2

the front part of the postcard

the whole postcard

The German text

the second part of the postcard

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  • 3
    Why do you think it's from 1945? There's a date on it from 1907?
    – tofro
    Commented Nov 4 at 14:41
  • great-grandfather said that he brought the postcard in 1945 from Berlin after the end of the war. that's why I thought she was no younger than 1945. I didn't realize that the postcard was so old. I added the second part of this postcard.
    – S S
    Commented Nov 5 at 18:09
  • I added a photo of the whole postcard
    – S S
    Commented Nov 5 at 19:38
  • Wouldn't it have been possible to take photos that are in focus?
    – mkrieger1
    Commented Nov 5 at 22:54

2 Answers 2

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Templin, 1.10.07

Lieber Cousin!

Die besten Glück- und Segenswünsche zu deinem Geburtstag senden mit den herzlichsten Grüßen an dich und deine[r] lieben Frau

Euer alter Cousin und Cousine

E u. L Voht

So, obviously a birthday card to a cousin. Templin, where the card was apparently sent from, is a town in Brandenburg halfway between Berlin and the Baltic Sea.

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5
  • I am reading "Voht" as the name.
    – ccprog
    Commented Nov 4 at 22:56
  • @ccprog Could be - On second thought, I'll change it
    – tofro
    Commented Nov 4 at 23:34
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    @ccprog I think a more likely reading is "Voss": 1. "Voht", though not unheard of, is an extremely uncommon surname vis à vis "Voss"; 2. The proper name and initials (just as the proper name "Templin") are written, as usual, in Antiqua, which rules out the "long" character being a Kurrent "h". What's left? A long "s" in Antiqua followed by a normal "s" (what would be the combination long+round "s" in Kurrent). --> Voss
    – marquinho
    Commented Nov 5 at 16:22
  • @marquinho The frontside now posted proves the extra stroke above the end of the word and the dot after the name are intentional. Any idea what that could represent?
    – ccprog
    Commented Nov 5 at 18:33
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    @marquinho afaik the combination of long+round s was used in German Latin script (for names and places) to indicate the Ligatur "ß" - so it's "Voß"
    – Arsak
    Commented Nov 5 at 18:38
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Transcript of the second part:

Herrn
Förster a. D. C. Voß
Hermersdorf bei
Trebnitz i. d. M. an der Ostbahn
frei.

Förster a. D., Förster außer Dienst, is a retired forrest warden. C. is the initial of his first name.

The last name is interpreted as ending with ß. According to the Duden entry here, in latin script there was an old form of writing ß as ſs

In der Schreibform, die in der älteren handſchriftlichen Lateinſchrift für ß üblich war, ſtellt der erste Teil des Zeichens eine Zierform des langen ſ dar, kein h in der deutſchen Schreibſchrift.

For the word "frei" in the last line, I think Arsak's idea is right, and it refers to postage not to be payed.

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    There was a reddit post about the same issue some days ago. One commenter there posted this link to an old Duden entry that covers this (in section C.c.)
    – Arsak
    Commented Nov 5 at 19:16
  • 2
    @Arsak The "old Duden entry". That is convincing.
    – ccprog
    Commented Nov 5 at 19:23
  • 1
    @Arsak Excellent find, very convincing.
    – marquinho
    Commented Nov 5 at 19:50
  • 1
    Also see the Wikipedia entry with an explanatory grafic
    – ccprog
    Commented Nov 5 at 20:19
  • 2
    And the ultimate proof: an autograph by J. W. Goethe: third stanza, second line: "Doch du weißt mich zu enwirren"
    – ccprog
    Commented Nov 5 at 20:35

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