1899 Gruss Aus Bingen German Tavern Scene Vintage Art Postcard
About This Vintage Postcard
This charming color lithograph captures a playful tavern scene set in the historic German town of Bingen am Rhein. The image depicts a jovial cavalier in 17th-century attireteracting with a young barmaid in traditional dirndl-style dress. The background features massive wine barrels, one dated 1838, emphasizing the region's deep viticultural roots. This Gruss aus (Greetings from) style card was a popular genre during the Golden Age of postcards, often using romanticized historical themes to celebrate local hospitality and the famous wines of the Rhine Valley. The scene evokes a sense of Gemütlichkeit, that quintessential German feeling of warmth and good cheer.
Details
Era: Undivided Back (1899)
City: Bingen am Rhein
State or Region: Rhineland-Palatinate
Country: Germany
Topic: Tavern Life, German Folklore, Bingen Wine History, Historical Costumes, Rhine Valley Tourism
Condition: Circulated
Postage: 5 Pfennig Green Germania Reichspost Stamp, postmarked Nov 20, 1899, in Bingen BRB.
Address Side: undivided back
Orientation: Vertical (Portrait)
Artist / Photographer: Unknown; attributed to Eugen Felle
Publisher: Verlag: F. Szesztokat, Köln (Cologne)
Printer: Unknown
Print Type: Chromolithograph
Additional Information
This postcard is a premier example of a pre-1900 Gruss aus card, definitively dated to November 20, 1899, by its Bingen (Rhein) arrival and Stromberg (Hunsrück) transit postmarks. It was published by F. Szesztokat of Cologne, a prominent German publisher of the era. The address is beautifully written in Sütterlin script to Fräulein Auguste Liebeck in Stromberg. Bingen, situated at the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley, has been a hub for wine culture since the Romans. The intricate chromolithography process provides the deep, saturated colors that defined high-end German printing at the turn of the century.
Stamp and Postal History
The card features a 5 Pfennig green Germania stamp, part of the iconic definitive series that served as the face of German postage for over two decades. This specific stamp carries the "REICHSPOST" inscription, identifying it as part of the first issue released in late 1899. Finding a Germania stamp postmarked in its debut year is particularly desirable for philatelists. The cancellation is remarkably crisp, documenting a same-day transit from Bingen to Stromberg, which highlights the legendary efficiency of the Imperial Reichspost. While the individual used stamp is common, its preservation on an era-appropriate "Gruss aus" postcard significantly enhances its historical value and appeal to collectors of German postal history.
This postcard would look great framed or make an excellent addition to any collection.
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