Original Item: One-of-a-kind-set. Here we have a wonderful personal photo album, with what looks to be all photographs they took themselves, with a few professional shots. It is covered with a lovely textured and embossed blue leatherette cover, and there is a lovely Wehrmacht Heer Army “Stahlhelm” helmet in the upper right corner. This has the correct “closed wing” Wehrmachtadler eagle decal as used on Army Helmets. The lower left is embossed in silver with Infanterie – Regiment 20 / Regensburg. The album measures approximately 10 1/2” x 7 5/8”.
A total of 94 photographs fill the pages of this album, making it a treasure-trove of images taken from the viewpoint of a young, patriotic German soldier. These are contained on 21 pages, which are not captioned, and most pages are separated by “spiderweb” pattern “onion skin” separators. Some are glued directly to the pages, while others use corner tabs. The photos show mostly Army uniforms (both summer white and field gray), as well as artillery pieces, and some casual photos. There are no battle scenes as this appears to have been taken either pre war or early on in the war.
Historical records like this album have become priceless time capsules that provide an incomparable level of insight into the individual experience of the Second
World War, now that almost eighty years have passed.
The older albums such as these usually withstand the ravages of time. The leather or fabric covers may wear, but the pages stay well intact. The black paper albums of the early 20th century are more fragile, while the glue from magnetic albums can damage photographs. And, as with all old photographs, keep albums in a safe, climate controlled environment