Vintage original 3.5 x 5.25 in. German postcard depicting the elegant German silent film actress, ERIKA GLASSNER. She is depicted in a medium publicity shot wearing a white dress with a fur wrap and a pearl necklace while holding an umbrella. This postcard was signed in black ink by Erika Glässner in, we believe, 1926 (see "Provenance" below). Printed by the renowned Ross-Verlag company of Berlin, this vintage original postcard was posted in the German mail and cancelled on September 29, 1926. It is in very fine- condition with a light diagonal mark (not a crease) on each corner from where it was inserted into one of the albums described below. There are no tears, stains, or other flaws.
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.
Erika
Glässner (born February 28, 1890 in Erfurt, Thuringia,
Germany) was the daughter of a painter and sister to an opera singer. The attractive
brunette was a dancer, cabaret artiste, and a star of German silent films, known
for Moral und Sinnlichkeit (1919),
Die drei Tänze der Mary Wilford (1920),
and Laubenkolonie (1930). Her
career survived the transition to sound in she remained a popular supporting
player until the 1930's. She was married to Arnold Kalle and unaccountably
committed suicide, dying on July 21, 1959 in Gießen, Hesse, Germany.
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).