Summary
Black and white photograph postcard depicting a man in a standing pose, dressed in a military uniform of a horse cavalry unit. The photograph is taken by the photographer of the German royal family T.H. Voigt with businesses in Bad Homburg, Frankfurt Main and Cologne. Receiving the status of an associated business to the royal family was an honor, as it indicated that one's product was of high quality.
While there is little known about Bad Homburg and Frankfurt during World War I, Cologne was the target of several but minor air raids and survived the hostilities without significant damage.
During World War I around 11 billion letters or postcards were sent from the front free of charge through the German Army Postal Service. Millions more letters were sent to the front by families and friends at home. From 29 April 1916 onwards postal service stations were set up at every army command station in order to monitor the content of the mail and to create reports on the content. The transmission of classified military or rebellious and discouraging information was prohibited.
It is not known how this particular item came to be in Australia.
Physical Description
Black and white photograph postcard depicting a man in a standing pose, dressed in a military uniform of a horse cavalry unit.
Significance
This black and white postcard, dating circa 1914, is an invaluable pictorial record of a member of the German emperor Wilhelm's family and military history. It provides a record of military uniform at the time of the Great War, which with technological advancement in warfare changed.
More Information
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Purchase
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Maker
T. H. Voigt, Bad Homburg, Germany, 1889-1918
Association information is related to the year of the uniform. Therefore, dates have to be considered with an element of doubt. -
Inscriptions
Text, reverse: 'T. H. Voigt, Kgl. Hofphotogr. Bad Homburg, Frankfurt a. M., Köln a. Rh.'
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Overall Dimensions
88 mm (Width), 140 mm (Height)
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References
Information on World War I German postal service from German History in Documents and Images (GHDI) web site [Link 1] accessed 9/2012. Information on associated dates and uniform of soldier in the picture from Major James E. Hicks (1958), German weapons, uniforms, insignia 1841-1918, James E. Hicks & Son, La Canada, California.
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Keywords
Wars & Conflicts, World War I, 1914-1918, Military Uniforms: German