Did you know May Gibbs of Nutcote Snugglepot and Cuddlepie: Their Adventures Wonderful. in January, 2018?1 Did you also know she made pictures to be sent to cheer up homesick volunteers? Maybe in these times, we can appreciate them just as much…
Gibbs, May, 1877-1969 Are we downhearted? [ca. 1915] 1 print : hand coloured ; 20 × 14.6 cm. Source: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136518753/view
At the onset of World War I, anxious to contribute to the war effort, May produced over 30 postcard designs that were sent in Red Cross parcels to the Australian troops.2
No doubt these whimsical reminders of home were well received:
‘Sister Susie’s sewing shirts for soldiers’ patriotic postcard design, 1915 / May Gibbs. The term ‘Sister Susie’ refers to the Australian women who industriously knitted socks and sewed shirts for the soldiers on the war front. The most widely distributed of May’s patriotic postcards, it was reported by the newspaper, the Sun, in September 1915 that ‘ Every parcel that is dispatched contains a card of the Sister Susie Gum Nuts’. May was understandably very proud of this success in her contributions to the war effort. Source: May Gibb’s postcards and commercial art
Footnotes and sources:
1 May Gibbs: an Australian classic State Library NSW Collections http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/may-gibbs retrieved online 17/01/18
2 May Gibb’s postcards and commercial art https://www.maygibbs.org/may-gibbs-artwork/postcards-commercial-art/ retrieved online 17/01/18