dinsdag 12 oktober 2010

Post Cards of Napoleon

In my collection of post cards of Napolen (154 now, see www.roelkvos.nl/cards ) there are three typical cards.
Here you can see the front of these cards. Nothing seems wrong with it, nice cards!

card 1

card 2

card 3

It is just the backsite that makes it interesting!
The cards are addressed to Mej. (Miss) B. Textor in Enschede (Netherlands). 
They are sent by a Nico just before World War I (1913).
He writes formal and all seems to be correct.
But:
On all the cards the stamp has been removed. (Not by me!)

When I take my magnifying glass I see some text under the place of the stamp.
What I read there is not formal at all!
It is love-text!
Look at the cards.

card 1    23-01-1913

card 2   03-02-1913



card 3    14-03-1913

Here is the Durch text and the translation:

card 1:
Lieveling, vele groetjes van de liefh. Nico.
Lieveling, slaap zacht.

Dag Bertha.

Darling, many greetings from your loving Nico.
Darling, sleep well.
By Bertha.

card 2:
Lieveling,
vele zoentjes op je snoetje.
Dag schatje,
mijn Toereloertje.

Darling,
many kisses on your little face.
By darling,
my toereloertje (a nickname).

card 3:
Mijn lieveling,
mijn gedachten zijn zoo zwaar.
Oh, Bertha, mijn lieveling,
wat moet ik lijden, maar ik zal het dragen.
Lieveling, vele innige zoentjes
van je liefh. Nico.

My darling,
My thoughts are so heavy.
Oh, Bertha, my darling,
how I have to suffer, but I shall carry it.
Darling, many sweet kisses
from your loving Nico.


In the old days it was probably normal to put your intimate feelings under a stamp!

I searched a little bit in the genealogic tables and found following:

Wilhelmina Geertruida Bertha Textor is born in Enschede on 26 april 1889.
She got married with Engelbertus Huckriede, a carpenter, also born in Enschede on 27 febr. 1891.
The marriage was on 25 april 1912 (a day before her 23th anniversary).

What stroke me was that the cards are posted in 1913, a year afther the wedding.
Not by Engelbertus, but by Nico!
Was Nico a secret lover?

We shall never know!

Has this all something to do with Napoleon?
I do not think so.
But I was suprised that these young (married!) lovers used Napoleon as a cloak.