Women in World War II greeting cards collection, 1942-1945.

The Women in World War II Greeting Collection is comprised of 25 World War II greeting cards designed to appeal to woman. To pass the censors, the cards were inoculated with light-hearted humor as well as some risqué humor. The cards represent a wide range of patriotic themes including the physical dangers, probable lack of food, interactions with superiors, and encounters with the opposite sex.

In response to the United States War Department's order to reduce paper use by 25%, the Greeting Card Association (GCA) was formed in 1941 under the leadership of George Burkhardt. Seeking the preservation of the greeting card industry, the GCA launched defense stamp Christmas cards and v-mail greeting cards to promote the sale of bonds and war stamps. These efforts were soon followed by the campaign, greeting cards in wartime, an effort to keep families and soldiers in touch with each other and boost morale. In conjunction with the Red Cross, the industry provided millions of cards to wounded soldiers to write home. The cards were designed to appeal to women and to pass military censors. They are innocuous and light-hearted with some featuring risqué humor.