Hitler/Obersalzburg Post Cards

[GELIS44]

My recent collecting has been focused on post cards. These are what I have so far. Notice the Berghof card has a Waffen SS Stamp on the back. Looks genuine? All cards bought from Tom Capparelli (kriegcards.com). How many Hoffman-Hitler series are there and how many cards make a complete set? I've been thinking about buying a reference but didn't know if they covered Hitler specifically. Thanks!! Anyone else have the Hitler bug? I've seen some cards for sale with stamps and addresses but no writing. This doesn't make sense to me? Am I missing something obvious?

Have any of the Hoffman Hitler books been printed post war?

[GELIS44]

[GELIS44]

[GELIS44]

[GELIS44]

[GELIS44]

Waffen SS Stamp!! Translation?

[GELIS44]

[GELIS44]

[ramon]

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[ramon]

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[GELIS44]

Where did your post go Ramon? Nice collection of color post cards!! Do you collect black and white photo PC's?

[ramon]

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[GELIS44]

The Heinrich Hoffmann portion of my postcard collection numbers in excess of 3600 cards. While not complete, it is one of the better collections around. With my health issues, I won't get around to publishing it, but I have lists of all the series Hoffmann created and have slides of all my cards. Here's the link to my Color Hitler Card thread posted earlier.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=130380

Ramon

I would say it has to be one of the best in the world!! I'm sorry to hear of your bad health. I didn't realize how many Hoffman prints were out there. Are you including Knights Cross and others in the 3600?? I browsed the link, and it is obvious the quality of your collection. Do you have any advice for collecting Hitler PC's? I understand after doing some research that some fake's are missing there individual card numbers, but the fakers could print them any time.

[ramon]

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[GELIS44]

Thank you for the kind words.

Hoffmann material is bountiful in terms of the topics covered and the sheer mass of images.

What're you interested in collecting regarding Hitler images? My collection as expansive as it is, started with the first card and grew from there. If you want to collect Hitler as the Party man, Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, private citizen, Kampfzeit, immediate prewar, or wartime leader, there are postcards that depict all these images. Do you want cards that show him facing left, right, and straight on, there are cards that depict these images. Black/white, color, sepia, there are those images. The point is, you want to decide what is important and of interest to you and go from there.

Concerning the fraudsters and fake cards. The field suffers from this as does every other field of interest. When there's interest in something, money follows, and unfortunately, so do the parasites who seek profit at the expense of the unsuspecting collector. I enjoy cards that have been postally used as well as mint, unused specimen.

The key to learning about these cards is to handle as many as you possibly can. Learn the card stock, learn the printing styles used, learn the permutation of Hoffmann's addresses as this can give you a sense of when the card was produced, learn the historical context the cards emanate from, learn the philatelic history of the postage stamps that appear on the card, learn about the Sonderstempel or special cancellations that were used when the card and/or postage stamp were issued. All of these bits of knowledge combine for a richer appreciation of the subject and gird you against the trickster.

Depending upon the interest you develop, believe me when I say that you can be sucked into a field of interest the depth to which you little suspected existed prior to you taking up the collecting of this material.

I have a 45+ year headstart on you. I continue to find items I didn't know existed. That's the fun of it all for me. I'm still not jaded. My heart still races when I see good material hitherto unknown to me.

As an aside, you may wish to see my Propaganda Postcard thread,

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ad.php?t=46839

When I have the opportunity, I'll post a list of the various Hoffmann series extant.

Also, while we've concentrated pretty much solely on Hoffmann, there are many other publishers that sold Party related cards that depict Adi so the field is a big one to cover.

Ramon

First of all, thanks for your lenghtly response. As of the moment, my focus is wide. I find berghof/eagles nest (berchestgaden) scenes interestings as well as Hitler posing with children. This is a side not often seen by the masses. Of course these are posed shots used for propaganda. I equally like serious poses of Adolph wearing his military uniform. On a side note: I've seen some PC's for sale with stamps and addresses but no writing. This doesn't make sense to me?? Help? I look forward to seeing the rest of your collection. My two sources of AH PC's are MSR Media ( not sure if this is correct) and www.kreigcards.com. I have met these dealers in person and they seem to be friendly and have huge inventories.