Painted postcard of America personified with eagle and flag

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America personified, a figure of the nation rendered in the manner of a painted postcard, appears here with an eagle and a flag, two of the most familiar emblems of the United States. Cards like this were produced in large numbers in the early twentieth century, when color lithography made inexpensive illustrated postcards popular for holidays, celebrations and everyday correspondence. Allegorical figures such as Columbia or Uncle Sam often stood for the country in such designs, and the eagle and stars-and-stripes were shorthand for patriotism that a sender could tuck into a simple greeting. Look closely at the bright, idealized colors and the stylized drawing, which reflect the commercial art of the period.

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