Thursday, November 19, 2009

Save the French Orphans


This card would serve to acknowledge a contribution made to help support French war orphans of WWI.  The back of the card reads:
" Suffer the little children to come unto Me. "

Dear ______
We have received your contribution, and we are pleased to welcome you as a member _________ of the Nest, for the year 191_.
With thanks,
The Secretary

Before World War I, Liefra (an abbreviation for Liberté-Égalité-Fraternité) was an Utopian, socialist, agricultural community. It's hard to know how long it would have persisted without the advent of WWI. The lack of capital and male farmers departing for the front ensured its demise. After the war, the founder, Paul Passy, transformed it into a refuge for orphaned and abandoned children with the help of the Quakers. At that time it was called le Nid de Liefra, or the Nest of Liefra.

4 comments:

  1. This is a precious piece ...huh ...year 191x

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  2. Some of the children look so sad. WWI was a dreadful war. Thanks for sharing - and you are keeping up with a postcard a day! Congratulations!

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  3. That's an interesting piece of history.

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  4. Fascinating card. I love the buildings and the way they are dressed. The camera can really capture a moment in time.
    Happy PFF.

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