Raphael Kirchner
«Le Raphael de la carte postale»: this was the definition made by Marcel Knecht, author of an interesting article in the Revue Illustrée de la Carte Postale in the year 1900. He was referring to Raphael Kirchner who was only 25 at the time but his fame as a postcard illustrator was already widespread
through the whole of Europe. Over a century later this definition is even more
valid. To day neither collector nor lover of period postcards exists who
does not know the name of Raphael Kirchner or desires to have one of his
postcards in a personal collection.
During his lifetime Kirchner was one of the most famous illustrators of picture postcards, not only in Europe but also in America.