World War I German Aviators: The Sanke Cards (Schiffer Military History Book) [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Charles Woolley (Other Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2007 | Series: Schiffer Military History Book

For the first time in eighty-five years, the famous Sanke postcards of World War I Imperial German Aviators have been reproduced. Clear, large scale copies of all known and highly collectible Sanke personality photo postcards produced during World War I are now available, carefully replicated, and included all under one cover in this deluxe volume. Over 270 different cards of 132 individual aviators are included in this ground-breaking edition. Boelcke, Immelmann, the Richthofen brothers, Udet, and Gring are just a few of the famed aces and Pour le M rite flyers photographed by Postkarten-Vertrieb Willi Sanke. Each postcard is given full page coverage, accompanied by a brief history of each man, together with his victories and highest attained award. A bibliography is included for the reader desiring to further research the lives of Germanys unusual, heralded, and greatest heroes of the First War. This book is a must for the student of uniforms as it depicts the amazing variety worn by the flyers of the Luftstreitkrfte 1914-1918, and also shows them wearing the multitude of awards and decorations presented to Germanys airborne heroes. Both private and museum collections have been combed to provide this book with the finest possible coverage ever compiled on the work of Willi Sanke and his talented photographers. This is an excellent companion volume to Schiffer??s recently published Aviation Awards of Imperial Germany, Volume VII by the late Neal OConnor.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing (July 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764318799
• ISBN-13: 978-0764318795
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,016,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Photo Reference, February 10, 2006

By 

D. Schafer (Oregon, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: World War I German Aviators: The Sanke Cards (Schiffer Military History Book) (Hardcover)

Picture postcards were very popular in Germany before WWI and when new and daring aerial activities caught the attention of the public, the fertile marketing mind of Willi Sanke wasn't far behind. He started with airships and airplanes but with his publication of the photo postcards of Germany's first two great airmen (Boelcke & Immelmann), a new and popular market was born. Every school boy rushed to buy these cards (as American boys bought baseball cards) and Sanke hurried to publish more postcards of "Unser Kampfflieger" (Our Fighting Flyers). Over the years these Sanke Cards have become very expensive collector items and this book offers you a chance to have most of the cards for fraction of the cost of originals.

This large format book has over 270 photos of 132 WWI German aviators. Each postcard is given a full page with a very brief history (birth, death, units, awards, victories). If you want detailed information on these aces you will have to look elsewhere. But if you want to put a face to a name, look at their uniforms and decorations in large clear photographs, then buy this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sanke, November 4, 2010

By 

Kiwi - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: World War I German Aviators: The Sanke Cards (Schiffer Military History Book) (Hardcover)

Excellent Book...Highly Recommend for the WW1 Aviation Fan...I for one needed two of these books...one for my collecting,the other as a standby if the first one was damaged during my travels.

I rate this book 90/100...to the Author...WELL DONE