Collection of some 120 postcards commemorating the official visit of the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, to the Holy Land. Various publishers, Germany, Palestine, and elsewhere, ca. 1898.
The official visit of the German Kaiser in the months of October-November 1898, to the Holy Land, and to cities in other parts of the Ottoman Empire, was regarded as one of the most salient and pivotal events in relations between the two powers. Because of the great import attributed to the event, it was commemorated in a number of different ways, most notably by means of illustrated postcards, a relatively new mode of correspondence at the time, having first appeared in the second half of the 19th century.
The postcards in the present collection were printed during the lead-up to the visit and in the course of it, although a number were produced in its wake. Various publishers were involved, including Hermann Vogel (Berlin), Alfred Silbermann (Berlin), Knackstedt & Näther (Hamburg), Verlag des Syrischen Waisenhaues (Jerusalem), and many others. Many of the postcards have undivided backs. By means of illustrations – in both color and black-and-white – and photographs, they document important landmarks in the course of the journey, in particular the various sites visited by the Kaiser. Many of the postcards are devoted to sites in the Holy Land, and in particular to Jerusalem, as well as sites in other countries, visited by the Kaiser during his journey.
Most of the postcards were mailed, and consequently bear postage stamps and postmarks (most dated 1898). A few of them specifically bear postmarks dated October 31, 1898, the day Kaiser Wilhelm II personally dedicated the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem. A handful of postcards were not printed specially in honor of the Kaiser's journey, but nevertheless feature related sites and subjects: the Church of the Redeemer – during its construction and after its dedication (including a few postcards depicting the church's interior) – Jerusalem, and portraits of the Kaiser and the Empress. Some of the postcards are undocumented by Ralph Perry and David Pearlman.
Most of the postcards are placed in two Palestine souvenir albums with olive wood bindings, alongside additional items: • 23 pictures from various stages of the imperial visit – modern prints of photographs (some printed in large format). • Photograph of a rowing boat, manned by rowers dressed in Ottoman garb (on the shore of Jaffa), signed in plate "Bonfils, " (pasted to inside front board of one album). • Modern reproductions of the Kaiser's visit postcards, a modern postcard of the old city in Jerusalem, a handful of newspaper clippings, reporting on the imperial visit, and a map of Jerusalem (early 20th century.)

Postcards in standard size: 14X9 cm. Condition varies. Most postcard were mailed – bear inscription, postage stamps and postmarks. Stains. Minor wear and creases. Blemishes to some postcards, mostly to corners.

Reference: Ralph Perry and David Pearlman, "Postcards commemorating the 1898 journey of the German imperial couple to the Orient, " Stuttgart, 2019.

Kaiser Wilhelm II's Journey to the Levant
Through the months of October-November 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and his wife, the Empress Augusta Victoria, toured some of the major cities of the Ottoman Empire, with Jerusalem being the most important of the destinations. The journey took place at a time when the impending and anticipated disintegration of the Ottoman Empire was hovering in the background, and a struggle between the European powers over the "spoils" – the assets of the so-called "Sick Man of Europe" – appeared likely to ensue in the near future. The journey went on for more than a month. Chief among its goals were the strengthening of ties between the German and Ottoman empires and the encouragement of Christian settlement in the Holy Land. Among the places visited by the Kaiser and his entourage were, in addition to Jerusalem, Athens, Constantinople, Haifa, Jaffa, Ramle, and Cairo.
Preparations for the Kaiser's visit to Jerusalem had already begun in the summer of 1898. These included a massive municipal clean-up, the improvement and overhaul of infrastructure, the laying of a telegraph line, and other operations. In time for the Kaiser's arrival in Jerusalem, a number of municipal roads were widened. The authorities went as far as breaching a gap in Jerusalem's Old City Wall, adjacent to Jaffa Gate, to enable the smooth passage of the Kaiser's opulent carriage. In addition, the city streets – most notably HaNevi'im Street, where a special tent camp for the Kaiser and his entourage, the so-called "Camp Imperial, " was to be temporarily constructed – were adorned with the flags of Germany and the Ottoman Empire, and with makeshift gates of honor.
One of the main highlights of the Kaiser's visit to Jerusalem – well-documented in many of the postcards in this collection – was the opening ceremony of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Christian Quarter of the Old City. But the Kaiser also visited the German Colony, the Mt. of Olives, City Hall, and other sites. From a Jewish standpoint, undoubtedly the most historically important event in the Kaiser's itinerary was his meeting with Theodor Herzl.
Throughout their visit, Wilhelm and the empress were accompanied by a small entourage. The Kaiser rode either on horseback or in the imperial carriage. Following in the footsteps of his immediate entourage in Jerusalem was a parade of lesser-ranked officials, accompanied by cavalry regiments and "kawas" officials – ceremonial Ottoman-Empire bodyguards.
The Kaiser's mission was documented in its time in hundreds of books and articles, and commemorated on playing cards, board games, and souvenir cards – collector's items – featuring Holy Land landscapes. But beyond a doubt, the quintessential commemorative souvenirs of the visit were the numerous different postcards, many of excellent quality, printed specially for the occasion; an astounding number of publishers – some 350 of them, from Germany and other countries – began publishing postcards commemorating the journey on a historically unprecedented scale. Major publishers such as Vogel, Silbermann, and Knackstedt-Näther went as far as presenting stamp and postcard collectors with a special offer; in exchange for a fixed fee, subscribers would be rewarded with postcards from cities the Kaiser visited, postmarked and mailed on the very day the Kaiser actually made his presence in the city in question.