A 5.5x3.5" vintage RPPC photo postcard from the estate of a vintage automobile postcard collector. This was part of a huge collection of antique postcards.
Photo Overview
This real photo postcard captures the Mercedes-Benz W25 Grand Prix racing car - one of the legendary Silver Arrows - on display in the Ehrenhalle (Hall of Honor) at the Internationale Automobil- und Motorrad-Ausstellung (International Automobile and Motorcycle Exhibition) in Berlin, Germany, 1936. The sleek, low-slung W25 sits behind a display railing in the foreground, its wire wheels shod with Continental tires clearly visible.
Behind the racer sits a replica of the 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen with its large flywheel, dramatizing 50 years of automotive progress, while a BMW motorcycle rests to the right. The hall is filled with pioneering veteran automobiles decorated with floral arrangements, an extraordinary time capsule of German motoring history. Postally used with a Gottlieb Daimler commemorative stamp and a special 1936 Autoschau Berlin exhibition cancellation dated February 26, 1936 - a superb combination for both motorsport and philatelic collectors.
Historical Notes
The 1936 Berlin show celebrated the 50th anniversary of the automobile, and the W25 shown here was the car that launched the Silver Arrows legend - Rudolf Caracciola had just driven it to the 1935 European Championship. Ironically, 1936 would prove to be a humbling season for Mercedes: the short-chassis W25 was outclassed by Bernd Rosemeyer and the Auto Union Type C, prompting Mercedes to withdraw mid-season. The setback drove the design of the mighty W125 for 1937, a 600-plus horsepower monster that remained among the most powerful Grand Prix cars ever built for nearly half a century. The Ehrenhalle\'s celebration of German engineering triumph thus captured the Silver Arrows at a pivotal crossroads, just before their most dominant era. The BMW motorcycle display at this same 1936 show introduced the landmark R5, one of the most influential motorcycle designs of the twentieth century.
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Text Present
Printed caption on front, bottom: "Blick auf den Mercedes Rennwagen in der Ehrenhalle." (Translation: "View of the Mercedes racing car in the Hall of Honor.")
Printed on back, top left: "INTERNATIONALE AUTOMOBIL - UND MOTORRAD - AUSSTELLUNG BERLIN 1936" (Translation: "International Automobile and Motorcycle Exhibition Berlin 1936")
Printed on back, lower left corner: "Echte Photographie" (Translation: "Real Photograph")
Special exhibition postmark: "BERLIN-CHARLOTTENBURG - 1886 - 50 Jahre Autoschau Berlin - 26.2.36" (Translation: "Berlin-Charlottenburg - 50 Years Auto Show Berlin - February 26, 1936")
Stamp: Gottlieb Daimler 6 Pfennig, "1886-1936, 50 Jahre Deutsche Kraftwagen, Deutsches Reich" (Translation: "50 Years of German Motor Vehicles, German Reich")
Handwritten message in German (partially legible): "Lieber Fritz, liebe Lotte! Wir sind sehr gut, aber anders als wir dachten, in Berlin gelandet..." (Translation: "Dear Fritz, dear Lotte! We arrived in Berlin very well, though differently than we expected...") with closing greetings signed along the edges.
Print analysis
This is an original Type 1 real photo postcard, developed on photographic paper contemporaneously with the 1936 exhibition. The "Echte Photographie" (real photograph) marking, the Photo Wigo Berlin publisher credit, and the February 1936 postmark with special exhibition cancellation confirm this print was produced and used at the time of the event. There is no halftone dot pattern - this is a true continuous-tone silver gelatin photographic print.
Condition
All postcards we sell are in fair to excellent vintage condition. Please see photos for any tears, folds, smudges, or other age damage that may be present.
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