Raphael Kirchner nació en Viena, Austria en 1876. Asistió a la Academia Bildenden Kunste in Venna. A comienzos de 1900 se instaló en París y permaneció en Francia hasta el comienzos de la primera Guerra Mundial, trasladandose entonces a Estados Unidos de América, falleciendo en New York el 2 de Agosto de 1917.

Produjo en Europa una gran variedad de tarjetas postales en coloridas Impresiones litográficas, siendo conocido como el precursor de las "mujeres estilizadas" , característico de su fuerte estilo Art Nouveau.

Raphael Kirchner was born in Vienna in 1876. he attended the Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in Vienna. At the turn of the century he settled in Paris and stayed in France until the beginning of World War I, when he moves to United States. He died in New York, August 2, 1917. His work could be classified as the forerunner to pin-up girls. His first postcard work was for Philip&Kramer. Kirchner's postcards number over 1000 designs, yet are not commonly found in America.

His postcard success can be measured by his Geisha series. It successfully reprinted four times for a total of 40000 copies. His postcard design can be divided into three periods. The late period is identified by the publisher's name on the front of the card, usually Burton Galleries or Alpha. The middle period always has the title of the individual postcard printed in French on the back.

The early period is everything else, and usually is distinguished by the strong art nouveau style, chromolithograph printing, and undivided backs.They are also the most valuable cards