24.00 USD
"Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome..."
We recently came across a number of great vintage German musical theater postcards and thought we'd put them in what will probably be a temporary section under the heading "Cabaret," or, auf Deutch, Kabarett! Most of the cards in this section will concern theatrical entertainment in the 1920s Weimar era of post world war one Germany, though we may place a number of Austrian cards of the period and a few film star cards from that time and place into this section as well.
The Weimar era, particularly in Berlin, fascinates us at least in part because of its dramatic contrasts, the tinsel glitter that could not entirely disguise an ever deepening gloom, the festive mood that seemed to so many who witnessed it as if driven by misery rather than a celebration of life as had seemed the Parisian nightlife of the previous decade. In hindsight, some compared the cabaret life of Weimar Berlin to dancing at the edge of a sheer cliff, and perhaps a little of that frenzied energy clings to these images of actors and dancers.
Just for fun, if it's been a while since you've seen it, you might enjoy a little mood music...the very memorable opening of the classic 1972 film version of "Cabaret." Youtube link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBlB8RAJEEc
Amazing costumes! These gals didn't need to flutter hems to show a little leg!!! Weimar era stage entertainers 2 Sisters Maja by W. Fleischer, circa 1920s. Unfortunately, we find no history on these two. We cannot pin down the photographer either.
W. Fleischer's name appears on a number of 1920s entertainer postcards out of a Berlin studio, but the name W. Fleischer is also attached to many, many photojournalist images now in the files of Ullstein Bild, which was one of the huge publishing empires of Weimar Berlin.
In the 1920s, running up to '33, Germany's publishing industry turned out more newspapers and magazines to wider circulations than practically anywhere in the world. In some ways, this is similar to German postcard production prior to WWI, which was at the center of the picture postcard's golden era, producing a greater volume, and a higher quality of postcard than anywhere else in the world. But, as happened in 1914, when politics and war shut down the German postcard industry, at the end of the Weimar era in 1933, when Hitler rose to power, newspapers and magazines were forced either to narrow their focus to issues, and views, that supported the Nazi agenda, or simply cease to exist.
The photojournalist W. Fleischer seems to have survived the war, since there are many postwar images on file credited to him (her), but we have no way of knowing whether Fleischer the theatrical portraitist, and Fleischer the photojournalist, were the same person.
In any case, a delightful card for our new "Kabarett" section! Please examine our high res scans for detail.
The item you are considering for purchase is, unless otherwise noted, a vintage postcard of approximately 5 and 1/2, by 3 and 1/2 inches. Postage is for fully-insured, first class shipping in a secure photo mailer (to avoid any damage to your purchase in the mails), and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, we will not charge for postage on the second card, and when you purchase three or more cards from us at the same time, your shipping will be entirely free, except for international orders which, because of increases in international shipping rates will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more. We do not charge for insurance or shipping materials, and as of the date of this listing are still charging below our overall cost on shipping.
And please come visit our blog at:
redpoulaine.blogspot.com
where we post biographical and historical tidbits, images of cards and photographs for sale, some already sold but remembered fondly, related images of historical interest and sometimes even images of items that have not yet arrived in the shop, but that are expected to arrive soon, as well as coupon codes, links to other related sites, and more!