Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Islay is an island that is part of Scotland. Otranto refers to the HMS Otranto, an armed merchant cruiser used by the Royal Navy during World War I. If you bring up Google and type in HMS Otranto, click on the Wikipedia article and read the section titled "Last voyage."
This story could be told as Leonardo DiCaprio's next movie, co-starring swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.
Linus
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That's quite an interesting and tragic story. Thanks for posting the photo of the card - quite a find for your collection!
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thanks for the card and the link to the past. I found a book review that might shed even more light: http://www.navyhistory.org/2012/12/book-review-many-were-held-by-the-sea-tragic-sinking-hms-otranto/
David
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Sally and David, you are welcome. Your book review link, David, suggests that this story was filled with intense drama throughout the last voyage of the HMS Otranto. I am willing to bet this story becomes a big-time movie someday. You heard it here first on Stamporama.
Linus
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Shown below is another postcard from my collection during the World War I era. I am not sure what this card is all about as the handwriting is not too good, but it appears to be a soldier's Red Cross Official Postcard mailed during the war.
Linus
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This is the only postally used WWI postcard in my collection:
Sorry about the raster lines...
My European postcard collection (n about 60) is almost all postally used, all aviation-themed, and mostly 1908-1912.
Translation of the caption:
"Our Dreaded.
Flying fight between a German Taube and an enemy biplane over Paris."
I wondered why "dogfight" was not used instead of "flying fight", but I'm not sure if the word was ever part of the German vernacular...
The Taube (pigeon) was developed well before 1914, and there are still a few flying replicas about. Search "etrich taube" in youtube.
-Paul
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I believe the picture is an attack on a Zeppelin not a fight among planes. you may also be right that the slang wasn't incorporated into German
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Well amsd, I would agree that it is QUITE fanciful for reconnaissance planes (such as the Taube and Farman depicted on the card) to be shooting at each other, especially as early as 1915. Nor would I expect a lowly Farman to be inclined to attack a Zeppelin. Regardless, it is not plausible that EITHER the Taube or the Zeppelin could have downed the Farman in flames. I can't recall ever reading an account of a Zeppelin downing an airplane.
I did find this in Wikipedia:
"During the opening months of the war a German pilot flying a Taube regularly dropped bombs on Paris."
Attacks on Zeppelins did evolve during WWI, but only after much science was applied to using the proper munitions. The idea was to first puncture the envelope with explosive rounds, then wait until the hydrogen was oxygenated to some degree by the atmosphere mixing in with it so that it would burn, and then hit it again with incendiaries to light it off. If there wasn't a big enough hole in the envelope to allow air to mix with the hydrogen, it wouldn't burn when the incendiaries went through. These techniques took some time to evolve.
My presumption is that the Zeppelin is present in the image for purely propaganda purposes, as the symbol of German power that the leadership was most proud of.
-Paul
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Here's one more:
Inscription on the back, roughly translated, is:
"For the creation of a start-up German air fleet and a demand of the aviation school! Annual contribution includes the magazine "Die Luftflotte"
and, the photo caption:
"Military Taube on a reconnaissance flight at the Masurian"
The Masurian is a district in northeastern Poland.
Shame the card isn't used...
I would LOVE to have a full-size print of this image!
Enjoy!
-Paul
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Not to subvert this thread too badly, I wanted to add just a bit of perspective on the role of German airships (Zeppelins) in the 1915 war effort. My comments are restricted to 1915, because the postmark on the card I presented above is January 4, 1916, so its subject matter pertains to the period of the war PRIOR to 1916.
At the end of 1914, the German Army had 4 airships. In March, 1915, three of them were engaged in a bombing raid on Paris. One of these was damaged by artillery fire as it crossed the front and turned back, the other two continued on their mission, dropping a combined 1800kg of bombs on Paris, killing one and injuring 8 people. On the return voyage, one airship was hit by artillery fire and damaged beyond repair by the crash-landing. The remaining airship suffered a similar fate in April during another bombing raid in northwest Belgium. So, by mid-1915, the 'Zeppelin threat' had been almost completely reduced, exclusively by the effects of artillery. This history also places the probable production date of the postcard in the first half of 1915.
So, during this period of the war, the involvement of Zeppelins was minimal and the principal threat to them was not aerial attack, it was groundfire. This leads me to presume that the subject of the card does not pertain to aerial attack on Zeppelins. Besides, the principal strategic role of Zeppelins was to create terror, and so the subject of defeat of aerial opposition to Zeppelins per se (as might seem to be represented by the Farman "Doppeldecker" falling in flames) is quite a bit off-topic from a propaganda perspective...
I should also point out that my comments above on munitions used in attacks on Zeppelins is much more pertinent to attacks on tethered observation balloons, which were much more common than attacks on Zeppelins, though aerial attacks were a bonafide threat during the bombing raids by Zeppelins on London, beginning in 1916. By the way, incendiary ammunition was first used as a weapon against balloons in December, 1915. Presumably, before that point in time, ammunition effective against balloons did not exist. Not that attacks against balloons never occurred before that point in time, but they would have been ineffective, and so of much more danger to the attacker than the attacked.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
-Paul
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I recently made a trip to the local antique mall to escape the heat and browse through their thousands of postcards. I found this WWI era Knights of Columbus card titled "GOVERNOR GOODRICH OF INDIANA WATCHES PACKEY McFARLAND GIVE BOXING LESSONS AT K.OF C. BUILDING." Check out the Wikipedia article on Packey McFarland, one tough dude for his time:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packey_McFarland
Linus
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"Shown below is an unused postcard from my World War I topical collection. I was at a postcard show in Iowa City, Iowa, flipping through a dealer's unsorted bulk lot of dollar postcards when this card stopped me dead cold: GRAVES OF "OTRANTO" MEN AT KILCHOMAN,ISLAY. My first reaction was: Where was this battle? I had no idea where this was located. American flags, shallow graves, and an old car and church in the background, I had to buy it for a dollar, just to learn the story behind it.
Well, it turned out to be quite a tragic story.
Islay is an island that is part of Scotland. Otranto refers to the HMS Otranto, an armed merchant cruiser used by the Royal Navy during World War I. If you bring up Google and type in HMS Otranto, click on the Wikipedia article and read the section titled "Last voyage."
This story could be told as Leonardo DiCaprio's next movie, co-starring swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.Hello Linus,"
Hi Linus,
I've just seen your post with the postcard. Sadly, this was the second such disaster on the coast of Islay that year.
Another troopship, the SS Tuscania, had been torpedoed in February and while the majority of the US troops aboard were saved many also died in that event.
This year is the one hundredth anniversary of these sinkings and there have been commorative events held on the island.
Here's a link to a BBC news article about the disasters and their impact on the small local community:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43948079
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Great reading everyone, thanks! 
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Nigel, Thank you very much for adding to this thread. That was a great BBC article, further explaining the events that happened 100 years ago. I am sure every school child in Scotland was taught that piece of WWI history, but being from Iowa, USA, we never heard of it here. We were taught stuff like the Spirit Lake Massacre instead.
Linus
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Linus,
I'm curious about that small, red, white, and blue label to the L of the stamp.
Is that an indication that the sender was a parent of a soldier?
-Paul
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Pigdoc, I do not know the answer. I just recently bought this card and that is a mystery to be solved, and is part of the reason I bought it. Perhap one of our members knows what that label is? If not, I have more research to do to find the answer.
Linus
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Pigdoc, you were correct. It is called a Blue Star Service Banner:
The Blue Star Service Banner was designed and patented in 1917 by World War I Army Capt. Robert L. Queisser of the 5th Ohio Infantry. Queisser’s two sons served on the front line. His banner quickly became the unofficial symbol for parents with a child in active military service.
On Sept. 24, 1917, an Ohio congressman read the following into the Congressional Record: “The mayor of Cleveland, the Chamber of Commerce and the governor of Ohio have adopted this service flag. The world should know of those who give so much for liberty. The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother: their children.” Blue Star Mothers and Gold Star Mothers organizations were established during World War I and remain active today.
Linus
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Please, members, visit the following link on stamporama.com to see a most interesting and intriguing Great War postcard mailed in 1923. I hope the members who came up with this specific historical issue will forgive my "atrevimiento." (Sorry, "taking the liberty to...")
https://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=22&id=151443#151443
Following the request to translate the Arabic text on the postcard, I have contacted a stamporama.com member who resides in the Middle East. I hope this member contact will answer in a positive manner.
Finally, as a History buff, I would like to know if there is a Discussion Thread titled specifically POSTAL HISTORY. I have read many posts where the issue of covers and postcard subjects inextricably tied to history and historical events go unnoticed. Many times, what you see and what you read carry a lot of meaning that often get lost.
Best regards!
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Well, in the last year, my interest in WWI art cards has grown into a collection of a couple dozen items, most postally used. The one I posted above of the "Military Taube on a reconnaissance flight" is one in a series "after paintings" by artist Hans Rudolf Schulze. I think his work is quite attractive, and now have 10 cards in 3 different series by this artist. Here are a few more:
Seaplanes over the English fleet
Condition not great, Leubsdorf to Chemnitz
I have 4 in Schulze's dirigible series:
Military air cruiser "Hansa" in battle with enemy flyers
Cologne to Frankfurt, November 6, 1915.
And, I have a couple in Schulze's naval series, featuring U-boats:
U21 stops large English steamer in the Channel
Wolfenbüttel to Leipzig, April 22, 1918.
I don't have much hope of translating the manuscript, but these do make compelling puzzles!
-Paul
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Time for another posting to this topic! Another of my favorite artists on WWI postcards is Professor Willy Stoewer. Most if not all of his material seems to be maritime themed. These three were all used for the U-boat Donation 1917. I don't know the history of this organization, but presumably it was to benefit some aspect of submarine service. The first is my favorite of all, because I also have long been a fan of big square-rigged sailing ships:
"French bark is sunk by German U-boat in the Atlantic" This may be a fanciful image, as I could not find any references to French barks sunk by U-boats. The U-66 sunk two French sailing vessels in the Baltic in 1916, but these were both much smaller ships. Written and posted on June 20, 1917 to the Fraulein from the resort island of Rugen, in the Baltic Sea, just off the Pomeranian coast, east of Lubeck.
"Sinking of an enemy armed troop transport steamship by a German U-boat in the Mediterranean" A feldpostcard sent on December 30, 1917 to Lubeck, perhaps with holiday greetings?
And, one more:
"German U-boat action with an armed commercial steamship in restricted area." Another feldpostcard sent to Regensburg from Cologne on November 1, 1917.
Enjoy!
-Paul
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'
My guess is that "U-BOOT-SPENDE 1917" was a fund-raising campaign, rather like targeted War Bonds.
A little creepy, given the toll on civilian non-combatants, but there you have it.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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I picked-up a few WW1 Morale & Propaganda post cards at NAPEX.
Let's start (above) with the guys who wanted the war.
That caption reads: The European Balance (of power).
The publisher was Max Munk (active 1900-1917) of Vienna, Austria:
"An important publisher of artist signed cards that covered a whole range of topics and styles. Their holiday cards and images of women are the best known. Their cards, manufactured in Austria, were originally printed in chromolithography that they later replaced with the tricolor process. These cards are usually just labeled M.M. Vienne. They also published a few stray postcards for the Detroit Publishing Company.
http://www.metropostcard.com/publishersm2.html"
The artist was the accomplished Theodor Zasche (1862-1922), also of Vienna.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Theo_Zasche
Another patriotic work was this poster for the 19170531 Kreigsanleihe Tag der Osterreichischen Bohnen (War Bond Day of the Austrian (Stages)) bearing the motto Wir alle Zeichnen Kreigsanleihe! (We all draw war bonds!) (translations stolen):
Another patriotic poster honored the 7th War Loan:
And yet another, bearing the lovely motto Durch Sieg Zum Frieden (Peace Thru Victory), honored Union Bank and the 8th War Loan:
"This poster, published in Vienna in 1918, is an advertisement for the eighth war loan being raised by Austria-Hungary, Germany’s chief ally in the war. It shows a young woman offering a bowl of coins at an altar decorated with the Austrian coat of arms."
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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The caption L'ENTENTE CORDIALE 1915 (above) refers to "The Allies":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Entente
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_I
The "CORDIALE" is a sarcastic dig, alleging that the scheming Brits are dragging Europe into war.
I quickly guessed that the arachnid in the illustration is a tarantula but, heeding The Little Voice Inside, I googled, and tarantulas do not spin webs.
Q/ So is that a tarantula subjected to artistic license, or some other arachnid?
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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Nice postcard, ikeyP.
In Iowa, we would call that a barn spider, and they definitely spin webs. They are hairy and have striped legs like that. Try Wikipedia, barn spider.
Linus
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'
Well-spotted, Linus!
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Shown below is an unused postcard from my World War I topical collection. I was at a postcard show in Iowa City, Iowa, flipping through a dealer's unsorted bulk lot of dollar postcards when this card stopped me dead cold: GRAVES OF "OTRANTO" MEN AT KILCHOMAN,ISLAY. My first reaction was: Where was this battle? I had no idea where this was located. American flags, shallow graves, and an old car and church in the background, I had to buy it for a dollar, just to learn the story behind it. Well, it turned out to be quite a tragic story.
Islay is an island that is part of Scotland. Otranto refers to the HMS Otranto, an armed merchant cruiser used by the Royal Navy during World War I. If you bring up Google and type in HMS Otranto, click on the Wikipedia article and read the section titled "Last voyage."
This story could be told as Leonardo DiCaprio's next movie, co-starring swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.
Linus
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re: World War I Postcards
That's quite an interesting and tragic story. Thanks for posting the photo of the card - quite a find for your collection!
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re: World War I Postcards
thanks for the card and the link to the past. I found a book review that might shed even more light: http://www.navyhistory.org/2012/12/book-review-many-were-held-by-the-sea-tragic-sinking-hms-otranto/
David
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re: World War I Postcards
Sally and David, you are welcome. Your book review link, David, suggests that this story was filled with intense drama throughout the last voyage of the HMS Otranto. I am willing to bet this story becomes a big-time movie someday. You heard it here first on Stamporama.
Linus
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re: World War I Postcards
Shown below is another postcard from my collection during the World War I era. I am not sure what this card is all about as the handwriting is not too good, but it appears to be a soldier's Red Cross Official Postcard mailed during the war.
Linus
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10:09:21am
re: World War I Postcards
This is the only postally used WWI postcard in my collection:
Sorry about the raster lines...
My European postcard collection (n about 60) is almost all postally used, all aviation-themed, and mostly 1908-1912.
Translation of the caption:
"Our Dreaded.
Flying fight between a German Taube and an enemy biplane over Paris."
I wondered why "dogfight" was not used instead of "flying fight", but I'm not sure if the word was ever part of the German vernacular...
The Taube (pigeon) was developed well before 1914, and there are still a few flying replicas about. Search "etrich taube" in youtube.
-Paul
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re: World War I Postcards
I believe the picture is an attack on a Zeppelin not a fight among planes. you may also be right that the slang wasn't incorporated into German
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05:18:44pm
re: World War I Postcards
Well amsd, I would agree that it is QUITE fanciful for reconnaissance planes (such as the Taube and Farman depicted on the card) to be shooting at each other, especially as early as 1915. Nor would I expect a lowly Farman to be inclined to attack a Zeppelin. Regardless, it is not plausible that EITHER the Taube or the Zeppelin could have downed the Farman in flames. I can't recall ever reading an account of a Zeppelin downing an airplane.
I did find this in Wikipedia:
"During the opening months of the war a German pilot flying a Taube regularly dropped bombs on Paris."
Attacks on Zeppelins did evolve during WWI, but only after much science was applied to using the proper munitions. The idea was to first puncture the envelope with explosive rounds, then wait until the hydrogen was oxygenated to some degree by the atmosphere mixing in with it so that it would burn, and then hit it again with incendiaries to light it off. If there wasn't a big enough hole in the envelope to allow air to mix with the hydrogen, it wouldn't burn when the incendiaries went through. These techniques took some time to evolve.
My presumption is that the Zeppelin is present in the image for purely propaganda purposes, as the symbol of German power that the leadership was most proud of.
-Paul
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05:55:20pm
re: World War I Postcards
Here's one more:
Inscription on the back, roughly translated, is:
"For the creation of a start-up German air fleet and a demand of the aviation school! Annual contribution includes the magazine "Die Luftflotte"
and, the photo caption:
"Military Taube on a reconnaissance flight at the Masurian"
The Masurian is a district in northeastern Poland.
Shame the card isn't used...
I would LOVE to have a full-size print of this image!
Enjoy!
-Paul
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07:51:35am
re: World War I Postcards
Not to subvert this thread too badly, I wanted to add just a bit of perspective on the role of German airships (Zeppelins) in the 1915 war effort. My comments are restricted to 1915, because the postmark on the card I presented above is January 4, 1916, so its subject matter pertains to the period of the war PRIOR to 1916.
At the end of 1914, the German Army had 4 airships. In March, 1915, three of them were engaged in a bombing raid on Paris. One of these was damaged by artillery fire as it crossed the front and turned back, the other two continued on their mission, dropping a combined 1800kg of bombs on Paris, killing one and injuring 8 people. On the return voyage, one airship was hit by artillery fire and damaged beyond repair by the crash-landing. The remaining airship suffered a similar fate in April during another bombing raid in northwest Belgium. So, by mid-1915, the 'Zeppelin threat' had been almost completely reduced, exclusively by the effects of artillery. This history also places the probable production date of the postcard in the first half of 1915.
So, during this period of the war, the involvement of Zeppelins was minimal and the principal threat to them was not aerial attack, it was groundfire. This leads me to presume that the subject of the card does not pertain to aerial attack on Zeppelins. Besides, the principal strategic role of Zeppelins was to create terror, and so the subject of defeat of aerial opposition to Zeppelins per se (as might seem to be represented by the Farman "Doppeldecker" falling in flames) is quite a bit off-topic from a propaganda perspective...
I should also point out that my comments above on munitions used in attacks on Zeppelins is much more pertinent to attacks on tethered observation balloons, which were much more common than attacks on Zeppelins, though aerial attacks were a bonafide threat during the bombing raids by Zeppelins on London, beginning in 1916. By the way, incendiary ammunition was first used as a weapon against balloons in December, 1915. Presumably, before that point in time, ammunition effective against balloons did not exist. Not that attacks against balloons never occurred before that point in time, but they would have been ineffective, and so of much more danger to the attacker than the attacked.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
-Paul
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re: World War I Postcards
I recently made a trip to the local antique mall to escape the heat and browse through their thousands of postcards. I found this WWI era Knights of Columbus card titled "GOVERNOR GOODRICH OF INDIANA WATCHES PACKEY McFARLAND GIVE BOXING LESSONS AT K.OF C. BUILDING." Check out the Wikipedia article on Packey McFarland, one tough dude for his time:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packey_McFarland
Linus
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re: World War I Postcards
"Shown below is an unused postcard from my World War I topical collection. I was at a postcard show in Iowa City, Iowa, flipping through a dealer's unsorted bulk lot of dollar postcards when this card stopped me dead cold: GRAVES OF "OTRANTO" MEN AT KILCHOMAN,ISLAY. My first reaction was: Where was this battle? I had no idea where this was located. American flags, shallow graves, and an old car and church in the background, I had to buy it for a dollar, just to learn the story behind it.
Well, it turned out to be quite a tragic story.
Islay is an island that is part of Scotland. Otranto refers to the HMS Otranto, an armed merchant cruiser used by the Royal Navy during World War I. If you bring up Google and type in HMS Otranto, click on the Wikipedia article and read the section titled "Last voyage."
This story could be told as Leonardo DiCaprio's next movie, co-starring swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.Hello Linus,"
Hi Linus,
I've just seen your post with the postcard. Sadly, this was the second such disaster on the coast of Islay that year.
Another troopship, the SS Tuscania, had been torpedoed in February and while the majority of the US troops aboard were saved many also died in that event.
This year is the one hundredth anniversary of these sinkings and there have been commorative events held on the island.
Here's a link to a BBC news article about the disasters and their impact on the small local community:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43948079
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re: World War I Postcards
Great reading everyone, thanks!
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re: World War I Postcards
Nigel, Thank you very much for adding to this thread. That was a great BBC article, further explaining the events that happened 100 years ago. I am sure every school child in Scotland was taught that piece of WWI history, but being from Iowa, USA, we never heard of it here. We were taught stuff like the Spirit Lake Massacre instead.
Linus
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01:58:38pm
re: World War I Postcards
Linus,
I'm curious about that small, red, white, and blue label to the L of the stamp.
Is that an indication that the sender was a parent of a soldier?
-Paul
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re: World War I Postcards
Pigdoc, I do not know the answer. I just recently bought this card and that is a mystery to be solved, and is part of the reason I bought it. Perhap one of our members knows what that label is? If not, I have more research to do to find the answer.
Linus
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re: World War I Postcards
Pigdoc, you were correct. It is called a Blue Star Service Banner:
The Blue Star Service Banner was designed and patented in 1917 by World War I Army Capt. Robert L. Queisser of the 5th Ohio Infantry. Queisser’s two sons served on the front line. His banner quickly became the unofficial symbol for parents with a child in active military service.
On Sept. 24, 1917, an Ohio congressman read the following into the Congressional Record: “The mayor of Cleveland, the Chamber of Commerce and the governor of Ohio have adopted this service flag. The world should know of those who give so much for liberty. The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother: their children.” Blue Star Mothers and Gold Star Mothers organizations were established during World War I and remain active today.
Linus
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05:12:20pm
re: World War I Postcards
Please, members, visit the following link on stamporama.com to see a most interesting and intriguing Great War postcard mailed in 1923. I hope the members who came up with this specific historical issue will forgive my "atrevimiento." (Sorry, "taking the liberty to...")
https://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=22&id=151443#151443
Following the request to translate the Arabic text on the postcard, I have contacted a stamporama.com member who resides in the Middle East. I hope this member contact will answer in a positive manner.
Finally, as a History buff, I would like to know if there is a Discussion Thread titled specifically POSTAL HISTORY. I have read many posts where the issue of covers and postcard subjects inextricably tied to history and historical events go unnoticed. Many times, what you see and what you read carry a lot of meaning that often get lost.
Best regards!
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09:01:58pm
re: World War I Postcards
Well, in the last year, my interest in WWI art cards has grown into a collection of a couple dozen items, most postally used. The one I posted above of the "Military Taube on a reconnaissance flight" is one in a series "after paintings" by artist Hans Rudolf Schulze. I think his work is quite attractive, and now have 10 cards in 3 different series by this artist. Here are a few more:
Seaplanes over the English fleet
Condition not great, Leubsdorf to Chemnitz
I have 4 in Schulze's dirigible series:
Military air cruiser "Hansa" in battle with enemy flyers
Cologne to Frankfurt, November 6, 1915.
And, I have a couple in Schulze's naval series, featuring U-boats:
U21 stops large English steamer in the Channel
Wolfenbüttel to Leipzig, April 22, 1918.
I don't have much hope of translating the manuscript, but these do make compelling puzzles!
-Paul
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12:38:25pm
re: World War I Postcards
Time for another posting to this topic! Another of my favorite artists on WWI postcards is Professor Willy Stoewer. Most if not all of his material seems to be maritime themed. These three were all used for the U-boat Donation 1917. I don't know the history of this organization, but presumably it was to benefit some aspect of submarine service. The first is my favorite of all, because I also have long been a fan of big square-rigged sailing ships:
"French bark is sunk by German U-boat in the Atlantic" This may be a fanciful image, as I could not find any references to French barks sunk by U-boats. The U-66 sunk two French sailing vessels in the Baltic in 1916, but these were both much smaller ships. Written and posted on June 20, 1917 to the Fraulein from the resort island of Rugen, in the Baltic Sea, just off the Pomeranian coast, east of Lubeck.
"Sinking of an enemy armed troop transport steamship by a German U-boat in the Mediterranean" A feldpostcard sent on December 30, 1917 to Lubeck, perhaps with holiday greetings?
And, one more:
"German U-boat action with an armed commercial steamship in restricted area." Another feldpostcard sent to Regensburg from Cologne on November 1, 1917.
Enjoy!
-Paul
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re: World War I Postcards
'
My guess is that "U-BOOT-SPENDE 1917" was a fund-raising campaign, rather like targeted War Bonds.
A little creepy, given the toll on civilian non-combatants, but there you have it.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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re: World War I Postcards
I picked-up a few WW1 Morale & Propaganda post cards at NAPEX.
Let's start (above) with the guys who wanted the war.
That caption reads: The European Balance (of power).
The publisher was Max Munk (active 1900-1917) of Vienna, Austria:
"An important publisher of artist signed cards that covered a whole range of topics and styles. Their holiday cards and images of women are the best known. Their cards, manufactured in Austria, were originally printed in chromolithography that they later replaced with the tricolor process. These cards are usually just labeled M.M. Vienne. They also published a few stray postcards for the Detroit Publishing Company.
http://www.metropostcard.com/publishersm2.html"
The artist was the accomplished Theodor Zasche (1862-1922), also of Vienna.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Theo_Zasche
Another patriotic work was this poster for the 19170531 Kreigsanleihe Tag der Osterreichischen Bohnen (War Bond Day of the Austrian (Stages)) bearing the motto Wir alle Zeichnen Kreigsanleihe! (We all draw war bonds!) (translations stolen):
Another patriotic poster honored the 7th War Loan:
And yet another, bearing the lovely motto Durch Sieg Zum Frieden (Peace Thru Victory), honored Union Bank and the 8th War Loan:
"This poster, published in Vienna in 1918, is an advertisement for the eighth war loan being raised by Austria-Hungary, Germany’s chief ally in the war. It shows a young woman offering a bowl of coins at an altar decorated with the Austrian coat of arms."
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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re: World War I Postcards
The caption L'ENTENTE CORDIALE 1915 (above) refers to "The Allies":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Entente
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_I
The "CORDIALE" is a sarcastic dig, alleging that the scheming Brits are dragging Europe into war.
I quickly guessed that the arachnid in the illustration is a tarantula but, heeding The Little Voice Inside, I googled, and tarantulas do not spin webs.
Q/ So is that a tarantula subjected to artistic license, or some other arachnid?
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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re: World War I Postcards
Nice postcard, ikeyP.
In Iowa, we would call that a barn spider, and they definitely spin webs. They are hairy and have striped legs like that. Try Wikipedia, barn spider.
Linus
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re: World War I Postcards
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Well-spotted, Linus!
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