International News Service W.C.A. Series 145 and 146
The International News Service, part of the Hearst newspapers’ organization, provided extensive coverage of early World War I events for the American public back home. The British quickly took offense to some of the news reporting that seemed pro-German to them and banned INS reporters from access to British telegraphic services for sending trans-Atlantic cables and reports. INS reporters were then forced to rely on other agencies and reporters for their continued coverage of war events resulting in a decidedly second-hand role.
Two series of postcards were issued by INS early in the war. They are identified as W.C.A. Series 145 and 146. Both series were printed in the United States by Underwood & Underwood shortly after their exit from the stereotype market in 1915. Each series numbered 50 postcards and are numbered consecutively 1-100 without regard to the series number. The first fifty (Series 145) are fairly easy to find; the second fifty (Series 146) appear to be much scarcer and the subject matter much more randomly chosen.
The postcards are in color. The image sides have captions in red ink and a white or black imprint for either the International News Service or Underwood & Underwood. Somewhere on the image side and often difficult to find with the naked eye is a small digit or two identifying the card number in the series. Backs are done in green ink with a caption included on the message half that more fully explains the scene on the image side. The W.C.A. series number appears along the left edge without reference to the individual card number.
International News Service W.C.A. Series 145
Return to Top
| Number | Description |
| 1 | A Zeppelin Bomb Explosion at Antwerp |
| 2 | Belgium's Scattered Army Reassembled |
| 3 | Marching to Meet the Enemy |
| 4 | A Moment's Rest |
| 5 | Scenes in Belgium After the Battle of Haelen |
| 6 | French Infantry Running Forward To Take Up Fresh Positions |
| 7 | Belgian Troops in Action Round Louvain |
| 8 | France's Principal Occupation of Belgium |
| 9 | The Reality of War |
| 10 | French Infantry Advancing on the Double Quick |
| 11 | Belgian Soldiers in the Trenches Near Malines |
| 12 | Want to Fight For England (Indian Cavalry) |
| 13 | One of the Belgian Dog-Drawn Machine Guns Off to the Front |
| 14 | Belgian Troops in Action Round Louvain |
| 15 | London Scotties March to the Highlands |
| 16 | The Turcos - The Algerian "Fire Eaters" |
| 17 | Crown Prince's Own Heliographer Sending Dispatches |
| 18 | With the French and Belgium Armies |
| 19 | French Cavalry Crossing the Marne on Pontoon Bridge |
| 20 | German Uhlans Captured by French Dragoons |
| 21 | Czar Samples Food of Russian Soldiers |
| 22 | The Czar Reviewing His Fighters Now in Austria |
| 23 | Czar's Oldest Daughter Inspecting Her Regiment…… |
| 24 | A Heartrending Photograph From St. Petersburg |
| 25 | French Moving on the Enemy's Flank |
| 26 | French Artillery Manoeuvering For Position |
| 27 | Helping a French Cavalryman Wounded at St. Quentin |
| 28 | The Battle of the Marne |
| 29 | German Dirigible "Hansa" Arriving at Potsdam Harbor |
| 30 | Wounded German Uhlan Received by Belgium Officer at Ostend |
| 31 | Bread for British Soldiers in France |
| 32 | British Troops at Havre |
| 33 | British Highlanders Crossing a Square in Boulogne, France |
| 34 | German Officers on the Firing Line |
| 35 | The War Scenes in Northern France |
| 36 | Charge of Heroic Scotch Highlanders |
| 37 | Red Cross Workers Carrying Wounded Bugler Into Hospital |
| 38 | Group of the Royal Family of Europe Now at War. A Family Quarrel |
| 39 | Artillery of German Army Passing Through Brussels |
| 40 | Motor Trucks Drawing French Artillery Guns & Ammunition Wagons….. |
| 41 | Belgian Soldiers Behind the Entrenchments on the Road to Malines |
| 42 | German Searching Ruins of City of Vise Devastated by Them |
| 43 | German Infantry May Still Be "The Finest Ever on the Battlefield" |
| 44 | The Pathetic Side of War |
| 45 | Regiment of Prince of Wales on Way to the Front |
| 46 | The Coldstream Guards, the Crack Infantrymen of Great Britain, Passing….. |
| 47 | German Mobilization - Reservists on the Way to the Railroad Station, Berlin |
| 48 | Belgian "Guides" Off to the Front |
| 49 | Refugees Fleeing From Louvain |
| 50 | French Military Airplane |
International News Service W.C.A. Series 146
Return to Top
| Number | Description |
| 51 | |
| 52 | The Interior of the Cathedral at Ypres |
| 53 | Dutch Kiddies See the Belgian Soldiers |
| 54 | |
| 55 | |
| 56 | |
| 57 | |
| 58 | Scene of the Bombardment of Antwerp |
| 59 | French Dreadnaught Stocked With Live Cattle From a Transport |
| 60 | German Raid on Defenseless Towns |
| 61 | Bringing in their Wounded Corporal |
| 62 | Harry Lauder's Son Leads a Charge of Argyll Highlanders |
| 63 | |
| 64 | British General John French |
| 65 | King Albert of Belgium |
| 66 | |
| 67 | |
| 68 | French General Joseph Joffre |
| 69 | Rear Adm. Sir David Beatty, Commander of First Cruiser Squadron |
| 70 | Admiral Fisher Head of British Admiralty |
| 71 | Lord Kitchener, Great Britain's Minister of War |
| 72 | President Raymond Poincaire of France |
| 73 | |
| 74 | Accidents of German Fugitives Fleeing Before the Russians |
| 75 | Ascent of a Captive Balloon in the Field, to Observe the Enemy |
| 76 | German Soldiers Resting in a Rifle Pit Near Darkehmen After a Hard Fight |
| 77 | |
| 78 | |
| 79 | |
| 80 | |
| 81 | The King Reviewing the Honorable Artillery Company |
| 82 | |
| 83 | Duke of Connaught Inspecting Canadian Mobilization Camps |
| 84 | Canadian Recruits Undergo Training at Salisbury |
| 85 | |
| 86 | Kaiser Wilhelm II |
| 87 | |
| 88 | The Brawny Canadian Highlanders in London |
| 89 | British Aeroplane Brought Down by German Guns |
| 90 | |
| 91 | Zeppelins Raid England |
| 92 | |
| 93 | Emperor Francis Joseph |
| 94 | General Von Kluck and His Staff |
| 95 | General Field Marshal Von Hindenburg With His Staff |
| 96 | |
| 97 | |
| 98 | One of the Great Guns Used in the Bombardment of Antwerp |
| 99 | A Big German Shell |
| 100 | First Aid Nurses of the Yeomanry Corps |