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Vintage original 3.5 x 5.25 in. German postcard depicting the German silent film actress, OSSI OSWALDA. The attractive blonde is is depicted in an interior studio publicity shot wearing a plaid jacket and holding a pair of white gloves. It was signed in light green ink by Ossi Oswalda in, we believe, 1926 (see "Provenance" below), the year in which he appeared in six silent films. Printed by the renowned Ross-Verlag company of Berlin, Germany, this vintage original "country of origin" postcard was posted in the German mail and the cancellation date is August 10, 1926. It is in very fine+ condition without any visible flaws. A prior owner has affixed a large collector's stamp on the verso depicting Miss Oswalda in a silent film role.
Provenance: Approximately 8 years ago, we purchased a collection of two albums of vintage original German postcards from a rare book dealer at an antiquarian book fair in Pasadena, California (see photos). Approximately half of the postcards were signed by the respective personalities and the ones that were dated by the actors are all dated "1926." We were informed by the dealer that these photographs came from a film collector in Germany who acquired the postcards at the time they were issued and then had them signed by the respective actors when he met them in person. We are now pleased to make these vintage original postcards available to other collectors.
Ossi Oswalda (February 2, 1897 – March 7, 1947), born Oswalda Stäglich in Niederschönhausen, was a German actress who mostly appeared in silent films. She was given the nickname “The German Mary Pickford” due to her popularity at the time. Oswalda trained as a ballerina and became a dancer for a theater in Berlin. She made her film debut in Richard Oswald's Nächte des Grauens (Night of Horrors) before being discovered by the actor and screenwriter Hanns Kräly, who in turn recommended her to director Ernst Lubitsch. During her early career, she starred in several films by Lubitsch, including The Merry Jail, I Don't Want to Be a Man, The Oyster Princess, and The Doll.
In 1921, Oswalda von Koczian-Miskolczy started her own film production company with her husband at the time, Gustav Wilhelm Viktor Freiherr von Koczian-Miskolczy (1877–1958). However, during the next four years, they only produced four films, all starring Oswalda. From 1925 on, she was contracted to Ufa. 1926 the couple that had married November 20, 1919 divorced. Oswalda's career waned along with the silent film era, and she only acted in two sound films, making her final appearance on screen in the 1933 film,. The Star of Valencia. Later on, she became a stage actor, and in 1943, wrote the story for the Czechoslovakian film ?trnáctý u stolu. Oswalda died in the most miserable condition in Prague at the age of 50. Ross-Verlag in Berlin was a German publishing house specialized in photographs and photo postcards of artists. The owner of the company was Heinrich Ross (b. 10 August 1870; d. after 1954 as emigrant in the USA). |