Postcards of the 1910–1920s African American Troops in World War I

During the Great War, hundreds of thousands of African American men served in the United States military, many sent to the battlefields of France between 1917 and 1918. Their service, and the way it was portrayed back home, generated a remarkable wave of printed ephemera that survives today in album pages and collector cabinets. Postcards from this brief but transformative decade offer a window into both military history and the social attitudes of the era.

For collectors across Australia, these cards sit at a fascinating crossroads of African American history, military memorabilia, and the golden age of postcard publishing. They were printed in cities like New York, Chicago, and Paris, mailed between camps and home front addresses, and often produced by artists who were themselves African American. Understanding them requires looking at who served, who made the cards, and how the imagery was shaped by the pressures of a segregated society.

Black soldiers in the ranks

When the United States entered the First World War in April 1917, Black men who volunteered or were drafted were funnelled into a small number of units. The vast majority were assigned to support roles, though two combat divisions ultimately fought under French command. Newspapers and magazines covered these troops with a mixture of pride and paternalism, and postcards soon followed that same editorial line.

Cards produced during 1917 and 1918 sometimes depicted soldiers training at camps like Spartanburg, South Carolina, or Hoboken, New Jersey, where many regiments were processed before sailing overseas. Others showed the troopships themselves or scenes of farewell parades in segregated Southern towns. A related wave of memorial and commemorative postcards from the same years is well covered in resources about 1912 Titanic memorial cards, where the same impulses of grief, publicity, and mass-produced remembrance shaped the postcard trade.

Regimental heroes on card

The best-known series of these cards centres on the 369th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters after their long tour with the French 161st Division. Postcards showing the regiment marching through Paris, standing alongside French officers, or posing with their regimental band circulated widely in 1918 and 1919. They are recognisable today by their bold captions and the distinctive French Adrian helmets some of the men wore.

Similar sets were produced for the 371st and 372nd Infantry Regiments, the 317th Engineers, and the various labour battalions that supported the American Expeditionary Forces. Collectors prize cards that identify the specific unit, the location of the photograph, or the presence of named officers. Original prints from Parisian studios such as Lévy and Fils, who also documented white AEF units, are particularly sought after by advanced buyers, including those bidding at Australian salerooms in Sydney and Melbourne.

Printers, publishers, and studios

A handful of publishing houses dominated the American postcard trade during the late 1910s, including Hugh C. Leighton, the Albertype Company, and Curt Teich. These firms produced both standard patriotic templates and bespoke series featuring Black troops, often using the same halftone photographic reproductions that appeared in the illustrated press. Some cards were printed in Germany or Austria before 1917 and then overprinted for the American market, which adds another layer of interest for specialists.

African American printers and photographers also entered the field. Studios in Harlem, Chicago's South Side, and Philadelphia produced portraits of soldiers that circulated within Black communities as keepsakes and fundraising aids. These cards often carry printer marks in the lower border that can help date them and authenticate them, a detail that Australian buyers can learn to check before bidding at weekend antique fairs in Brisbane or Adelaide.

Symbolism and the politics of the image

The imagery on these cards is rarely neutral. Many carry stock patriotic motifs such as eagles, flags, and Columbia figures that were inherited from Civil War and Spanish-American War series. When applied to Black soldiers, those symbols carried layered meanings, both celebrating sacrifice and reinforcing racial hierarchies of the period. Some cards are crudely stereotypical; others are dignified and quietly assertive in their presentation.

Collectors today should read each card with this tension in mind. A card showing a Black infantryman beside the Statue of Liberty speaks differently than one caricaturing a private in exaggerated uniform. Provenance matters, and auction catalogues from the United States and Europe increasingly flag cards with documented racial content so that buyers can place them in their historical context.

Value, scarcity, and care

Prices for these cards have risen steadily since the early 2000s, driven by renewed interest in African American history and the broader strength of the militaria market. Common training-camp views can still be found for under twenty US dollars, but rare unit-specific photographs, signed correspondence cards, and artist-signed proofs have crossed the thousand-dollar mark at international auction.

Australian collectors should be aware of local import rules, including the restrictions under the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations covering certain military insignia and replicas of weapons that sometimes appear in card imagery. Reputable dealers will help buyers navigate permits, and several Australian auction houses now run dedicated militaria and ephemera sales each year. Once a card is home, it deserves careful storage in acid-free sleeves, away from direct sunlight, and ideally in an archival album with stable humidity so the fragile paper and inks last for another generation of collectors.