Summary

'A Fair Knock-Out' patriotic postcard depicting the French boxer Georges Carpentier (1894-1975) knocking the German Kaiser "Bill" Wilhelm out in a boxing match. Produced by an unrecorded English publishing firm either during World War I or in the years immediately afterwards.

Renowned for his speed and extremely hard punch, Georges Carpentier's career as a light heavyweight and heavyweight boxed spanned approximately from 1908-26. Throughout his career, which commenced with his first professional bout at the age of 14, he progressed to fight in every weight division from welterweight upwards. In 1911, he was welterweight champion of France and of Europe, middleweight champion of Europe in 1912 and light heavyweight champion of Europe in 1913. His victory over Billy Wells in June 1913 in Belgium secured him the title of heavyweight champion of Europe, a title he defended in December the same year and in January the following against Pat O'Keefe. During World War I, Carpentier become a pilot and was awarded two of the highest French military honours, the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille Militaire, further helping to establish his reputation outside of France, particularly in the UK and the US.

Physical Description

Postcard titled 'A Fair Knock-Out', depicting a boxing match. One boxer ('Bill Kaiser') is laid strewn across the floor of the boxing ring, his boxing shorts in the colours of the German Imperial flag: red, white and black. The other boxer (Carpentier) has just thrown the knock-out punch, his shorts held up by a sash of the French tricolour. The flags of the major Allied forces of Belgium, England, France and Russia appear in the upper left corner.

Significance

Commercially printed World War I patriotic postcard illustrating the various allied nations defeating Germany through the context of a boxing match. Such postcards provide an interesting insight into issues of patriotism, nationalism and empire in the final years of the British Empire in the early 20th century.

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