Postcard sent by Wilhelm von Branca from Munich to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin in 1920

Postcard sent by Wilhelm von Branca from Munich to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin in 1920 (Weimar Republic)

The postcard

Original, German, text Sekretariat der Akademie der Wissenschaften Berlin U. d. Linden.

English translation The Secretariat of the Academy of Sciences Berlin U. d. Linden.

The postcard was mailed on November 1^st, 1920 by the well-known German paleontologist Wilhelm von Branca from Munich to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin to notify the Academy of Branca’s new permanent address following his retirement and relocation from Berlin to Munich.
The postcard itself is also historically significant as a piece of German postal stationery from the transitional period following World War I. It was originally issued in the Kingdom of Bavaria (1806–1918) and later overprinted with “Deutsches Reich”. The pre-printed stamp reproduces the 30 Pfennig definitive stamp of Bavaria (Bayern). The number 20 on the bottom right corner of the postcard indicates the year of manufacture - 1920.


The following details can be read from the postmark, beyond the date:

• “8–9N” after the date indicates the evening postal collection period. The letter “N” stands for Nachmittag (“afternoon”), and in this context refers to the 8:00–9:00 p.m. (20:00–21:00) dispatch interval.
• The number “2” at the bottom identifies Munich (München) Post Office No. 2, located inside Munich Central Station (Hauptbahnhof).
• The wavy lines at the sides of the postmark indicate a machine cancellation rather than a hand-applied postal stamp.
  This suggests that von Branca most likely deposited the postcard directly into a mailbox at the city instead of presenting it at a postal service counter.

The message

Original, German, text München, Türkenstr. 104. 1.11.20. Sehr geehrter Herr Professor, darf ich bitten, meine obige Adresse für etwaige Sendungen freundlichst notieren lassen zu wollen ? Mit ergebenstem Gruß hochachtungsvoll Ihr Branca

English translation Munich, Tuerkenstr. 104. 1.11.20 Dear Professor, may I kindly request you to use my address noted above for any future mailings ? With most sincere regards, respectfully yours, Branca

After retiring from his academic career in Berlin on April 1^st, 1917, von Branca relocated to Munich in 1918, where he lived until his death in 1928.
During the final years of his career, Branca increasingly suffered from health problems, particularly gout, and frequently sought relief in health spas and climatic resorts in southern Germany, especially in the spa regions of Baden and the Alpine foothills.
The search for a milder climate appears to have been an important factor in his decision to leave Berlin and settle in southern Germany after retirement.
The family initially considered relocating to Merano in northern Italy, but the plan failed when the Italian authorities refused to issue passports. Instead, the Brancas moved to Munich.

Munich was a natural choice for Branca. Besides offering a milder climate than Berlin, the city had played an important role throughout his scientific career. He first lived in Munich between 1878 and 1880, where he studied fossil collections in the Bavarian State Collection. During this earlier period in Munich, he lived in the Maxvorstadt district, first on Türkenstraße and later on Arcisstraße. Between 1890 and 1895, he lived in Munich again while serving as Professor of Geology and Paleontology at the Ludwig Maximilian University. After his retirement, he returned to the same neighborhood. His move therefore represented a return to a city with which he had long-standing academic ties, professional connections, and personal memories.

Finding permanent housing during the difficult postwar years proved challenging, so Wilhelm von Branca and his wife lived at several temporary addresses in Munich and elsewhere in Bavaria while searching for a location better suited to Branca’s health. Eventually, they settled permanently at Kurfürstenplatz 8, where Branca spent the remainder of his retirement while continuing to correspond with universities, academies, and scientific societies.

Viktualen Mark in Munich - a famous, permanent open-air food market in the heart of Munich's Old Town, on stamp of Germany 2003	Germany 2010 – postage stamp and entrance ticket to the traditional Oktoberfest market. The Oktoberfest in Munich is the world’s largest beer festival and funfair, and celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2010.

By 1920, the family was residing at Türkenstraße 104 in the Maxvorstadt district, near the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. As a long-standing member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, von Branca continued to receive official correspondence and scholarly publications from Berlin.
He mailed this postcard on November 1^st, 1920, to ensure that Academy correspondence would be redirected to his Munich residence.
Even during his retirement in Munich, von Branca remained scientifically active. In 1920 he published the article Einiges über das Werden des Menschengeschlechtes (“Some Remarks on the Development of Humankind”) in the journal Deutsche Revue, reflecting his continued interest in evolution and paleoanthropology.
Administrative records from 1925 show that his membership was formally reclassified as that of an External Member (Auswärtiges Mitglied) because he permanently resided outside Prussia in Bavaria. The Academy continued sending correspondence to his Munich address until his death in 1928.

Wilhelm von Branca

Wilhelm von Branca (1844–1928) was one of Germany’s most influential paleontologists and geologists of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Born as Wilhelm Branco in Potsdam, he studied geology and natural sciences at the universities of Halle and Heidelberg, and completed further academic training in Rome and Berlin before beginning an academic career.

Wilhelm von Branca in 1899. Image source Wikimedia.

Branco became especially well known for his research on fossil cephalopods, dinosaurs, and the geological structure of volcanic regions in Europe and the Middle East. He held professorships at several German universities before becoming professor of geology and director of the Geological-Paleontological Institute and Museum at the University of Berlin, later associated with the Museum für Naturkunde.

In 1895 he was was knighted, and changed his name to von Branco.
In 1907, he changed it again to von Branca, of his Italian family of origin, but continued to use von Branco name in his publications.

Today, von Branca is best remembered for overseeing and promoting the famous Tendaguru Expedition (1909–1913) in German East Africa (modern Tanzania), one of the largest dinosaur excavations ever undertaken by German paleontologists. The expedition uncovered spectacular Jurassic dinosaur fossils, including remains of Giraffatitan brancai (originally classified as Brachiosaurus brancai), which was named in his honour. Many of these fossils remain among the most important exhibits in the Berlin natural history collections and were depicted on postage stamps.

Beyond his scientific research, Branca played a major role in shaping German paleontology during the Imperial and early Weimar periods. As professor of geology and director of the Geological-Paleontological Institute in Berlin, he helped transform the city into one of Europe’s leading centers for paleontological research in the early 20^th century.

Giraffatitan brancai on German postage stamp "Bicentenary of Nature Science Museum in Berlin" from 2010, the main entrance of the museum and some exhibits depicted on the reverse side of the booklet with 10 self-adhesive stamps.

Von Branca strongly supported Darwinian evolution at a time when evolutionary ideas were still debated within parts of the German scientific community. He also encouraged large-scale interdisciplinary research that combined geology, paleontology, zoology, and comparative anatomy.

Von Branca was also influential as an academic organizer and mentor.
He trained a generation of German geologists and paleontologists who later occupied important university and museum positions throughout Germany. Through his publications, university teaching, museum administration, and membership in the Prussian Academy of Sciences, he helped shape the direction of German paleontology during a period when the discipline was becoming increasingly professionalized and internationally connected.

Even after his retirement in 1917 and the political collapse of Imperial Germany in 1918, von Branca remained an important figure within German scientific institutions during the early Weimar Republic. His continued correspondence with the Prussian Academy of Sciences demonstrates that he retained scholarly influence and institutional recognition until the end of his life.

References:

Amazon: USA, DE

• Wilhelm Branco / Wilhelm von Branca (1844 -1928):
  Wikipedia, Deutsche Biographie (in German), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (in German), Wikipedia,
• Weimarer Republic / Deutsches Reich (1918 -1933):
  Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica.
• Prussian Academy of Sciences (Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften):
  Wikipedia, The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
• Tendaguru Expedition (1909 -1913):
  Natural History Museum in Berlin,
  "Dinosaurierfragmente: Zur Geschichte der Tendaguru-Expedition und ihrer Objekte, 1906-2018", Ina Heumann, Holger Stoecker, Marco Tamborini, Mareike Vennen; published in 2018. Amazon: USA, UK, DE.