The postcard above shows how closely boxing was tied to notions of manhood and national dominance in the early 20th century. The card, which has no caption, was mailed from Vienna, Austria, to a recipient in Austria during the early 1920s.

Despite the Austrian postmark, TFM suspected the postcard was German. AI was tasked with translating the faded, century-old handwritten message penciled on the back of the card. The task proved to be a challenge for AI, which could decipher only two words: “Fellow German.”

TFM’s hunch that the postcard was published for a German audience and possibly an Austrian one as well was based on the illustration itself. Notice the victor’s boots — black, with distinct white and red tips. They carry the Imperial German colors, a deliberate detail placed where the eye can’t miss it. The victor wears a Christmas wreath with a large red-and-white ribbon that is both seasonal and reflective of the national colors of Germany’s neighbor and former ally during the Great War, Austria. Besides the ribbon, the wreath itself is doing something extraordinary. It doubles both as a holiday ornament and a stand-in for a victor’s laurel.

The illustrator leaves no doubt about the victor’s blissfulness, while cleverly acknowledging the holiday.

What is most striking, however, is the victor’s indifference to his own wounds and those of his opponent. Victory has clearly come at a price. The victor’s blackened eye is shut and his face is discolored. Still, his head is flung back, skyward, in a gesture of pure self-satisfaction. The victor not only stands triumphant, he also appears oblivious to his battered opponent, who lies stupefied at his feet, unable to rise, his bowed head dripping blood onto the canvas.

A more complete interpretation of the illustration becomes possible when we consider the era in which the postcard was mailed. The early 1920s were a time when victorious nations were imposing stiff retribution for Germany’s wartime aggression. Various political groups were already active in Germany, offering competing strategies to restore national honor. For many Germans carrying the weight of their nation’s debts and defeat, this postcard might have offered some much-needed holiday cheer, serving as a visual balm for inner wounds and unfulfilled longings. The illustration, with its two contrasting figures, likely symbolized what many Germans at the time desperately wanted: total dominance without regard for the cost or consequence.

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At TFM, we do more than highlight the details of vintage postcards. Our motto directs us to be: IN THE FIGHT FOR GOOD. That means extending our discoveries to include moral considerations of items from the past, as well as evaluations of what benefited humankind, what diminished it, and what it all means for us today.

Our September 2026 postcard image invites us to consider the thought-provoking questions below.

• Why do we fight?
• What do we gain when we win and what do we lose?
• What is the cost (the consequences) of losing a fight?
• What obligations do we have to ourselves and to our opponent when we fight?
• What obligations do we have when we win?
• What obligations do we have when we lose?

Not every victory is achieved by obliterating an opponent, and not every victor lauds the victory over the vanquished. Consider the poster below, depicting American heavyweight John L. Sullivan as a “Magnanimous Champion.” The contrast between “victory” expressed in the Sullivan poster and “victory” in the German postcard could not be more striking.

The caption reads, “A MAGNANIMOUS CHAMPION. After knocking out Paddy by the third round, at the Pavilion in San Francisco, John L. Sullivan carried him to the corner and sponged off his battered brow.”

In the depiction, Sullivan’s victory does not end his relationship with the man he defeated. It creates an obligation toward him. The illustrator presents compassion after combat not as weakness, but as another measure of the champion.

We invite you to take these questions beyond the museum. Think about the fights taking place around you—in families and neighborhoods, between corporations and competitors, political parties and nations. Consider not only who is winning, but how they are winning, what their victories cost, and how they treat those who lose. Then decide what responsible conduct requires of victors, of the defeated, and of those who witness the fight.

And when circumstances place you in one of those roles, put that judgment to work.

Share your thoughts with others. Challenge theirs. Reconsider your own. And when judgment reveals an opportunity to contribute to something better, act upon it.

That is one way all of us can remain IN THE FIGHT FOR GOOD.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US.