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Permalink Reply by JK on January 1, 2022 at 5:00pm

M. Ostrava?

Top: Jan something litz?

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Permalink Reply by Herman Darvick on January 1, 2022 at 5:42pm

Thanks, JK. But I googled "Ostrava" and found no one with that name; except it's a city in the Czech Republic. "Jan" is the first name of hundreds of famous people and if it is "Jan" and ends with "itz", then why isn't the "t" crossed like it is in the middle of the last name? Thanks for your reply.

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Permalink Reply by JK on January 1, 2022 at 6:30pm

Try Ostravor.

As to the question, you'd have to ask Jan why he didn't get the long line all.the wsy to the T.

I'm guessing opera or music related? 

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Permalink Reply by Herman Darvick on January 1, 2022 at 6:51pm

Thank you.

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Permalink Reply by Stepeanut on January 2, 2022 at 12:03am

The second part is not a person’s name, IMO, but an annotation.  As JK points out, it says M. Ostrava, which I believe is an abbreviation of Moravská Ostrava.  In 1940, Moravská Ostrava was still an independent town in Moravia, near the border with Silesia.  The modern-day borders have changed, and the town is now part of the Ostrava city district of Moravská Ostrava and Přívoz.

It should be obvious, but may still be worth pointing out, that this area was under Nazi occupation in April 1940.  I doubt there were many prestigious cultural events going on, but you never know.  It’s possible this signature is for someone not famous at all, but without any context it’s difficult to say.  I’ve tried Googling the name, but can’t find anything.

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Permalink Reply by JK on January 2, 2022 at 1:02am

Good work! I was thinking the same thing. Different hand and ink but makes sense that someone was making a notation.

Maybe a local politician? Military figure? 

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Permalink Reply by Herman Darvick on January 2, 2022 at 8:29am

 Stepeanut, your explanation makes sense. The signature at the top of the card was signed in Moravská Ostrava on April 19, 1940 (handwritten by the collector). Thank you. I was able to identify the signer as renowned Czech violinist and composer Jan Kubelík (5 July 1880 – 5 December 1940). --- Herman

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Permalink Reply by Stepeanut on January 2, 2022 at 9:08am

You’re welcome, Herman.

Glad you were able to identify the signer.  My research skills are pretty good, but I sometimes struggle to read scruffy, old-fashioned handwriting.  I was convinced that first letter was a Z, and that the name ended in “-litz”, even though that wouldn’t be typical for a Czech surname.  I can see Kubelík now, but wouldn’t have got there under my own steam.

Teamwork makes the dream work!

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Permalink Reply by JK on January 2, 2022 at 9:12am

Excellent work. I can see it now, too, once it was identified. 

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