Author: Sammi Fahnestock

In the potpourri of topics that are included in the early Stollwerck trade card albums, some were of a more serious nature, such as the cards pictured here that show (from the left): A Comparison of the Relative Size of the Commercial Fleet of Each Major European Nation; The Languages with the Most Native Speakers (German is fifth on this list); The Size of Each European Army During Times of War; The Yearly Production of Potatoes and Beer in the Major European Nations (incl. The U.S.); The Size of Each European Army During times of Peace; and The National Debt of the Major European Nations.

This German postage stamp was issued in 1904 for the German colony of Southwest Africa. The image in the center of the stamp is the private yacht of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

When Germany had to surrender its colonies after World War 1, no other European nation wanted it as a colony. This was likely due to the fact that the territory was mostly desert. Therefore, it was placed under the jurisdiction of the League of Nations. Today, it is known as Namibia.

This German postage stamp was issued in 1904 for the German colony of Togo in Western Africa. The image in the center is the yacht of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

This German postage stamp was issued in 1904 for the colony of Tsingtao, China. It has the image of the private yacht of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The colony was also the base of Germany’s East Asia Naval Squadron that took part in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900 along with other European nations and the United States.

Pictured here is a German postage stamp issued in 1904 for the colony of Cameroon, on Africa’s western coast. The image in the center is Kaiser Wilhelm II’s private yacht.

When the German colonies of the pre-war period are considered, they are usually associated with German holdings in Africa and China. However, Germany also had as colonies a number of islands in the Pacific Ocean, such as Samoa.

This German postage stamp was issued in 1904 for the German colony on Samoa and has the image in the center of the yacht of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Pictured here is a 5-Pfennig German postage stamp that was overstamped with the word “China”. It was used in the small German colony of Tsingtao in China after 1898.

Pictured here is a 4-Heller postage stamp issued in 1904 for the German colony of German East Africa. The image in the center of the stamp is the yacht of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Pictured here is a 100-Mark bill issued in 1920 by the German National Bank. Even after the war ended, but before hyperinflation hit, the German government issued paper money in normal denominations.

This image shows the front side of a 100-Mark bill issued in 1910. The blank spot on the left contains a watermark that was not immediately visible to the bearer. It was meant to prevent counterfeiting.