Lotti and Willie Horn (Germany, 1915)


Figure 1.--I'm not sure whatvit says on the backnof thevpostcard, but we can make out the children's names and the fact the portrait was taken Juky 14, 1915, appropriate for the childlren's white outfits.

Here we see a portrait of brother and sister Lotti and Willie Horn, taken in Hamburg during 1915. Lotti and Willi are of course shortened forms. Lotti's proper names would be Lieselotte or Charlotte Horn. Willie's name would of course be Wilhelm Horn. They look to be about 10 and 12 years of age. It is a sweet image of both children dressed all in white. One would not imagine that a terrible war was waging in Europe at the time. Lotti is dressed in white except for a light-colored hair bow and matching pinafore-type covering for the dress. I am not sure if the pinafore-like garment is part of the dress or not. Willie wears a white sailor suit with blue detailing. The children's white socks have multiple colored bands. Notice how the children wear destinctive gender appropriate clothing, except their shoes and socks are very similar. There is an inscription on the back of the postcard photo. (Click on the image to see the inscription. It readsm "Zur freundlichen Erinnerung an Lotti u. Willi Horn gewidmet dem lieben Vetter Heini als Andenken! Hamburg d. 14. Juli 1915." It is a mixture of old German handwriting and of the modern Latin handwriting of the 1910s. The photographic print number is 7638. The postcard was printed by Kindler & Co., Hamburg, Reeperbahn 164. The inscription translates into English as, "For kind remembrance (in friendly memory) of Lotti and Willi Horn dedicated to dear cousin Heini as a memory! Hamburg, July 14, 1915." Given the date, we wonder if Cousin Heini wasn't killed in the War, but Lotti and Willi are not wearing black mourning bands. A German reader writes, "Who knows, but I don't believe that the inscription does not suggest Heini was killed or is even dead. Probably Heini visited the Horn's or the Horn's visited him. It seems more to be a matter of thanking for something done well. "






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Created: 4:17 AM 3/16/2006
Last updated: 4:39 AM 3/17/2006