Creators of The "Metamorphic Satirical Postcards" were the equivalent of our current day political cartoonists except they used postcards to spoof popular figures and voice their political opinions. These propaganda, comedy cards were a very popular and illegal item.

During the years of 1900-1907, there was an explosion of political postcards. The majority of these postcards were meant to be satirical propaganda, a "slap in the face" to those whose faces appeared on these cards. The cards were largely created anonymously because if caught, cartoonists and producers faced harsh punishments including imprisonment.

Designers of these postcards used an erotic spin-off taken from the 16th century painter, Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Arcimboldo was an Italian painter working in the 1527 - 1593 time period who used fruits, vegetables, fish or other animals to compose human portraits.

Variations of this style are found from time to time, but not until the 18th and 19th centuries, do we see caricaturists utilizing the female figure with such a direct satirical aim. These portraits ranged from libertines, satyrs, versions of the devil, portraits of contemporary politicians, heads of governments, writers and artists. They took a daring defamatory direction, attacking the very privacy of the individuals portrayed.



Today, these images are highly collectible and very expensive. They are becoming very hard to find especially in good condition. They were passed hand to hand, rarely bore a postal mark, and never had the signature of the artist who created them.