Wiesbaden Bismarck Monument Postcard, Antique German Real Photo, 1909

A statesman frozen in bronze before a grand Wilhelmine villa, standing watch over a formal garden — a small window into a Wiesbaden streetscape that no longer exists.

• Maker: Carl v. d. Boogaart, Wiesbaden
• Materials: Collotype print postcard stock
• Dimensions: Approx. 3.5 x 5.5 in
• Origin: Wiesbaden, Germany
• Era: 1909
• Condition: Postally used; pristine corners, light overall toning, later collector's inscription "Louie Owen 1909" in a second hand (not the correspondent's) on the front

This real photo postcard shows the Bismarckdenkmal, the monument to Otto von Bismarck, in its original setting at the former Wilhelmsplatz (later renamed Bismarckplatz). The larger-than-life bronze, sculpted by Ernst Gustav Herter, depicts the "Iron Chancellor" in military dress with his Pickelhaube helmet, erected in 1898 shortly after Bismarck's death that July. Published by Carl v.d. Boogaart of Wiesbaden, the card is postmarked November 23, 1909, and bears a German Empire 10-pfennig carmine-red stamp featuring the iconic figure of Germania.

A meaningful piece for a collector of German historical postcards, statesmen and monuments, or Wilhelmine-era architecture.  Beautiful old script handwriting, possibly Kurrent or early Sütterlin, which were the traditional forms of historical German handwriting.

The monument itself has a quietly poignant afterstory: when Bierstadter Straße was widened in 1966, Bismarckplatz was eliminated and the statue was relocated to Wiesbaden's Nerotal park, where it stands today — without the two allegorical figures that originally flanked it, which were sold and melted down by the city in 1969. This postcard, showing the monument still in its original plaza setting, preserves a Wiesbaden streetscape that no longer survives. It was postally used, addressed to Lynchburg, Virginia, with a lengthy handwritten letter on the back.

Pairs well with our other German and European monument postcards for a curated collection, or displayed alone as a piece of pre-WWI German civic history.