Postal Cards | Mehner & Maas and Ludwigsohn Frères

One of Mehner and Maas’s biggest postcard series was that of Constantinople.[1]

Mavi Boncuk | 

Mehner & Maas

Leipzig, Germany, 1893–1939 (Printer, Publisher)

The Leipzig firm of Mehner & Maas was a printing/publishing company that specialized in the picture postcard. The printing company was established in 1893 and was run (and later solely owned) by Paul Georg Mehner. In the early twentieth century, the business suffered from the decline of the picture postcard market and was taken over by Alfred Faber in 1913. Hedwig Minna Goerner joined as a partner in 1920, when the firm was located at Weststraße 81a. The firm continued in business at least until 1939. One of Mehner and Maas’s biggest postcard series was that of Constantinople.


[1] ‘Salut de Constantinople’ Series

The biggest ppc series printed by Mehner & Maas I know of is on Constantinople. By chance I found a lot of some 40 diff. views, almost all of topo type, few could be filed under ethnic views. My samples with undivided back (card no. in red on picture side at lower right corner) show numbers ranging from 7792 to 9675. Div. back views: lowest no. 6197 - highest 11085, found on address side lower left corner near the typical decorative border. All printed in green ink. This shows that the M. & M. card/image numbers were used also for reprints. The publisher very likely was (local) Ludwigsohn fréres. [*] Info kindly provided by Gökhun Yılmaz, Turkey.

Illustrated is a small selection of the major type fonts used by Mehner & Maas, Leipzig. All ills. blown up by same degree – Below left: Salut de Constantinople, Les Dervices Tourneurs. M: & M. no. 7992. And card no. 8428 (dividided back) with view of port: Quai de Galata. Both cards (as all my cards) not postally used.


  SOURCE

[*] Jacques Ludwigsohn / Ludwigsohn Frères Istanbul (Constantinople), Turkey (Publisher) Jacques Ludwigsohn was a postcard publisher at Place Karakeny (sic) Karakoy 21, Istanbul (Constantinople). The firm was also known as Ludwigsohn Frères. About 1909, the company was one of the postcard manufacturers that joined the price cartel Neue Bromsilber Convention (NBC) with the aim to have guaranteed minimum prices and fixed terms and conditions to avoid ruinous competition. The cartel continued until the early 1930s and its president was Heinrich Ross from Rotograph Bromsilberdruck GmbH, Berlin.