Original WWI-Era Imperial German Navy Real-Photo Postcard (RPPC): Stokers' Group Portrait Aboard the Light Cruiser SMS Augsburg

This is an original real-photo postcard (RPPC) showing a large group of Kaiserliche Marine sailors posed on the deck of the light cruiser SMS Augsburg. The men are almost certainly the ship's stokers (Heizer), the crew who fed the coal-fired boilers deep in the hull. Their tools and hand-lettered signs make this a lively example of German naval crew photography, well suited to Imperial German Navy and WWI naval collectors.

About 50 sailors are arranged in tiered rows in front of the ship's bridge and superstructure. A flag bearing the Iron Cross hangs behind them. Many cap tallies read "S.M.S. AUGSBURG", and two life rings held by crewmen at either side are clearly marked "S.M.S. AUGSBURG", which confirms the ship. The men wear a mix of dark blue and white work uniforms. Several of the white jumpers carry a "V" insignia on the sleeve.

In front, the stokers show off the tools of their trade: numbered coal shovels marked "12." and "15.", long rake and slice bars, and two round wire-mesh boiler room fittings. Three chalkboard signs in old German script carry rhyming stoker verses:

• "Alles freut sich ohne Zweifel, die erste Hälfte ist zum Teufel."
  "Everyone rejoices without a doubt, the first half has gone to the devil." This refers to the traditional Halbzeit celebration, marking the halfway point of the men's term of service.

• "Vor des Kessels heißer Wand, schwitzen wir fürs Vaterland."
  "Before the boiler's hot wall, we sweat for the Fatherland."

• "Schaufel, Kratze, Poker sind Waffen für die Stoker."
  "Shovel, rake and poker are the weapons of the stokers."

On the reverse is a clean, unmailed divided back. It is printed vertically "Julius Thomsen, Sonderburg." with the number "7020" at the bottom. Sonderburg (today Sønderborg, Denmark) was then a German port on the Baltic. There are a few faint pencil marks and some normal age toning.

Item Details

• Format: Original real-photo postcard (RPPC), black-and-white

• Subject: Group portrait of the stoker/engine-room crew of the light cruiser SMS Augsburg

• Key Detail 1 (Ship ID): "S.M.S. AUGSBURG" on the life rings and cap tallies

• Key Detail 2 (Verses): Three hand-lettered chalkboard signs with stoker verses in German, including a Halbzeit (half-service) celebration rhyme

• Key Detail 3 (Tools): Numbered coal shovels ("12." and "15."), rake and slice bars, and boiler room fittings

• Publisher: Julius Thomsen, Sonderburg (number 7020)

• Reverse: Unmailed divided back

• Dimensions: Standard postcard, approx. 3.5 x 5.5 in / 9 x 14 cm

• Date: Circa 1910–1918

• Condition: Good overall, with typical aging and wear

About SMS Augsburg
SMS Augsburg was a Kolberg-class light cruiser built at the Kaiserliche Werft in Kiel. She was launched in 1909 and commissioned in 1910. Before the war she served mainly in a training role. When World War I began she went to the Baltic, and on 2 August 1914 she shelled the Russian port of Libau (Liepāja), one of the first naval actions of the war in that theater. She served in the Baltic for the rest of the war. She survived hitting a mine in early 1915 and took part in the Battle of Åland Islands (1915), the Battle of the Gulf of Riga (1915) and Operation Albion (1917). After the war she was handed over to Japan as a war prize and was scrapped in 1922.

Like other coal-burning warships of the period, Augsburg needed a large crew of stokers who worked in hot, exhausting conditions. Posed photos like this one, often taken to mark the Halbzeit of the men's service, were a proud tradition in the Kaiserliche Marine. They are highly valued today as a personal record of life below decks.

Sold as pictured. Please examine all images carefully and feel free to ask any questions before purchasing.