1920 – Two printed postcard requests from Austria asking American relatives to purchase and send Food Drafts to be exchanged for rations at the American Relief Warehouse in Vienna

Item Details

New York, American Relief Administration, 1920, Postcards

Very Good

One of the cards, with an undated linear postal cancellation, would have been mailed during the first half of 1920. The Vienna postmark on the other card has an indistinct date, however it would have been mailed later in the year as Christmas approached. Both are franked with Austrian stamps. The first card has a vertical fold, chips at the corner tips, and a short, closed tear. The Christmas-themed card is in nice shape.

The first card is printed in English and German. It reads in part:

“The American Relief Administration has established an American Relief Warehouse in Vienna, Austria. You can buy at any bank in the United States American Relief Warehouse Food drafts and send them to us. . .. We are in great need of food. . ... Individual food parcels sent from America usually do not reach us. Money does us no good when there is no food to buy. Help Us In Our Distress By Sending An American Relief Warehouse Food Draft.”

The Christmas card features an illustration of an angel delivering a “Christmas Food Package” to a destitute Austrian mother and her children as Death looks on. The text on this card is slightly different. It reads in part:

“On presentation of these Food Drafts we can draw Special Christmas Packages containing Sugar and Cocoa in addition to the regular line of essential foodstuffs. . ..”

During the latter years of World War I, Austria was already experiencing a shortage of food due to both the conflict and supply chain problems. The situation was exacerbated after the war, following the establishment of a republic in which three separate political parties jockeyed for control. 

In response to the approaching famine, Herbert Hoover secured approval to establish a relief program provided no taxpayer funds were used. His American Relief Administration (ARA) inherited large stocks of in-place foodstuffs that wartime relief agencies had already stored on the continent. Realizing that centralized cash systems would delay food distribution, resulting in many deaths, these cards were distributed to Austrians who sent them to family or friends in America, who would then purchase food drafts and mail them back for exchange at a food warehouse. 

(For more information, see Wilkenson’s “Feeding Hungry Europe: Success of American Food Drafts. . ..” in Current History November 1920.)

Very scarce. At the time of listing, none are for sale in the trade. OCLC shows none held in institutional collections, and no auctions are recorded by the Rare Book Hub. 

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