lorraine to Nancy. In 1943, during the German occupation, the original bronze statues were removed by Nazi forces for their symbolic value; the monument seen today in Nancy is a stone replica installed in 1955. This card provides a vital photographic record of the original 19th-century bronze casting.