Herr und Frau Biedermeier

Nostalgia is a strong emotion.
Remember that special place?
That time when life was fresh and green?
 It's a powerful feeling to recall a sentimental life now past.
Ultimately all our fond memories are bound up in a love
that affects each of us and our collective culture too.

But each generation treasures a different era,
and a century ago, German nostalgia
focused on a time long ago in the early 19th century.

 That's what is depicted here
with Herr und Frau Biedermeier.

This postcard shows
an elegantly dressed man and woman
looking as if they have just stepped off
the top of a wedding cake.
She wears a hooped white dress with elaborate hat
while the gentleman is attired
in a light colored tailcoat and top hat.

The card is captioned:

MAIER  WALTER
Herr und Frau Biedermeier.

In a variation of the first postcard
this second card shows
the woman without hat but with fan.

This postcard was sent from
Leibnitz, Austria on 25 July 1918. 

The term Biedermeier refers to a historical era in Central Europe from 1815 to 1848 which was time of relative peace and prosperity between the end of the Napoleonic era and the start of the Revolutions of 1848. In German and Austrian culture there was a boom in the middle class which encouraged an appreciation of new artistic styles in literature, music, the visual arts and interior design. In 1918 the fashions of the Biedermeier era were only 60-70 years gone, so this couple are modeling a style from their grandparents' generation.
 
The handsome couple are music hall entertainers, Franz Maier and Mina Walter. In December 1909 they were on the playbill for the Hotel Elefant, in Ljubljana, a city then in Austria but now in Slovenia.

Ljubljana, Slovenia, Laibacher Zeitung
14 December 1909

HOTEL  „ELEFANT".
Dienstag den 14. und Mittwoch den  15. Dezember
Gastspiel
der  populären Soubrette
Mina Walter
in ihrem modernen Programm.
Besonders zu  bemerken:
Die Schirmhändlerln, Parodie a. d. Operette
„Die Dollarprinzessin",  A bisserl geht er!
Höher geht's nimmer!  und  weitere   Originalschlager.
Theater  u. Variété!  Die ganze Welt und a Stückerl dazu!
 Im Luftballon
Maier  -Walter
neue Kostüm - Duette:
„Sonntagskinder"
„D' Luftschiffer"
Maier - Walter al „ Renner - Buben"
Anfang 8 Uhr.
Zu zahlreichem Besuche ladet höflichst ein
Franz Maier, Direktor
~

HOTEL "ELEPHANT".
Tuesday the 14th and Wednesday the 15th December
guest performance
the popular soubrette
Mina Walter
in her modern program.
Especially to note:
The Umbrella Merchants, parody a. d. operetta
"The Dollar Princess", A bit he goes!
Higher is never possible! and more original hits.
Theater and Vaudeville!  The whole world and a lump(?) to!   
In the balloon
Maier -Walter
new costume duets:
"Sunday's Children"
"D 'airship"
Maier - Walter al "Renner - Jacks"
Beginning 8 o'clock.
To many visits invites politely
Franz Maier, director

Franz and Mina first appeared in my story from May 2015 entitled Things Are Not Always What They Seem where they were dressed in matching men's suits and smoking an odd cigar pipe-thing.

This postcard dates from 18 September 1906 and was sent  from Graz, Austria.

In July 1906 the couple, dressed in the same suits, appeared in an engraving that was used in an advertisement for the Hotel Terschek in Celje, the third-largest town in Slovenia. In pre-WW1 era is was known as Cilli.

Deutsche Wacht
13 May 1906

I've not discovered what D'Lerchenfelder means exactly. Larks Fields is the direct translation, but I think it is a slang term perhaps for two men-about-town on the make. Uns hams g'halten is harder to understand. We hold something? Franz Maier (Mir geht's schlecht ~ I feel bad) refers to his hit song, a comic number that gave him his stage nickname. Mina Walter (mit neuem Repertoir ~ with a new repertoire) was his partner. 

I found only one short bio for Franz Maier on the internet, unfortunately in an encrypted German archive. It indicated that Franz Maier was born in 1851 in Tulln, Austria on the Danube River and died in 1928 in Wien (Vienna). He also was married to Mina Walter. So perhaps their wedding cake costume was authentic. I imagine Franz and Mina's act was not unlike the American comedy duo of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen. And though Maier's specialty was comic songs,  I suspect Mina, like Gracie, always got the best laughs.

As usual YouTube provides a suitable historic film
made at a San Francisco vaudeville theatre in 1912
which I think comes close to the act that Franz and Mina performed.
There is no sound but it shows a couple
clearly doing some comic bit that also includes some dancing.

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This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
click the link for more dancing partners.