Library and Archive Reading Rooms
View by appointment- Created by
- Jean Bucher
- Recipient
- Jacques Lipchitz 1891–1973
- Title
- Preprinted postcard from Jeanne Bucher to Jacques Lipchitz
- Date
- 12 November 1940
- Format
- Document - correspondence
- Collection
- Tate Archive
- Acquisition
- Presented to Tate Archive by Rubin Lipchitz, March 1989; the cataloguing and selective digitisation of this archive collection was supported by Mr Timm Bergold, 2023
- Reference
- TGA 897/1/1/69/42
Description
This special postcard with a preprinted form was sent to Jacques Lipchitz to Toulouse from Paris. Lipchitz stayed in Toulouse in 'the free zone' (Vichy governement) of France, after fleeing Paris, occupied by Nazis, and while waiting for the possibility to leave the country and enter the USA. When Lipchitz left Paris for Toulouse on his way to the United States, he entrusted the care of his house and his works of art to Jeanne Bucher.
Special postcards were issued by German military government of the occupied zone, based in Paris. They hold instructions how to fill them up: 'After completing this card, strictly applied for the correspondence between the members of one family, cross the words that are not used. Don't write anything beyond the lines. ATTENTION. All the cards, where information is not only of the family manner, will not be delivered and probably will be destroyed'.
The fields on this pre-printed card are:
"...................................le...194...
...en bonne sante [in good health]...fatigue [tired].
......legerement, gravement malade, blesse [lightly, seriously ill, wounded]
...tue [killed].....prisonnier [prisoner].
....decede [died]....sans nouvelles [with no news].
de [of]....La famille [family]...va bien [is well].
...besoin de provisions [in need of food]....d'argent [money].
nouvelles, bagages [news, luggage]....est de retour a [is back in]
...travaille a [works in]....va entrer [going to enter]...
...a l'ecole de [the school/college of]....a ete recu [was received]
....aller a [to go to].....le..."
Such a postcard can convey the minimum of information. Here Bucher tells that she is in good health, and works a lot, especially on 'arranging'. Also: 'I will send you one suitcase with your clothes. Write me after two parcels.
Probably, this suitcase contained not any clothes, but Lipchitz's drawings, which he eventually managed to send to the USA with the help of Varian Fry and Alfred Barr just before going there himself.
Archive context
- Personal and professional papers of Jacques Lipchitz TGA 897 (451)
-
- Correspondence TGA 897/1 (212)
-
- Correspondence to and from Jacques Lipchitz TGA 897/1/1 (183)
-
- Correspondence between Jeanne Bucher and Jacques Lipchitz TGA 897/1/1/69 (30)
-
- Preprinted postcard from Jeanne Bucher to Jacques Lipchitz TGA 897/1/1/69/42