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Nordost-Institut (IKGN e.V.)
Lindenstrasse 31
21335 Lüneburg
Germany
Monday – Thursday
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Friday
10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Email: sekretariat@ikgn.de
Telephone: + 49 4131 40059  0
 FAX: + 49 4131 40059  59

Historical Picture Postcards

Collection of the Northeast Library 

The Historical Picture Postcard collection of the Northeast Institute includes more than 35,000 postcards from the former Prussian provinces, Poland, the Baltic states and other regions of eastern Europe. The main focus of the collection is on the years 1890-1945. The remarkable variety of subjects and formats illustrates the rapid development of this medium around the turn of the century. The systematic sorting and cataloguing of the collection makes it possible to explore specifically focused subjects of research. 

Insights

The articles are not available in English. 

You are welcome to call up the german version.

German Version
The Inventory 

In the Northeast Library, 150 years of postcard history are represented by more than 35,000 picture postcards. The chronological emphasis of the collection coincides with that of postcard production between 1890 and 1945. Approximately two thirds of the inventory catalogued thus far were printed before the end of the First World War. In contrast, postcards that appeared after 1945 account for about a tenth of the collection.

The majority illustrate subjects from the former eastern provinces of Prussia, Poznan, East and West Prussia and Pomerania, as well as from the Baltic states and the territory of the Second Polish Republic. Furthermore, the collection includes postcards depicting numerous locations in western Belarus and western Ukraine. Parts of the inventory, however, pertain to regions outside the designated geographical area, such as the Neumark in Brandenburg or Bukovina. Numerous subjects are illustrated. Views of and from cities predominate, but military subjects, battle scenes, subjects relating to sports and leisure activities as well as representations of events and individuals are also present. The “Riga Digitalis” project, containing digitalized images of pre-1919 picture postcards in the Northeast Library at Riga, offers a first look at the range of subjects.

On-site Access and Use

All picture postcards are archived according to region, and within regions alphabetically according to place. The contents are further sub-divided under the place designations according to subject matter. An on-site catalog covers picture postcards from the former eastern provinces of Prussia, Poznan, Pomerania, East and West Prussia, as well as from the Baltic states.


Part of the collection has been digitally recorded and can be explored using an Excel spreadsheet that can be downloaded here.

 

The picture postcards may be examined in the reading room of the library following application and request. For further questions, requests and application details, please contact the Northeast Library.