Music Postcards: A 637-Page Exploration of Cultural History
A new, comprehensive study reveals how humble picture postcards offer a surprisingly rich window into the musical tastes and cultural values of the late 19th and 20th centuries. Published in 2024 by Verlag Böhlau, the 637-page work, featuring 144 colored illustrations, builds upon the decades-long collection of over 20,000 music-themed postcards amassed by Sabine Giesbrecht, a former professor of musicology at the University of Osnabrück.
From Triviality to Treasure
Initially dismissed by some colleagues as “banal and trivial,” Giesbrecht’s collection is now recognized as a significant cultural artifact. A team of scientists, supported by the Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony, undertook the ambitious project of digitizing the collection and analyzing its contents through multiple disciplinary lenses. The resulting book demonstrates the power of seemingly commonplace objects to reveal deeper truths about society and artistic expression.
The Dawn of Visual Music Communication
The study highlights the postcard’s pivotal role in the history of visual communication. Emerging around 150 years ago, the postcard predated the digital image boom of today – selfies, snapshots, and curated online content – and represented the first widespread use of images for personal correspondence. As one analyst noted, “The postcard was the beginning of mass use of images for private communication.”
Reflecting a Time and its Ideals
These postcards aren’t merely depictions of musical figures and events; they are reflections of the era in which they were created. From the late 19th century onward, they offer insights into the thoughts, interests, and aspirations of previous generations. “Pictures always fulfill wishes and dreams, reflect ideals,” the study explains, “and in the case of music it shows what was important – and also, as idealized on the one hand, how real on the other hand you saw the topic.” The postcards capture the spectrum of musical life, from renowned composers and performers to local musicians and opera houses.
A Window into Viennese Musical Culture
A particularly fascinating case study within the book focuses on the Kohn brothers, Viennese postcard publishers who specialized in photographs of stage artists. Founded in 1898, the company amassed a catalog of 608 individual shots of singers, actors, and actresses, offering customers the ability to select and purchase postcards featuring their favorite stars. This practice, the researchers found, served as a “seismograph for their popularity.” The Kohn brothers’ success also bolstered Vienna’s identity as a “music city,” with postcards depicting composers associated with the city, historical landmarks, and popular songs.
Popularity and Representation on Postcards
The study reveals which artists enjoyed the greatest public recognition, with Selma Kurz, Erik Schmedes, and Leo Slezak topping the charts in the opera world. Beyond established stars, the postcards also captured a broader range of musical activity, including images of children singing and even Gustav Mahler conducting. The sheer volume of musical imagery on these postcards underscores the art form’s pervasive influence on everyday life.
The comprehensive research, detailed in this new publication, demonstrates that even the most seemingly insignificant objects can hold profound cultural and historical significance. The enduring fascination with these postcards, as Renate Wagner observes, lies in their ability to connect us to the past and illuminate the enduring power of music.
