Postcards by Mucha and Kieszkow

The use of postcards –although in decline, still in force– was and has been usual as a souvenir of a trip or as a simple witness of presence for close friends. Its origin dates back to the mid-nineteenth century as a cheap alternative to the letter and with the aim of transmitting brief and concise messages, and mainly of greeting or expression of friendship. Soon it became popular and its demand increased considerably.

At the end of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century, many artists dedicated their art to the design of these cards. The golden age of the postcard coincides with the modernism of the beginning of the century and it stimulated a remarkable fondness, especially in the female gender, to collect this type of print and create deltiology societies. Ms. Carreras-Candi was an exceptional collector who bequeathed a set of almost 30,000 pieces of ephemera to the Museum of Montserrat.

We present a selection of fifteen postcards, one of them sent to the painter Laura Albéniz, daughter of the composer and close friend of Carme Carreras-Candi. It is about two series: one made by Alphonse Mucha and the other designed by the cartoonist Kieszkow.

Alphonse Mucha (Ivancice, Moravia, July 24, 1860 - Prague, July 14, 1939) was a Czech painter and graphic artist, widely recognized as one of the greatest exponents of Art Nouveau, especially for his work as a poster artist.

Angel Kieszkow: Cartoonist and illustrator of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Josep de C. Laplana and Bernat Puigdollers
Museu de Montserrat