In autumn 2013, thanks to a gift from Gunta Krūtaine, the Liepāja Museum's collection acquired an early 20th-century postcard with the Ten Commandments that every married woman should follow.

The postcard gives married ladies a brief guide on how to make their husbands love them forever, as well as what to avoid not to make their husbands' lives short and bitter.

A good wife should show gratitude to her husband for not leaving her an "old maid." A good wife always makes sure that her husband's moment of rest is not interrupted by crying children, does not make a scene of jealousy if she finds a love letter written by another woman in her husband's suit, and puts on the table only her husband's favorite meals. Similarly, a good wife does not get angry if her husband comes home late and has been drinking.

In the commandments, the wife is instructed, "Kindly light the way to his bedroom, and lovingly undress him and put him to bed." The wife is to welcome her husband home with a kind face, even if he is "absent from the house" one night. A wife who keeps these commandments will never ask for new hats; however, she will see that her husband's every wish is fulfilled.

It should be noted that the commandments on the postcard are not to be obeyed in haste – they are April Fool's Day jokes. April, April!

Photo: from the Liepāja Museum archive – Ten commandments for married wives on 1 April, LM 55006