PORTRAIT OF A BELGIAN SOLDIER IN LEOPOLDSBURG, BELGIUM

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This vintage real photo postcard features a uniformed Belgian soldier. He is holding a pair of white gloves and a riding crop. Note the soldiers shiny boots and the overcoat which he has draped over his shoulders. Note that soldier is wearing spurs. He is a cavalry officer. Printing on the reverse of the postcard indicates that the photographer was the LUX studio in Leopoldsburg, Belgium. LUX was also the name of a French postcard publisher and the spelling of Leopoldsburg printed on the card is in French. Therefore, I am unsure which explanation concerning LUX is true. What I do know is that the town of Leopoldsburg is located in the Belgian Province of Limburg. This postcard dates to the 1920’s. Hopefully, a visitor to the Cabinet Card Gallery will be able to translate the message on the postcard and leave a comment informing other visitors to the blog.   SOLD

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Published in: on July 15, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (7)  
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GROUP PHOTO OF FRENCH SOLDIERS IN NORTH AFRICA (WORLD WAR I ERA)

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This vintage real photo postcard features a group of uniformed French soldiers in Northern Africa. The sign they are holding,”Honneur Aux Bleus” reveals some interesting information. There is a related French military slogan that states “Honneur aux anciens, courage aux bleus”. This roughly translates to “honor to the old soldiers, courage for the rookies”. In French, “bleu” means “rookie”. In 1793, rookies wore blue uniforms while more veteran soldiers wore white uniforms. Note that three of the men have canteens and one of the soldiers is holding a cup of coffee. This postcard appears to date back to the 1910’s (World War I era).

 

 

 

Published in: on July 10, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF TWO SMILING WORLD WAR I SOLDIERS (REAL PHOTO POSTCARD 1904-1908)

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Two World War I era soldiers flash terrific smiles as they pose for their portrait. It is difficult to decipher the name of the studio from the embossed stamp on the image. The name appears to be the “Nunlike Studio” but I am not too confident that I am correct. The men in this image are dressed in uniform with long coats and military hats. The “Cyko” stamp box on this postcard indicates that it was published between 1904 and 1908. This is a very early example of a Cyko postcard. The company published postcards from 1904 through part of the 1920’s.   SOLD

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Published in: on March 21, 2016 at 5:35 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF AN ARMY TAILOR AND HIS SEWING MACHINE IN SERBIA (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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This vintage real photo postcard features a terrific portrait of an army tailor sitting at his sewing machine. The soldier is in uniform while he works on a pair of uniform pants. This photograph was taken in 1931, a period between World War I and World War II. The postcard is addressed to someone in Novi Sad, Serbia. Novi Sad is a city in Serbia on the banks of the Danube River. I am guessing that the soldier in this photograph was a member of the Serbian army. During 1931, Serbia was actually part of Yugoslavia.

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Published in: on March 19, 2016 at 3:20 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A SOLDIER AND HIS RIFLE AND HIS PREY: A LARGE RABBIT

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This vintage real photo postcard features a young soldier in uniform posing with his rifle and his lunch. The prize of the young man’s hunt is a large rabbit. Hopefully the soldier was able to avoid being “the hunted one” during his military service. This photograph appears to be from the early 1900’s and of European or Russian origin.

Published in: on February 15, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  

PORTRAIT OF A WORLD WAR I ERA SOLDIER IN NANTES, FRANCE

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This vintage real photo postcard features a portrait of a smartly dressed young World War I era soldier. He looks quite handsome in his uniform and clearly has his “game face” on. The photographer of this image is Gustave Cade. He operated a studio at 8 Rue de la Barillerie in Nantes, France. Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River.

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Published in: on February 11, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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WOUNDED WORLD WAR I FRENCH SOLDIER TREATED BY FELLOW COMBATANT WITH A BOTTLE OF ABSINTHE

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This vintage real photo postcard features a wounded French soldier being treated by his fellow combatant. The soldier doing the nursing helps his buddy by pouring some absinthe into the cup that the wounded man is holding. The injured man seems to be very pleased as he awaits his medicinal drink. What is absinthe? It is a distilled highly alcoholic beverage. Absinthe became a highly popular drink in late 19th and early 20th century France. It is a drink that was later portrayed as dangerous and seen as a hallucinogen. By 1915, it was banned in the US and much of Europe (including France). Although the ban of absinthe and the start outbreak of World War I occurred close together in time, author Doris Lanier, in her book “Absinthe–The Cocaine of the Nineteenth Century……..” (1994), notes that soldiers continued to enjoy absinthe during the war. Back to the photograph. Note the storage holders on the shelf above the injured man’s bed. It appears that they were used to hold the hospitalized patient’s clothing and belongings. My description of this interesting photograph contains some conjecture. Perhaps you have a different interpretation of this image. If so, please share your ideas in the comment section.

 

 

 

 

Published in: on January 30, 2016 at 3:54 pm  Comments (13)  
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HANDSOME SAILOR POSES FOR HIS PORTRAIT IN ENGLAND (VINTAGE POSTCARD)

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This item is a vintage real photo postcard featuring a portrait of a handsome young sailor. He looks quite dashing in his naval uniform. The young man was photographed by the J. S. Bullen studio which had two locations in England. The studio had branches in Grimsby and Louth. Bullen operated his studio in the 1910′s and 1920′s. He also may have worked as a  photographer in other decades.   SOLD

Published in: on January 27, 2016 at 11:56 am  Comments (2)  
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FOUR US SOLDIERS HAVING FUN WHILE ON LEAVE IN NEW YORK CITY (VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH)

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The previous owner of this vintage photograph described it as featuring four US soldiers/cooks on KP (kitchen police) duty. I have my own interpretation of the photograph and perhaps you have your own view which I hope you will share. I believe that the young men are from a military base due to their clothing and their choice of having a backdrop which included a tank. If they are soldiers, they are clearly on leave. The fact that one man is wearing a white apron and another man is wearing a white jacket indicates that their military duties may include working in a kitchen. However, there is also a possibility that the afore mentioned white clothing and the two hats seen in the photo are just studio props. Note that two of the men are holding cigarettes while being photographed. Whatever the story really is, this is a terrific image that captures the aura of friendship between these young men. The photographer’s embossed logo is difficult to read but it is decipherable that his name was Thompson and his studio was located somewhere in New York City.

Published in: on January 1, 2016 at 1:07 pm  Comments (3)  
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IMAGE AND STORY: YOUNG SOLDIER COMES HOME FROM WORLD WAR I (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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On November 11th, 1918, World War I came to an end. It was a joyous time and soldiers and sailors from all the fighting nations were able to return home to their loved ones. This real photo postcard provides a visual image of that time in history. We see two ships speeding home on a a rough ocean. The postcard shows an American soldier who is portrayed as being on one of these ships. Note the American flag in the background as well as the flags on each ship. This was truly a patriotic time. On the reverse of the postcard is a most interesting message. On 12/13/18, about a month after the war’s end, Richard M. Daebelliehn (1889-1964) wrote a message to his wife. I will decipher it the best that I can as it is not totally legible. “Dear Wife, I will wire you just as soon as I hit USA and will have you meet me. You can be expecting a telegram from me”. He signed his name and followed it with an alphabet soup of letters, “HQ (headquarters) M.O.R.S. (?) A. E. F. (American Expeditionary Force) France. It also appears that the word “Cook” appears before his name. Daebelliehn sent this postcard to his wife who was living in Davenport, Iowa. Research reveals that his wife’s name was Grace Luttsia Anderson. The 1920 US census reports that the couple had two children, Dorothea (age 9), and Robert (age 7). The census, as well as many city directories, indicate that Richard was a butcher (meat cutter) for many years. In fact, he owned his own business. Knowing that Richard was a butcher before the war likely explains why he was a cook in the military. Richard and his family lived in Rock Island, Illinois at the time of the census. I wish I could say that after Richard was reunited with his family that they lived happily together for many years. However, Grace died in September of 1921 in Springfield, Illinois. Richard remarried (Margaret Daebelliehn) sometime before 1930. This postcard was produced by Furia, a French postcard company. The postcard certainly is a relic of history with an image on one side and a story on the other side.

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Published in: on October 20, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (7)  
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