Bidspirit auction | Postcards Documenting Kaiser Wilhelm II's

Postcards Documenting Kaiser Wilhelm II's Visit to the Holy Land – A Collection Rare in its Proportions – Some 290 Postcards Circulated the Year of the Visit, 1898 - Some 290 postcards printed on the occasion of the official visit of the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, to the Holy Land. Most printed in Germany, 1898 (many postcards with postmarks and stamps dating to the day of the arrival of the Kaiser in various stations in the course of his journey, including Jerusalem, Jaffa, Beirut, Constantinople, and other locations). The present collection represents one of the finest and most comprehensive assortments of postcards ever assembled on the theme of the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II to the Holy Land, comprising approximately 290 postcards circulated in 1898 – some shortly before the Kaiser embarked on his journey, and some shortly after his return to his homeland – all in some way commemorating the visit, incorporating a host of illustrations and pictures. Germany was, at the time, the world's biggest producer of postcards, and most of the postcards in the collection were in fact printed there, by dozens of different publishers; some of them were responsible for a large number of the items, while others produced only one or two. In honor of the visit, some of the publishers made a special offer to purchasers: individual postcards would be sent to one of the Kaiser's destinations in the Middle East, would await the Kaiser's arrival at that destination, and would then be postmarked on the day of his arrival and be subsequently mailed to the purchaser. The present collection includes postcards mailed from Jaffa, Jerusalem, Beirut, Constantinople, Cairo, and additional places. Among the rarest and most important postcards in the collection are the following: • 16 large-size (15X22 cm) photographic postcards published by Knackstedt & Näther (Hamburg), documenting the course of the visit (the Kaiser going up to the Temple Mount, the Kaiser crossing Jaffa mounted on a horse, and more); and 13 postcards from a different version of the same series, in standard size. • 7 postcards published by H. A. I. Schulz (Hamburg), with color lithographic illustrations of stations along the Kaiser's journey and four postcards bearing illustrations from the same series published by Max Mandus (Hamburg). • Four postcards with Hebrew captions published by Lith. A.L. Monsohn (Jerusalem). Each of them shows the Kaiser entering through a ceremonial gate, encircled by illustrations of sites of the Holy Land. The sites change from one postcard to the next: Hebron, the Jordan River, the Temple Mount, the Misgav LaDach Hospital, Rachel's Tomb, and the Western Wall. One postcard bears a Hebrew New Year greeting from the Misgav LaDach Hospital. • 17 photographic postcards published by Carl Otto Hayd (Munich), showing: Jerusalem adorned with flags of the German Empire; Turkish sentries standing guard over the Kaiser's tent camp; the Kaiser and his entourage passing through ceremonial gates; and more. • Five postcards published by Knackstedt & Näther, with pictures of worshippers at the Western Wall, and with a medallion bearing a portrait of the Kaiser in the bottom corner (in different colors: green, red, and blue; on three of the postcards, a commemorative inscription in honor of the Kaiser's visit has been superimposed over the Western Wall). In addition, 27 other postcards belonging to the same series, but with pictures of other sites and a portrait of the Kaiser. • Also included: Postcards published by Vogel (Leipzig), Kutzner & Berger (Berlin), Maether & Co. (Berlin), Nister (Nuremberg), Ebuzzia (Constantinople), one photographic postcard with pictures of the Kaiser and Constantinople (printer not indicated; mailed in 1898), a lithographic postcard showing the Kaiser and Empress, with Beirut in the background (printer not indicated), and more. Some 290 postcards. Size and condition vary. Postcards arranged in album according to printers (in alphabetical order), along with handwritten notes, in a fashion that exposes the backs of postcards sent by mail. Also enclosed: Some 20 cards of different types (not postcards) bearing photos and illustrations of the Kaiser's visit. These include twelve collector's cards produced by the Stollwerck chocolate company, showing various stations along the Kaiser's journey, such as Venice, Constantinople, Haifa, and Jerusalem. Stollwerck was the first company in Germany to produce collectable cards; the present series was specifically issued on the occasion of the Kaiser's visit. For further information, see: • Ralph Perry and David Pearlman, Postcards commemorating the 1898 Journey of the German Imperial couple to the Orient (English, Hebrew and German), Stuttgart: Verein für Württembergischen Kirchengeschichte, 2019. • Ralph Perry, Postal History of the Kaiser's Visit to the Holy Land, in: Holy Land Postal History Bulletin, issue no. 91-92, pp. 400-36. • Ralph Perry,