The most colourful cards of the whole war were the embroidered silks. First produced in early 1914, it soon became obvious that this new genre of postcards made the perfect vehicle for the troops on the Western Front to use to express their feelings and they were produced in their thousands until well into 1919. Their production was a great marketing success story: the classic case of finding a need and fulfilling it.
There were three main types of embroidered cards. The most common and still readily available are the frankly sentimental (including greetings cards). They bear symbolic flowers like Forget-me-nots and loving messages to Dear Mother, My Darling Wife etc. Cards bearing patriotic messages, like Might is Right and England for Ever, and the flags of all the Allied nations are not quite so easy to find and are therefore slightly more valuable. Designs made up of large dates for the five years of the War are also priced more highly than the common varieties. The Regimental Crests and Badges, which are the most difficult to find are, therefore, the most valuable. Crests of Regiments of the Line are rarer and more valuable than those of Corps and non-combatant units.