PORTRAIT OF TWO WORLD WAR l INFANTRY SOLDIERS SERVING AS TELEGRAPH OPERATORS

This vintage real photo postcard features a portrait of two French World War I infantry men. The French often informally referred to World War I infantry men as “Poilu”. The term can be translated as “hairy ones” and it was used as a form of endearment. Many of these men came from rural background and sported beards and bushy mustaches. They were known as tough and brave but not exactly obedient to their officers.The men in this photo are wearing pins on their collars which indicate that one soldier is from the 24th and the other is from the 36th infantry regiment. One soldier has a patch on his upper left sleeve. What does the patch represent? The previous owner of this photo postcard asserted that the patch indicates that the men were members of the telegraph corps. I can not confirm that claim. This vintage postcard is in good condition (see scans).

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2795

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$23.50

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #2795

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$32.00

 

Published in: on July 15, 2019 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF A HANDSOME WORLD WAR I ERA SOLDIER (FRENCH FOURRAGERE)

This vintage real photo postcard features a handsome French soldier. The previous owner of this photo postcard reports that the soldier is from the era of World War I. The most notable aspect of this postcard is that the soldier is wearing a French Fourragere decoration. If you look at the soldiers left shoulder, you will see a braided cord which is a Fourragere. This decoration was initiated by Napoleon I and it was given to units that distinguished themselves in battle. The award was revived during World War I. Note that the soldier’s collar holds pins indicating his honored unit was the 150th. This vintage real photo postcard is in very good condition (see scans)

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2778

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$23.50

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #2778

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$32.00

Published in: on June 25, 2019 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“HONOR TO THE OLD SOLDIERS, COURAGE FOR THE ROOKIES” – GROUP PHOTO OF WORLD WAR I ERA FRENCH SOLDIERS

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military group 4 This vintage real photo postcard features a group of World War I era French soldiers. Two men in the front row are holding a sign. The men are part of the 148th regiment (?). The text on the sign is related to a 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”. The slogan refers to the historical fact that in the late 1700’s, rookies wore blue uniforms, while more veteran soldiers wore white uniforms. This vintage postcard has excellent clarity and is in very good condition.

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2747

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$31.50

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) 2747

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Published in: on May 17, 2019 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF “SOLDIER SON”: SENT TO HIS DEAR MOTHER WITH LOVE

This vintage real photo postcard features a young uniformed soldier. He is holding his rifle in front of him and he appears to be ready for action. Note his multi faceted utility belt and his boots. The young man wrote a message to his mother on the reverse of the postcard. He proudly presents himself as his mom’s “soldier son”. His message also reveals that the soldier’s name is “Herbert”. The “AZO” stamp box indicates that this photo postcard was published sometime between 1918 and 1930. Interestingly, World War I ended in 1918. Perhaps Herbert was a soldier in the “War to end all Wars”. This postcard is in excellent condition (see scans).      SOLD

Published in: on June 23, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  
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PORTRAIT OF FOUR WORLD WAR I PRISONERS OF WAR I HELD AT POW CAMP IN KONIGSBRUCK, GERMANY

Some images are very effective at capturing history. This real photo postcard is one of those historic photographs. The image features World War I prisoners of war held at Camp Konigsbruck. The POW camp held Serbian, Russian, and French prisoners of war. The camp held about 15,000 captives. I am unsure if this photo shows four prisoners or two prisoners and two guards (the men wearing heavy coats).  One of the possible “guards” is wearing a red cross armband. Note the high barbed wire fence in the background. This photograph was taken sometime around 1916. Konigsbruck is a town in the German state of Saxony. It is located only 17 miles from Dresden.

Published in: on September 30, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (4)  
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PORTRAIT OF A HANDSOME SOLDIER IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA

This cabinet card provides a portrait of a handsome uniformed Austro-Hungarian soldier. He is posing at the Rudolf Denk studio in Vienna, Austria. Note his high boots, sabre, and wrist watch. The soldier is wearing a couple of medals on his chest. His cap is on the table beside him. He is wearing a whistle which can be seen between his two breast pockets. The soldier is holding an open book. It is likely that this young man saw military action. World War I was not many years away from the time that he sat for this photograph.

Published in: on May 25, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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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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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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MYSTERY PHOTOGRAPH: POSSIBLY FRENCH CAVALRY SOLDIERS AND THEIR SWORDS AND HELMETS (HELP NEEDED FROM CABINET CARD GALLERY’S VAST AND UNPAID RESEARCH DEPARTMENT)

SOLDIERS AND SWORDSThe previous owner of this photograph described the subjects in the image as World War I French Cavalry soldiers. The soldiers are wearing collar pins that identify their military unit as being the “29th”. They are drinking glasses of wine from a bottle on the table. The men have long swords and there are three helmets on the floor in front of the men. My uneducated guess is that these military men are part of a fencing team. There is a within the photograph which would provide more information but I can not decipher the script on the label. A stamp on the reverse of the photograph identifies the photographer as Moraux and the location of his studio as Provins, which is in north central France. Assistance is clearly needed from the cabinet card gallery’s vast and unpaid research department. The visitors to the cabinet card gallery have a history of contributing informed and thoughtful knowledge via their comments. Knowledge that helps us further our appreciation and understanding of the gallery’s images.

Published in: on May 8, 2013 at 12:02 am  Comments (11)  
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Russian Army Soldiers in Kiev (1916)

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Three enlisted men from the World War I Russian Army are pictured in this Cabinet card. The reverse of the card indicates that the photograph was taken in 1916 by the “Photo Studio of Y. S. Ivanchenko”. What exactly may have been on these soldiers minds.  In 1916 Russia, the Russian war effort was characterized by shortages, poor command, death, and desertion. The citizens were facing starvatio, inflation and a refugee problem. Soldiers and civilians blamed the incompetence of the Tsar and the government. By the end of the year Rasputin was killed and the Tsar was warned that the army would not support  him in event of revolution.

Published in: on January 4, 2009 at 12:03 am  Leave a Comment  
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