Vintage original 3.5 x 5.25 in. German postcard depicting the handsome German actor, director, screenwriter, and producer, HARRY PIEL. He is depicted in a publicity shot from what we believe is the German silent film Der schwarze Pierrot (1926) and is wearing an elegant gentleman's period costume. This postcard was inscribed in black ink by Evi Eva in, we believe, 1926 (see additional details below), the year in which she appeared in five films. Printed by the renowned Ross-Verlag company of Berlin, Germany, this vintage original "country of origin" postcard is unused in very fine+ condition with only very light diagonal indentations on each corner from where it was inserted in a vintage postcard album.

Provenance: Approximately 8 years ago, we purchased a collection of two albums of vintage original German postcards from a rare book dealer at an antiquarian book fair in Pasadena, California (see photos). Approximately half of the postcards were signed by the respective personalities and the ones that were dated by the actors are all dated "1926." We were informed by the dealer that these photographs came from a film collector in Germany who acquired the postcards at the time they were issued and then had them signed by the respective actors when he met them in person. We are now pleased to make these vintage original postcards available to other collectors.

Evi Eva was born on December 30, 1899 in Berlin, Germany as Elly Giese and was an attractive, fair-haired juvenile star of German silent screen comedies, thrillers, and adventure films. She often appeared in films which featured a Berliner milieu and was cast in Harry Hill auf Welle 1000 (1926), Memoiren eines Kammerdieners, 1. Teil - Martin, der Findling (1921) and Der Klabautermann (1924). She was married to Paul Oppen. Eva's career faded significantly after the coming of sound and she lived for the remainder of her life in impoverished circumstances and in relative obscurity. She died on January 4, 1985 in Berlin.

Ross-Verlag in Berlin was a German publishing house specialized in photographs and photo postcards of artists. The owner of the company was Heinrich Ross (b. 10 August 1870; d. after 1954 as emigrant in the USA).