Berliner Morgenpost Sets and Checklist

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Berliner Morgenpost
Year	c1900 – Unknown
Size	2 1/8″ x 4 3/4″
Images	Color
Type	Publications
Number in Set	Unknown

Berliner Morgenpost Set Overview

These trade cards are believed to have been issued by Berliner Morgenpost, a German newspaper. The are tall and narrow, like some other international series’, and feature all sorts of subjects.

The cards general come in sets consisting of five cards, though I have not been able to confirm that number in each series. Subjects run the gamut, including people, landscapes, and famous structures, among other things. Of particular interest to American collectors are cards of famous U.S. landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty, the White House, and the U.S. Capitol Building.

Berliner Morgenpost, like many issuers of international card sets, had albums made for these cards. The albums are sometimes spotted in Germany but have rarely made their way to the U.S.

While these are mostly non-sports cards, at least one sports set is known and there are potentially more.

Sports Set

The lone sports set that I have seen is untitled and features color lithographic pictures. I have a set (the only set I have seen to date) and mine are hand cut with blank backs. Some Berliner Morgenpost cards have blank backs while others include advertisements and descriptions of the subjects on the back.

The sports set I am referencing is Series (Serie) 4 and, like other Berliner Morgenpost sets, contains five cards. Cards for tennis and cricket are likely the most popular, along with a card that depicts either soccer or rugby — or possibly both. Both are called football internationally, of course, and while there is an apparent rugby scrum in the background, the picture in the foreground looks closer to soccer.

Other sports to round out the set including hockey and croquet. Hockey is not ice hockey — and technically, it doesn’t even look quite like field hockey because it is not being played on grass. Field hockey, however, is likely what is being depicted.

The cards are quite similar to Germany’s Stollwerck Chocolate cards. Those cards were also issued in small sets (though Stollwerck’s cards included six in a set) and were distributed over many years. I have seen these cards sometimes listed as chocolate cards, though I am not certain why. I have not seen any evidence of a candy company named Berliner Morgenpost — only the famous newspaper. My belief is that, because they are similar in nature to Stollwerck cards, they are assumed to also be chocolate cards or that reason.

Dating

These cards were issued over several years with many being listed as early 1900s cards. Though, to date, I have not been able to confirm exact years of distribution. Dating issues seem to have several conflicts and even the implication that more than one overall set exists.

The cards are also quite rare. That is not only because of their age but also because they were issued over a very short period of time. Many have dates of issuance on the back, confirming their years and even the weeks they were distributed. But each card was apparently distributed only for a one week period before a new card was issued.

The earliest series I have seen with dates on the back is Series 3, which sates that cards were issued in March of 1901. However, later series’ have earlier publication dates from 1900. In any event, I have not seen any cards publicized as being available prior to 1900 so, tentatively, that is my assumed start date for these cards.

Berliner Morgenpost Checklist

Most of the Berliner Morgenpost sets are non-sports related so I have not made an effort to checklist them here. However, any sports sets I have identified have been listed below.

Series 4