Gruss aus Friedberg Hesse Germany 1899 Postcard + Bahnpost RPO cancel For Sale

Attractive1899 “Gruss aus Friedberg i. H.” color lithographic postcardfrom Friedberg in Hesse, Germany, combining several especially desirable late-19th-century subjects. The elaborate composition shows a large“Blick auf die Burg”view of Burg Friedberg, a separate courtyard view of theLehrerseminar, three young men in period academic/student dress with colored caps, and a heraldic shield with oak-leaf ornament.

Burg Friedberg is one of the largest castle complexes in the German-speaking world, occupying approximately 39,000 square meters. Its surviving medieval landmark is theAdolfsturm, the 14th-century bergfried visible in the historic castle complex. The lower vignette is especially significant for educational history: Friedberg’s teacher-training seminary was founded in1817by order of Grand Duke Ludewig I of Hesse-Darmstadt to train Protestant teachers, and it remained an important teacher-training institution throughout the 19th century. Contemporary records document active classes at the Friedberg Lehrerseminar during the 1898–99 school year.

The card is an earlyundivided-backissue, with the message written on the illustrated face and the reverse reserved for the address. The front is manuscript-dated7/6/99. It was sent toFräulein Auguste SchmidtatRosenthal bei Marburgand bears a clear Rosenthal receiving postmark dated8.6.99.

Postal-history interest is enhanced by the green5-Pfennig German Empire Krone/Adler “Reichspost” issue, Michel No. 46, correctly paying the domestic postcard rate. The stamp is tied by a partially struckBahnpost railway-mail cancellation—the German equivalent of an RPO marking. The route inscription is obscured by the stamp and cannot be read completely from the card, but Friedberg lay directly on the importantMain-Weser Railway between Frankfurt and Cassel, making railway-post handling entirely consistent with the routing. The sharp Rosenthal“BZ. CASSEL”receiving mark provides an additional dated postal-history feature.

The left margin identifies the publisher as“Verlag v. Carl Scriba, Friedberg i/H.”; the right margin credits“Druck v. G. Blümlein & Co., Frankfurt a/M.”, with card number1769at upper right. The Hessian State Archives preserve other Friedberg color-lithograph postcards from this same Scriba / G. Blümlein publishing combination from the late 1890s, confirming the contemporary origin of the production.

A particularly appealing crossover piece for collectors of Friedberg and Hesse, Burg Friedberg, German student and educational history, Lehrerseminar material, early color lithographic postcards, Krone/Adler postal history, Bahnpost and railway-mail cancellations, and pre-1900 German postal history.

VG

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I am selling my own personal collection of unique postcards, postal history, and ephemera.

Smoke-free and dry-humidity household.

Everything is guaranteed as described.I was previously a long-time seller, and I need to downsize my collections as I am moving overseas for personal reasons.

I will combine shipping costs with other lots.

Many more postcards and items are coming.