More help with German script COMPLETED

[scorny]

I also see the postmark as "21.10.23", October 21, 1923.  There are actually 2 cancellations.  The date on the first is illegible, the second looks fairly clear although somewhat faded.  The date seems later than I would have thought, but it is evident that it was 1923 not 1921 or 1922.

As for the character "F"? following Uetersen... could it signify in care of.  I believe Meta was at a boarding school nearby and this was the address fo her grandparents.  Just a guess.

[apwright]

The date seems later than I would have thought, but it is evident that it was 1923 not 1921 or 1922.

I disagree. There are definitely two 2s there (the first over the man's chest, the second on green) = 1922.
After that it says (partly obliterated) "3-4 N", i.e. between 3 and 4 pm (N=Nachmittags).

Adrian

P.S. The cost in Oct 1923 would probably have been several thousand Marks!

[scorny]

Adrian,

I am so glad you saw this as it makes sense. Meta Struve left Germany in 1922, so the 1923 date was a puzzle.  I think I now see the 1922, I saw the only the "3" followed by some letters, which appeared to be incomplete. I appreciate your comments.  Your interpretation is most likely the correct one.

Steve

[scorny]

This card is almost deciphered, thanks to all.  Either my eyes are not as good or I am not as observant as some of you. Adrian - special thanks to you or I would still be in the dark as to why a card was mailed in 1923 when Meta no longer lived in Uetersen after 1922. 

One mystery still....does "diene" denote feminine or masculine? If I understand what was written, it seems the author was female, not male? In that case Bertram would not be the name, and it is most likely Berta or Bertha. I have noticed sometimes it is hard to see the cross on the lower case "t" in German Kurrent script.

[scorny]

One additional comment.  I see a word that doesn't appear in the transcription.  Can anyone supply it?

Bei meinem gestrigen Brief hab ich "ga_?g?" vergessen noch einmal Deiner zu erwähnen.

[apwright]

Deine indicates a female writer.
The missing word is ganz; hab ich ganz vergessen = I quite/entirely/completely forgot...

One slight correction to Gillg's transcription above: it's not mitgeht, but mitgalt. It means the same thing here, so the translation is OK.

Adrian

[Gillg]

Adrian

Thanks for pointing out the mitgeht/mitgalt error- eyesight again - which makes much more sense. 

Steve

I just took another look at the signature to see if the writer could be "Beate", but no, that wouldn't work...  however, since the card is signed Deine B, it must be a woman.  The "e" is a feminine ending.

Gillg

[scorny]

Gillg & Adrian,

Thank you both for your excellent help and most of all for your persistence.  I now consider this case completed.  Great cooperation from the two of you. I am still amazed especially by the transcription work.  I am learning more about German every day.  I thought that deine indicated a woman rather than a man.

As for the mystery name, I think I have enough to go on as I review other correspondence and records.  Names unlike language, are less likely to follow a set of rules.  They can be rather unexpected.  As you noted one might expect Berta or Beata instead of Bertha in a German speaking country.  We have to remember though that even a hundred years ago or longer, people came  from other nations with foreign names.  In addition there have always been variants or an affinity for the exotic. Possibly the name could be Berte or Berthe rather than the traditional spelling.  I have a relative from Bremerhaven whose name was Betsy!  Everyone thought this was a mistake, but it kept popping up as Betsy in all the records.  Her grandchild was named Betty, spelled in the conventional American or English manner.  You just never know.

Thanks again to both of you for your skill and knowledge.

Steve