| | French Kissing: from scandal to symbol Kissing each other in a public place was prohibited until the end of the 19th century. A law was passed by the French court in 1881 that made kissing in public punishable by law, because it was seen as bad behaviour: showing love in public was seen as a scandalous act! Here is a a chronological survey of the French Kiss: Click pictures to enlarge and see all the different 'codes' The first kiss postcards did not show the kiss openly but only suggested it, thus providing intrigue for the mind. These cards showed mostly a landscape surrounded by flowers, usually marguerites or roses with the message ‘un baiser’ (a kiss) or, in some cases ‘ardents baisers’ (a passionate kiss). Sending such a card to someone was seen as a sign of real - for a lifetime - love, or it was only mailed between engaged people. | | 
kissing early 1900: pretending | 
Kissing during the great war: contact! | It was during the great war (First World War), when lovers tried to express their deepest feelings to loved ones at the battlefield or to the ones staying at home, that gestures on postcards became more erotic | next |
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