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Vintage original 3.5 x 5.25 in. German postcard depicting the beautiful German stage and silent film actress, HANNI WEISSE. She is depicted in an interior publicity shot wearing a luxurious coat draped over herself with a matching hat as she clutches the coat to her chest. It was signed in black ink by Hanni Weisse in, we believe, 1926 (see "Provenance" bel0w), the year in which she appeared in six silent films. Printed by the renowned Ross-Verlag company of Berlin, Germany, this vintage original "country of origin" postcard is unused in very fine- condition with the number "15" written in pencil on the verso and a rectangular area where there was (presumably) additional writing in pencil that was subsequently erase. There are no pinholes, 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.
Hanni Weisse (October 16, 1892 – December 13, 1967) was a German stage and film actress. Born in Chemnitz, Saxony in the German Empire, she first she worked at the Berliner Luisentheater, but soon the film industry came into her life when she was discovered by the director Max Mack and signed for Vitascope, making her film debut in 1912. She enjoyed a prolific career in the silent era and made numerous films before the coming of sound. Her engagements in the 1930's became rarer, when new faces were demanded. She acted among others in the film Krach im Hinterhaus (1935) and Sergeant Berry (1939), after which she retired from the film business. She moved to the vicinity of Dresden after the war and operated a restaurant for three years. In 1948, she opened a pub in Frankfurt. 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). |