Himmler Calling Card

[C. Betz]

Card

Thank you Robin,

Sincerely,

Charles Betz

[Robin Lumsden]

Charles.

Here's the original card........note that it, like yours, has no hyphen.

[Robin Lumsden]

This is what is written on the back.......birthday greetings to Countess Bernstorff, who was the mistress of Himmler's adjutant, Karl Wolff. No birthday cards in these days!

[Robin Lumsden]

Lastly, here is the small envelope in which the card was sent. It is a perfect match for the card itself. The envelope is addressed in Himmler's own hand to the Countess and would have been sent via the SS internal office mail......or just handed over to Wolff for personal delivery.

[Robin Lumsden]

That's all Charles.

[C. Betz]

Calling Card

Thank you for posting the card Robin. One question; is this the only known type of calling card that Himmler used?

Sincerely,

Charles

[Robin Lumsden]

Thank you for posting the card Robin. One question; is this the only known type of calling card that Himmler used?

Sincerely,

Charles

No.....there were several types. Early with Gothic 'S's, later with runes, some with hyphens, some without, etc. etc. Different fonts were also used. Gothic and Suetterlin were both officially discarded by the NSDAP and it's organisations (including the SS) from 1941.

Hitler and others also had many different letterheads. Some were for personal mail, and others for official mail. There's a huge variety.

[C. Betz]

Calling Card

Thank you again Robin. One thing I have noticed on mine is that the ink is not as heavy as the one you posted initially from the website. Again, I have possesed this since 1998, well before the Internet took hold of the collecting hobby. I purchased this through Der Gauleiter.

Sincerely,

Charles Betz

[tazpants]

Charles,
I don,t actually own this card but just kept the photo on file. If Robin or Max are reading this, how does the one i posted look as an original? These must be so easy to fake unless one has some provenance like Robins. Nice cards though.

[C. Betz]

Question

Good question Tazpants,
I guess you would have to have provenance out the gazoo. However, for some documents posted and authenticated, they have just been listed as "I came across these or found at an yard sale type of thing". Who knows? The more provenance the better, no question about it.

But as Robin aptly demonstrated in one of his books; period paper and a typewriter can be used to fake an item such as a letter etc. A skilled forger could replicate calling cards also. Let's not forget Konrad Kujau and the Hitler Diaries. His efforts passed initial scrutiny but in the end, failed the forensics.

So Tazpants, I guess you will have to ask them.

Sincerely,

Charles Betz

[Robin Lumsden]

Here you go.......all the repro letterheads you could want......

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?im...lr%3D%26sa%3DG

[Robin Lumsden]

Charles,
I don,t actually own this card but just kept the photo on file. If Robin or Max are reading this, how does the one i posted look as an original? These must be so easy to fake unless one has some provenance like Robins. Nice cards though.

Looks OK.....but can't be sure.

[max history]

Charles,
I don,t actually own this card but just kept the photo on file. If Robin or Max are reading this, how does the one i posted look as an original? These must be so easy to fake unless one has some provenance like Robins. Nice cards though.

This one is on a Canadian website. Although it looks a bit better than the first one, I'd be very sceptical without actually holding it. After years of seeing real and fake ephemera, you get a "nose" for it. (I'm sure Robin knows what I mean.)
Max.

[Robin Lumsden]

I'm sure Robin knows what I mean.

How true.

My nose is positively worn out.

[C. Betz]

Site Posting

Thank you Robin and Max History for your input, and for the website, Robin.

Sincerely,

Charles Betz