Lot of 19 original winter sports postcards from Kitzbühel, Tirol (Austria), ca. 1910–1913. This is a group showing more than century-old scenes of Kitzbühel as an alpine ski resort, with multiple views of the Kitzbüheler Horn and surrounding slopes, chalets, and hotels.
The lot includes:
- Dynamic early skiing scenes: skiers carving turns in deep powder (Christianiaschwung), crossing open slopes, and making long descents from the Kitzbüheler Horn, Stuckkogel, Hochtzkogel, Ehrenbachhöhe, and other named peaks and ridges.
- Atmospheric mountain landscapes: broad panoramic views with heavy snow cover, lone trees high on the slopes, hut and chapel scenes near or on the summits, and classic last tree / high-alpine images.
- Resort and hotel views from Kitzbühel, including the Grand Hotel and the Garten- und Sporthotel Reisch-Hinterbräu, with skiers and guests posed in front of the buildings.
- Eight cards with detailed manuscript messages describing the climbs, snow conditions, heights in meters, and New Year or holiday visits, mostly addressed to the Palmer family in Branford, Connecticut, creating a documented travel narrative (however, only two cards in the group were mailed).
- One card is postally used with common period Austrian franking (Franz Joseph definitives).
- 10 Cards have clean backs
All cards are original early 20th century issues, primarily photographic/ collotype production with publisher credits such as Fotografie u. Verlag von Josef Herold, Kitzbühel and related local publishers. Standard postcard size, printed in black & white or monochrome tones typical of the period.
Condition: Overall very presentable for age. Most cards are in VG to EX condition with light corner or edge wear, minor toning, and an occasional small spot or handling mark consistent with genuine mailed correspondence. No major creases or defects that detract from album display unless noted in the photos.
This is an excellent, ready-made mini-collection for anyone interested in alpine skiing history, Kitzbühel and Tyrolean tourism, early winter sports photography, or annotated travel correspondences from the years just before World War I.
