The Romantic Strings, the Children Edition

 

Parents recognize that face.
That wonderful moment when a child
discovers that their talent is its own reward.  

Their enthusiasm builds on itself.
An amusement becomes an obsession
as each new skill inspires
a determination to learn more.  

It starts in that innocent time of childhood
when everything is a wonder.

And as parents and grandparents know
it begins with questions.
Many, many questions
about the world,
about how things work,

and about the infinite possibilities of life.

Today I present four examples 
of antique picture postcards
that have a romantic musical theme
of string instruments
and children.
 

My first postcard is a drawing in sepia tone of a youth in his nightshirt sitting on the edge of his bed and playing a violin. His expression is one of bright fixation on his music making. In the background is a woman, perhaps his mother, watching with clasped hands. Scattered on the floor are some pages of music. A picture of an organist at a keyboard, perhaps Johann Sebastian Bach, hands on the boy's bedroom wall.    

The title of the picture is Genesung~Recovery. The artist is identified in the lower right corner, both in the etching and printed on the sidebar, as Toby E. Rosenthal. His full name was Tobias Edward Rosenthal (1848–1917), a German artist born in Strasburg in Westpreußen, a place once part of Prussia which later became part of Germany. It is now called Brodnica and is a town in northern Poland. At a young age Rosenthal's parents emigrated to America, settling in San Francisco where Rosenthal received his first art training from a French-born sculptor and an expatriate Mexican artist.  

Rosenthal's postcard of a young violinist abed has a brief greeting on the back but was never posted. The publisher was Hermann A. Wiechmann of München~Munich, Germany. The style of the printing suggestions a date of 1915-1925.

Rosenthal's tutors in California recognized his natural talent for drawing and recommended to his parents that he travel back to Germany for further art study. In 1865 he enrolled in Munich's Academy of Fine Arts. By age 22 he won a prize medal for an imaginative painting of Bach's family at morning prayers. It was considered worthy enough to be acquired by the State Museum in Leipzig. 

Morning prayers in the Bach family
by Toby Edward Rosenthal, 1870
Source: Wikimedia

I found two versions of this painting on the internet. Above is an image from Wikimedia which I presume is Rosenthal's original painting in color. It shows the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) at home seated at a harpsichord with his lively family gathered around. Johann was married twice, first to Maria Barbara Bach (1684–1720) with whom he had seven children including three who died in infancy, and then Anna Magdalena Bach, née Wilcke (1701–1760) who gave him thirteen children including seven who died before reaching adulthood. 

There are eleven figures in the scene which includes a baby's cradle. I count six who are clearly not adults. According to the Wikipedia entry for Anna Magdalena Bach, "Only during the ten weeks from June to August 1732 were five of the couple’s children younger than 10 years of age living in the household."  It seems very likely that Rosenthal is depicting this Bach family of 1732.

Morning prayers in the Bach family
by Toby Edward Rosenthal, 1870
Source: Wikimedia

The second version of Rosenthal's painting is an engraving(?) made for an American book published in 1914. The engraver has reproduced Rosenthal's work very accurately, preserving all the animation of the original family scene. But their faces have more fine detail and I think the sepia tone picture is much more convincing as a work of art. 

Though he made a few return visits to America, Rosenthal made his career in Munich, Germany producing many paintings inspired by great writers of his time. His style followed the German Romantic movement which depicted historic events and nostalgic folk characters. 

This next drawing by Rosenthal was made in 1907. It is similar to the young violinist because this sketch shows another youth enthralled by his craft. Here an older boy concentrates on carving a small wooden figurine of Christ's Crucifixion. It's a sculpting skill which Rosenthal as an artist was likely very familiar with. 

Study of a Boy Carving a Crucifix
drawing by Toby E. Rosenthal, 1907
Source: Wikimedia 

* * *

My next postcard is a portrait of another young violinist engrossed in the sound of his instrument. This boy has wavy red hair not unlike the color of his violin and wears a blue-green jacket with a wide white collar. It's a thoughtful pose that invites us to admire the boy's focus on his music.  

This artist's name is signed in the lower right corner and printed on the back. He is Albert Louis Aublet (1851–1938) a French painter born in Paris. Aublet's first Paris exhibition was in 1873. He traveled to the Middle East in the 1880s where his experience in Istanbul inspired him to develop an "Orientalist" style by painting exotic subjects and themes. He also produced a number of genre paintings and female nudes.     

This postcard was sent from Bern, Switzerland on 9 May 1918. The painting's title is printed on the back: le jeune vilon~The young violinist. It was printed in Paris.

Bathing Time at Le Tréport
painting by Albert Aublet, 1885
Source: Wikimedia

Wikimedia offered a several examples of Albert Aublet's work. This summer scene shows a crowd enjoying a stony beach at Le Tréport, a port town in Normandy, France. The swirl of women's umbrellas adds more movement than we would see on a modern beach.

French artist, Albert Aublet (1851–1938)
in his studio, photograph, date unknown
Source: Wikimedia

Another image from Wikimedia is a photo of Albert Aublet working at his studio in Paris. The date is unknown but judging from his appearance it likely late 1890s or 1900s. Notice that the painting Aublet has on his easel is a portrait of three young girls, likely three sisters. Remember to click any image to enlarge it. 

* * *

 

This next postcard shows a lovely father/daughter moment when a cellist plays for his little girl. She wears a golden gown and pulls her dress out as she marvels at this grown-up costume. Music is scattered on the floor by the man's chair. His concentration is, of course, focused not on his cello but on his child. 

The title of this painting is Chaconne, a Spanish dance form from the Baroque era involving variations over a repeated bass line. The artist's name, written in the lower corner of the painting and printed on the sidebar, is John Quincy Adams. 

Despite his American-sounding name, John Quincy Adams (1873–1933) was actually Austrian. He was the son of American tenor Charles Runey Adams (1834-1900) and Hungarian singer Nina Bleyer (1835-1899) who both sang in the company of the the Vienna Court Opera. Their son was named after the 6th President of the United States, John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), but there was no direct family connection. In 1879 the family moved back to Boston but when his parents separated in 1887 Adams returned to Vienna with his mother. He studied art at the Wien Academy of Fine Arts from 1892-1896, followed by a year of artistic training at the Munich Academy and another year in Paris at the Académie Julian.

This postcard was never used but I present the back for its beautiful floral border. The publisher was B.K.W.I. or Brüder Kohn Wien I, one of the most successful postcard companies in Vienna and Europe. This is the same publisher that produced the postcards of my favorite artist Fritz Schönpflug (1873 – 1951). Since he and Adams were contemporaries I expect they must have known each other. 

Kitty Baronin Rothschild
painting by John Quincy Adams, 1916
Source: Wikimedia

According to a biography of Adams, he produced around 500 paintings in a large variety of genres with different subjects and styles. Nonetheless his main work earned Adams a cliché as "painter of the beautiful, elegant Viennese lady". One example is this portrait of Kitty Rothschild (1885–1946), an American socialite who was considered by noted Parisian dress designers as one of the world's ten best-dressed women. Born in Philadelphia, as a young woman she studied music in Munich, where she met and then eloped with Dandridge Spotswood, a industrial and mining engineer from New York with a Virginian ancestry. For a time the young couple resided in New York but the marriage did not last and they divorced.

In 1911 Kitty married an Austrian nobleman, Count Erwin Schoenborn, from an ancient noble family of the Holy Roman Empire. This painting was made in 1916 when they were still together as in 1924 they divorced. I don't know who got the dog. That same year Kitty married Baron Eugène Daniel von Rothschild (1884–1976), a member of the notable Rothschild family. The Rothschild's made their home in Paris and became prominent in continental European society until the start of World War Two. 

 

Kaiser Franz Joseph I
painting by John Quincy Adams, 1914
Source: Wikimedia

It is this portrait of Austria's Kaiser Franz Joseph I by John Quincy Adams that I find most interesting. It was completed in 1914 when Franz Joseph was 84 and shows a man bowed down by the weight of 66 years as monarch. What I don't know is if this portrait was finished before or after 28 June 1914 when his nephew and heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo by Serbian terrorists. This terrible murder of the Archduke and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, triggered the start of World War One. Franz Joseph would die two years later on 21 November 1916. 

* * *

My last picture postcard is another drawing that shows a small boy crouched behind an elderly cello player, presumably the boy's grandfather, who sits on a rustic stool. He grins with delight as he watches the bow race over the instrument's strings. Grandfather is bearded, barefoot, and dressed in shabby clothing. He smokes a long pipe as he looks directly at us. A violin hangs on the wall. He resembles characters in antique illustrations of Gypsy fiddlers that I have featured on another post, A Fiddler on the Street. 

There is a long message on the front around the drawing (more about that in a minute) and on the back is Kaiser Franz Joseph's picture in profile on a green 5 heller postage stamp. The stamp dates from 1908 in celebration of the Kaiser's 60th year as king and emperor. It was sent from Zadar, a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea, to an Oberleutnant~First Lieutenant Peteani in Dalmatia. The postmark date is illegible, but 1908-1910 seems reasonable.   

The artist of this little drawing signed his name in the lower corner: Valentini, 1882 but there is no other identification. After a hunt, I believe this was Valentino Valentini, (1858–?) an Italian artist who was born in Florence, Italy. Nothing much about his life is recorded on the internet but I did succeed in finding enough examples of his work to show that he understood musicians and musical instruments. 

Monk Musician
painting by Valentino Valentini, 1882
Source: MutualArt.com 

This painting by Valentini recently sold at auction. It shows a bearded monk playing a double bass. The monk stands in front of a heavy wooden music stand suitable for two players or even four. Scattered on the floor are more pages of music which seems to be a popular cliché to use when depicting earnest musicians. This painting is dated 1882 like the drawing so maybe the bearded man modeled for the cellist too.  

The Accordion Player
painting by Valentino Valentini
Source: MutualArt.com

This painting by Valentino Valentini shows a humble accordion player scanning the room or street in order to catch the eye of someone who will drop a few coins at his feet. It's a nice portrait of a folk musician as typical of Italy today as it was in the 19th century.   

* * *

Today in the 21st century we look at countless photographs and videos of people doing all sorts of things while expressing every kind of emotion. They are now so common that we forget how incredibly difficult it once was to capture a special moment on film. Just as they do today, people in the past smiled, laughed, cried, and hollered. But early photographers had to be very skilled, and lucky, too, to record those fleeting memories on film. 

Artists, on the other hand, have always relied on just a good eye and a deft hand to draw those human moments. With a good imagination and a familiar understanding of facial features, an artist can recreate an experience like love, joy, sadness, or anger that is instantly understood by any person, regardless of their language or point in time. It's that mastery of art which I think enhances our appreciation of this era when a picture postcard of a musician was more than just a pretty image. Sure, they were sentimental and designed to charm, but they also validate how prevalent it once was to have the wonder of music in people's lives. 

  Coda  

The German handwriting on this last postcard's message was made with a fountain pen and was consistent enough for me to recognize most of the letters if not the full words. For an experiment I removed the picture, increased the contrast, and rearranged the second part of the message into just a clear image of the script. I then uploaded it to three different AI services: ChatGpt, Perplexity, and Claude, giving each the same instruction: "Transcribe this handwritten German message from a 1910 Austrian postcard and translate it into English."

All three came up with pretty good equivalents for the German handwriting catching most umlauts, often written as just a dash over a vowel instead of '', and noting the funny German character ß for ss. Of the three, Claude was the most accurate. It produced this transcription:

Original: 

                    Lieber Harry! Nachdem mein Gagenzettel größer ausgefallen 

                als ich gedacht habe und etwas so noch hatte, habe ich mich
                entschlossen nach Hause zu fahren. Fahre am 3/9 um 8h früh weg.
                Werde niemandem sagen, dass du kommst, auch ich 
                werde momentan erscheinen. Almuier (?) wird 
                wahrscheinlich mit dir hinauffahren. Habe mich bezüglich deines
                Urlaubs erkundigt, da wurde mir gesagt vom...

                * 1–4 habt ihr Trainübungen und dann 
                    kannst du fahren, wenn es dir unten vom Kader 
                    bewilligt wird. Auf Wiedersehen recht 
                    bald. Mit Gruß und Kuss Karl.

Translation:

                         Dear Harry! Since my pay slip turned out larger 

                    than I had expected and I still had something left over, I have 

                    decided to travel home. I am leaving on the 3rd of September
                                at 8 o'clock in the morning. 

                    I will not tell anyone that you are coming, and I myself
                    will appear for the time being. Almuier (?) will probably travel up 
                    with you. I inquired regarding your vacation, and I was told by...

                    * From the 1st to the 4th you have training exercises, and then 

                        you can travel if it is approved for you 

                        down at headquarters. See you again quite soon. 

                        With greetings and a kiss, Karl.

All three AI websites offer a free service and were very quick, producing a neat transcription and translation in 15-25 seconds. The key for using this tool is to prepare the image carefully so that there is nothing except the script for the AI engine to analyze. I'm very impressed that it correctly found letters that I would not have guessed because it recognized the context and the typical syntax of a message written in German. I'm eager to try it with other languages.  

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where feather bolsters are on sale all weekend.

Invitation to the Dance

  

It was the swirl of motion that first caught my attention. It's a picture of a dancing couple in elegant formal dress. Without background and viewed from above as if seen from a balcony, the artist focuses only on their embrace in a quick moment of a dance turn. It's not the kind of postcard I usually buy but as I explored more of this artist's work I recognized he was depicting a time when formal dancing was the height of sophistication and cultured manners. 

The front of the card has a note and a date:

Tharandt 11/5 08
O! Welche Seligkeit! ~ Oh! What bliss!

Tharandt is a small town in Germany, situated on the Weißeritz River, 13 km (8.1 mi) southwest of Dresden. It is addressed to Frau M. von Eye of Berlin. The note is from Alfred, whom I'm guessing was her husband.

Ferdinand von Řezníček (1868–1909)
Source: Wikimedia

The artist is Ferdinand von Řezníček (1868–1909), a contemporary of Fritz Schönpflug whose work I featured on my blog last weekend. Řezníček was also Austrian, born in Sievering, (now part of Vienna), and the son of General Josef Řezníček and his second wife, Hermine née Conrad. Like many sons, Ferdinand was expected to follow his father and pursue a military career. But after his father's death in 1886, when Ferdinand was just eighteen, he instead followed a passion for art and moved to Munich to study painting. There he became a well-known illustrator for several German satirical magazines.  

 

This second card is a variation on the same theme, showing a different couple in mid-step. The young woman bends backward to smile at us. Both pictures are lightly tinted with color.

The front message is written in a style too difficult for me to translate. The back has a Bavarian postmark from München/Munich dated 22 January 1913. It is addressed to someone in Stuttgart which was the capital of Württemberg, a historical German territory east of Bayern/Bavaria know as the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia.   

Řezníček found his greatest success illustrating for Simplicissimus, a German weekly satirical magazine. It was founded in Munich by Albert Langen in April 1896 shortly after Řezníček became an editorial assistant to Langen. The magazine took its name from a picaresque German novel, Simplicius Simplicissimus, published in 1668 and considered the first adventure novel in the German language. The title Simplicius is the name given to the protagonist who early in the novel was thought so simple that he did not know what his own name was. 

Simplicissimus
March 1905
Source: Internet Archive

Every week Simplicissimus printed stories and essays on current social and political issues in Imperial Germany. The magazine engaged many prominent German writers and artists like Řezníček to give it a modern graphic style that was very different from conservative newspapers and journals. Its front covers poked fun at politicians and military figures with colorful caricatures which made Simplicissimus one of the more influential satirical magazines. 

This cover of a clown carrying a gayly masked woman on his shoulders was produced for a special edition of Simplicissimus celebrating Karnevals or Fasching, the festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period in the German-speaking countries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Though I'm not certain, I believe the artist is Ferdinand Reznicek, as several of his drawings, like the next one, were in this particular edition. 

Simplicissimus
March 1905
Source: Internet Archive

The Simplicissimus magazine published several collections of Ferdinand Reznicek's artwork in book form and then individually in series of postcards.

This dancing couple have added an energetic drop to their routine. The postcard was also sent to Frau v. Eye of Berlin by, I think, Alfred but a month later on 13 June 1908. 

The acrobatic stance of this couple shows they are clearly having a real good time on the dance floor. The penciled message on the front is too challenging for me but there is a date 3 II 06 which corresponds to the postmark of 4 February 1906 on the back. It was sent from München to Egmating, a small community near München. The card was published by Simplicissimus as Series I, no. 5. Notice that in the corner it is identified as a "Postkarte" in seventeen different langauages.

   

Several characters in Ferdinand Reznicek's drawings wear masks which I assume is connected to fancy dress costumes worn during the carnival season. This was also the winter season for balls which popularized the traditions  of ballroom dancing in Central Europe. 

But as is well known, after the invitation to the dance there are other invitations that can lead to more lascivious activities. This colorful drawing shows a couple in a passionate embrace after a few glasses of Champagne. I don't recognize the dance move but I feel sure that in the music the strings have modulated to a higher key. 

Pictures of dancers were only one theme that Ferdinand Reznicek was skilled at. He also made a lot of artwork for Simplicissimus that was risqué with subtle erotic overtones. This example was originally a drawing in black ink but was reprinted during the war years. This card was sent to a young woman in Wien on 29 January 1916, possibly by a soldier as it has a military overstamp next to Kaiser Franz-Joseph's green stamp. 

Ferdinand Reznicek died in May 1909, but his artwork continued to be reprinted by Simplicissimus. The magazine continued operating during the First Word War and later the Weimar period taking a tough stance against political extremists whether on the left or the right. But as the National Socialist party came to power, the editor of Simplicissimus, a Jew, was forced to resign and flee into exile. The remaining writers and artists turned the magazine into another propaganda rag for the Nazi party until it stopped publication in 1944. It was revived in 1954 but finally closed in 1967.

I have more postcards of Ferdinand Reznicek's artwork
which I plan to use in future stories. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile here are videos that demonstrate the Viennese waltz
which was the dance I believe Ferdinand Reznicek
was depicting in his drawings.
First there is this instructional video 
How-to dance the Viennese Waltz - It Takes Two
from the BBC Strictly Come Dancing show.
The explanation of the dance is terrific
but unfortunately the  accompanying music
is neither a waltz nor remotely Viennese. 

Next is a short video
from the Ball of the Vienna Philharmonic in 2019

And to finish here is a delightful scene
from the Wiener Opernball 2020,
the Galopp nach der Mitternachtsquadrille.
The beautiful trained dancers have left the floor
and now it's a frenzy as every man and woman 
starts kallomping around in time to the music. 

It's not a waltz in three but a gallop in two.

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where everyone bends over backward

to offer the best blogging hospitality.

Getting Around Old Wien part 4

 

Lesson No. 38
(1910 Österreichisches Autofahrerhandbuch * )

                            When confronted with a steep incline

                            and no horse can be put before the auto,
                            brute manpower may be the only solution. 

Postmarked from Wien, Austria 27 June 1904.

This comic postcard was created by Fritz Schönpflug (1873 – 1951), a Viennese artist who produced hundreds of amusing caricatures of life in the era of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. I've featured his work many times on this blog and this post returns to his series on automobiles. The previous one was in May 2022, Getting Around Old Wien part 3.    

* * *

Scientific America,
cover 13 January 1906
Source: Internet Archive

 

Lesson No. 171
(1910 Österreichisches Autofahrerhandbuch)

                    To properly distinguish which end
                    of the Radmutternschlüssel to use
                    on the Stoßdämpferbaugruppe of your Kraftfahrzeuge,
                    please consult the manual or an expert mechanic find.

Hand dated 10 December 1904.

* * *

Automobile diagram from
"Audels answers on automobiles,
for owners, operators, repairmen" — 1912
Source: Internet Archive

 

Lesson No. 212
(1910 Österreichisches Autofahrerhandbuch)

                            When off the beaten track or in unfamiliar country villages

                            it is important to master the three-point turn

                            or risk driving persons or animals around the bend. 

Postmarked from Groß Flottbek, Germany in Hamburg 21 June 1904.

* * *

Sixty Miles an Hour by Frederic W. Hager,
sheet music cover 1910
Source: International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)

Popular Mechanics,
cover April 1910
Source: Internet Archive

Lesson No. 14
(1910 Österreichisches Autofahrerhandbuch)

                            During the first time operating an auto one must remember
                            both hands remain on the Lenkrad at all times, 
                            the Gaspedal not to press excessive, while the other foot ready always
                            to activate the Kupplung or Bremsen for vehicle safely to halt. 
                            The driver must stay alert and avoid distracting Geschnatter with passengers.

Postmarked from Wien, Austria 26 May 1930.

* * *

Saturday Evening Post,
cover 15 June 1912
Source: Internet Archive

The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Co.,
advertisement 1909
Source: Internet Archive

Lesson No. 1,736
(1910 Österreichisches Autofahrerhandbuch)

                            A good motorist respects the rights of other drivers no matter
                            if they are operating old-fashioned vehicles at slow speeds
                            or engaging in unexpected maneuvers in the roadway.  
                            Pass with care, steer clear of obstacles, and avoid antagonizing behavior.

Unposted but dated [1]910 by Fritz Schönpflug next to his signature.

*I apologize if any readers have attempted to find this work online
but the "1910 Österreichisches Autofahrerhandbuch" is entirely a figment of my imagination.

The Peerless Motor Car Co.,
advertisement 1908
Source: Internet Archive

Klaxon Automobile Horns,
advertisement 1910
Source: Internet Archive

   The KLAXON is the most effective safeguard against collision ever devised.
   The penetrating KLAXON blast is audible to another driver a quarter to half a mile ahead, and on water from one to two miles.  It resembles no other created sound.  It is purposely harsh and startling, for a harsh note has a natural warning quality lacking in musical notes.
   The driver who hears a KLAXON does not stop to think:  he turns to his side of the road involuntarily and promptly. 

But words are not enough.
To best appreciate
the superior qualities
of a KLAXON horn
one must listen to its sound.

But not too close.

Sound familiar?

Dayton, OH Herald
29 January 1930

Henry Fillmore (1881- 1956) was an American composer and bandleader, famous for his exhilarating circus marches. In 1929 he composed "The Klaxon" subtitled "March of the Automobiles" for the 1930 Cincinnati Auto Show dedicating it “to the producers of the Klaxon Automobile Horns." For the event in Cincinnati, Fillmore commissioned a novelty instrument from the Klaxon department of the Delco-Remy Corp. that he called the "klaxophone". It had 12 specially tuned automobile horns fixed to a table and powered by a car battery. It was played over a nationwide radio broadcast in January 1930. The march proved so popular that Fillmore and his band took it on the road. 

Here is a splendid performance of The Klaxon.

played by the United States Army Field Band

as part of a concert give in April 2020.

Apparently the U. S. Army Field Band
doesn't have a klaxophone in its arsenal. 

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where everyone is on a road trip this weekend.