Germany, Imperial. A Signed Postcard of Erich Homberg, Pour le Mérite Recipient and Later Luftwaffe Generalleutnant

(Luftstreitkräfte Postkarte mit Unterschrift). A signed postcard of then-Luftstreitkräfte Oberleutnant Erich Homberg, featuring a studio portrait of Homberg in uniform and with the Pour le Mérite (received 13 October 1918) and other decorations clearly visible, the lower right corner bearing Homberg’s handwritten signature in black ink, the reverse bearing an additional handwritten inscription from Homberg, dedicated from Berlin in November 1919, measuring 9 cm (w) x 14 cm (h), demonstrating some wear to the central portion of the image, in near extremely fine condition.

Footnote: Erich Homberg was born in Rosenthal, Silesia (now Różanka, Poland) on 2 October 1886. He initially entered military service in 1906 with an artillery regiment and service as an ordinance officer and adjutant. With the outbreak of the First World War, Homberg transferred to Luftstreitkräfte service and trained as an aerial artillery observer. He was notably the first reconnaissance pilot to equip his plane with a radio and became a pioneer of aerial photography, notably receiving the Pour le Mérite for his efforts in revolutionizing battlefield reconnaissance. He returned to military service during the Second World War in an administrative capacity as an inspector of armaments and economics, attaining the rank of Generalleutnant. Homberg survived the war and died on 4 July 1954 in Wiesbaden, West Germany.