Will Write Soon

Will Write Soon – Will Write Soon presents a collection of “real photo postcards”. These images, halfway between a photograph and a postcard, are original prints with a stamp and address on the reverse. From 1907 onwards, the reverse side was used to write a few words that had previously been written directly on the image. We discover photographs taken on the spot, often by amateurs, the faces of rural North America who didn’t always know where their portrait would travel. The practice really took off between 1905 and 1915, thanks to Kodak’s development of more compact, easier-to-use cameras, as well as the modernization of the U.S. postal service, which allowed mail to circulate throughout the country. Will Write Soon is based on the collection of photographic cards built up by collector and author David Thomson. The book accompanies the exhibition of the same name, on view until June 16, 2024 at the Centre d’Art Gwinzegal in Guingamp (France).