Sending all my love — Vintage Postcards from the Middle East

From 1900 until the Second World War, postcards were the social medium. Millions travelled from south to north, and with images of mosques, camels, dancers, and snake charmers they helped shape an idea of the Middle East that was neither entirely accurate nor entirely imagined.

In Sending All My Love we present 160 original postcards from North Africa, Egypt, Turkey, and the Levant, all dating from 1900–1940. Some were posted, others bought as souvenirs — but together they offer a rare glimpse into a time when postcards connected the world.

The social media of the past

Postcards functioned much like today’s posts: an image, a brief message, and a link across great distances. Around 1900 their popularity surged, and their motifs ranged from cityscapes and holy sites to everyday scenes and local traditions. Messages were often very short — the image did most of the talking.

Dreaming of Arabia

Postcards from the Middle East were strongly shaped by European ideas of the exotic: hand-coloured photographs of mosques, oases, and dancing women, often retouched to match the era’s fantasies of “the Orient.” Most cards were produced in Europe and shipped south by steamers, only to travel north or west again in the luggage of tourists and businessmen.

More daring postcard genres were also widespread. In Middle Eastern postcards, this often meant staged studio photographs of the so‑called “Oriental woman” — images that both fascinated and reinforced stereotypes. Most recipients knew these scenes were constructed, yet the motifs circulated widely and remained popular.

These postcards were created first and foremost for tourists. They were made to be sold — but their ultimate purpose was to spark the imagination of recipients across the world. And remarkably, they still do.

The exhibition opens 13 March 2026.