Raphael Kirchner was born in Vienna in 1876 and attended the Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in the city.

The turn of the century brought Kirchner to Paris where he remained until the outbreak of war in August 1914 when he moved to the United States.

Kirchner produced a wide variety of postcards in Europe where he was already known and his close associate Hans Zatzka was also producing postcards. He was chiefly renowned during the war for his erotic illustrations, and forerunner of the 'pin up' girl. He produced in excess of 1,000 postcards during his short lifetime, though most of his postcards cards are not commonly found in America.

His "Geisha" series was particular successful, being reprinted four times to produce a total of 40,000 copies. He died on 2 August 1917 in New York at the young age of 41.

For Collectors: Kirchner postcards can be divided into three main categories: 1- The earliest cards have a strong art nouveau style, chromolithograph printing, and undivided backs.
2- The middle period always has the title of the individual postcard printed in French on the back.
3- The late period has the publisher's name on the front of the card, usually Burton or Alpha