04 June 2017

Ross Verlag Postcards, Part 2: silent Hollywood

This week, EFSP brings a tribute to Ross Verlag. The German publishing company produced many, many star postcards from the late 1910s till the early 1940s. Today 20 of our favourite sepia-tinted postcards of Hollywood stars of the silent era.

Baby Peggy
Baby Peggy. German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 550/2, 1919-1924. Photo: Unifilman.

Ramon Novarro in Ben Hur
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 64/1. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) / Fanamet. Publicity still for Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramon Novarro. Caption: 'Galeeren-Sträflinge' (convicts).

Jackie Coogan
Jackie Coogan. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 701/2, 1925-1926. Photo: Transocean-Film-Company, Berlin.

Mae Murray and Pauline Dempsey in Broadway Rose (1922)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 787/1. Photo: British-American-Films A.G. Balag. Photo: publicity still for Broadway Rose (Robert Z. Leonard, 1922) with Mae Murray and Pauline Dempsey.

Alla Nazimova in Camille (1921)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 830/1, 1925-1926. Photo: British-American Films A.G. Balag. Publicity still for Camille (Ray C. Smallwood, 1921) featuring Alla Nazimova.

Mary Pickford in Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (1924)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 839/3. Photo: Terra Film A.G., Berlin. Publicity still for Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (Marshall Neilan, 1924), featuring Mary Pickford.

Gloria Swanson in Stage Struck (1925)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1488/3, 1927-1928. Photo: Paramount / Parafumet. Publicity still for Stage Struck (Allan Dwan, 1925), starring Gloria Swanson.

Lillian Gish in The Scarlet Letter
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1885/1. Photo: Parufamet. Lillian Gish in The Scarlet Letter (Victor Sjöström, 1926).

Victor Varconi, H.B. Warner and Rudolph Schildkraut in King of Kings (1927)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 86/6. Photo: National-Film. Publicity still for King of Kings (Cecil B. De Mille, 1927) with Victor Varconi, H.B. Warner and Rudolph Schildkraut. Caption: Caiphas accuses Jesus before Pontius Pilate.

Clara Bow
Clara Bow. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 2510/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Paramount.

Rudolph Valentino in The Son of the Sheik (1926)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3373/1, 1928-1929. Photo: United Artists. Publicity still for The Son of the Sheik (George Fitzmaurice, 1926), starring Rudolph Valentino.

Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin in The Man Who Laughs (1928)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 105/1. Photo: Universal Pictures Corp. Publicity still for The Man Who Laughs (Paul Leni, 1928) with Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin.

Eddie Polo
Eddie Polo. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3356/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Mac Walten, Berlin.

Colleen Moore
Colleen Moore. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3469/2, 1928-1929. Photo: DeFina.

Maria Cord and Ricardo Cortez in The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3684/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Defina. Publicity still for The Private Life of Helen of Troy (Alexander Korda, 1927) with Maria Corda and Ricardo Cortez.

Dolores del Rio in The Red Dance (1928)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3905/2, 1928-1929. Photo: Fox. Publicity still for The Red Dance (Raoul Walsh, 1928). Dolores Del Rio is wearing a kokoshnik (Russian: коко́шник; IPA: [kɐˈkoʂnʲɪk]), a traditional Russian headdress worn by women and girls.

Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4252/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin.

Buster Keaton
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4704/1, 1929-1930. Photo: MGM. Publicity still for The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (Charles Reisner, 1929) with Buster Keaton as Princess Raja. This performance must have been inspired by the Egyptian dance in The Cook (Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, 1918).

Douglas Fairbanks
German postcard by Ross-Verlag, no. 5267/1, 1930-1931. Photo: United Artists. Publicity still for The Taming of the Shrew (Sam Taylor, 1930) starring Douglas Fairbanks.

Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong. German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5477/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Atelier Manassé, Wien (Vienna).

To be continued tomorrow.

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