From Hamburg to the States

Peter & Paul Hartland-Swann on the first HAPAG postcards - January 2000

In 1890 the German shipping line HAPAG (Hamburg-Amerikanische-Packetfaht-Actien-Gesellschaft) which until now had interested itself almost entirely in the 'steerage' business and freight, started building express steamers to compete with its Bremen rivals for the North Atlantic passenger trade.

To advertise their new Express Steamers (Schnell Dampfers) they decided to issue picture postcards of these new ships for distribution to their agents and for the use of their passengers. They invited suggestions and samples from at least four well-known printers using their latest ship, S.D. 'Furst Bismark' as a model. J. Miesler of Berlin showed the ship leaving Hamburg with, at left, a hoist of flags - German, U.S. and Company. A local firm from Altona, J.B. Massé produced a sepia picture of the liner above a caption 'Vom Bord S.D. Furst Bismark'. Later this same picture with the caption 'Vom Bord S.S. Columbia' was used for another three funnel HAPAG ships. The Belgian firm Chicoree Do Ronne of Gand submitted a rather flattened painting of the ship steaming past a quay by F. Nath. Finally another Hamburg printer, Muhlmeister & Johler sent in such a superb painting of their liner sailing down the river Elbe that they were awarded the contract and continued to supply HAPAG with their postcards until 1914 when war terminated such activities.

To comply with UPU regulations, these early postcards had to leave one side blank save for the heading Postkarte - Weltpostverein Carte postale Union postale universelle with perhaps a square for the postage stamp and a few lines for the address. Thus the picture side tended to leave from a third to half of the space for the sender to write a message. The top part had to include the company name, shield and the name of the ship, as well as the painting.

These postcards proved extremely popular with passengers and agents alike, so in early 1900 HAPAG started to commission the leading maritime painters of the day to paint arresting pictures of their Express Steamers. Amongst the first was Professor Hans Bohrdt, who was court painter and a friend of the German Emperor. His picture of the S.D. 'Deutschland' was adjudged so fine the whole of the front was used, leaving the sender no blank space for a message. Professor Bohrdt also painted a strong picture of the single funnel S.D. 'Graf Waldersee' which was produced in sepia around 1900 and reissued in 1912 in full colour with his signature obliterated and without the ship's name, and was then used for any single funnel ship.

When divided back postcards were introduced, the whole of the front was used for the ship and Professor Bohrdt painted a side view of the S.D. 'President Grant', a single funnel six masted ship which was reused, without his signature for the S.D. 'President Lincoln'.

From around 1906 it became normal for a famous artist to be used to paint a one, two or four funnel ship which could be overprinted with the name of any similar ship. Thus Professor Bohrdt's picture of the S.D. 'Blucher' appears, without signature as the Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Amongst other leading painters was Willy Stower, whose picture of the S.D. 'Deutschland' was considered most elegant. He also painted the S.D. 'Columbia' approaching Southampton. Willy Stower also painted pictures of a single funnel and double funnel ship without name which I have written aboard the S.D. 'Graf Waldersee' and S.D. 'Moltke'.

When in June 1910 ex-President Roosevelt visited England he travelled both ways aboard the S.D. 'Kaiserin Auguste Victoria'. On leaving Southampton on his return trip he was photographed waving to the crowds on the quay. The photograph was developed in the ship's dark room and produced as a postcard.

Special novelty postcards, where the ship's portholes, deck lights, wave crests and lighthouses were cut out so that when held up to a light they glowed, were occasionally produced for maritime exhibitions.

The liner 'President Grant' painted by Professor Hans Bohrdt on a postcard published by Muhlmeister & Johler of Hamburg. The ship was a single-funnel six-master, and Bohrdt's painting was re-used without his signature for a card of the S.D. 'President Lincoln'


A superb hold-to-light postcard of S.D. 'Deutschland' passing the Statue of Liberty. The portholes and lighthouse glow.


S.D. 'Columbia' on a card published by Kutzner & Berger of Berlin. Willy Stower was the artist.


S.D. 'First Bismarck' on an undivided back postcard posted in New York in July 1902.


Another Stower painting on this card of S.D. 'Deutschland.'