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RPPC Postcard WWI Era French Soldiers Group Portrait Co 302 APO 713 France
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RPPC · 1918

RPPC Postcard WWI Era French Soldiers Group Portrait Co 302 APO 713 France

France (AEF deployment)1918RPPCFair-Good

Nearly three dozen young soldiers stare down the lens with the stoic confidence of men who have drilled hard and know it — this rare real-photo postcard captures a full company portrait of uniformed troops posed against a rough limestone barrack wall, their dark tunics gleaming with polished buttons and their kepi-style caps set at regulation angles, a single officer among them breaking the monotony in a lighter field coat and broad-brimmed hat. The image radiates the particular tension of early 20th-century military life: the front row sprawls casually on the grass, the middle rows cross their arms with practiced nonchalance, while the back row stands ramrod straight — a hierarchy written in posture. On the reverse, a pencilled notation reads "M.C.G. / Co 302 / A.P.O. 713" alongside the name and address of a recipient — H (first name only per policy), 137 Pine St. — suggesting this card was either sent home as a memento or prepared for mailing during service. APO 713 was a U.S. Army postal designation active during WWI operations in France, firmly anchoring this image to the American Expeditionary Forces circa 1917–1919, though the uniforms visible show a mix that may indicate French or Allied-attached personnel photographed alongside or separately. The "Carte Postale" back format with the divided correspondence/address layout is standard French printing of the era. A compelling, research-worthy piece with solid provenance notation.

$34.95
Fair-Good
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PC-01112 · Unknown (French Carte Postale stock)
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