Vintage original 3.5 x 5.25 in. German postcard depicting the German opera singer (tenor), WALTER KIRCHHOFF (AKA Walther Kirchhoff). He is depicted in a medium interior publicity shot wearing an elegant suit and posing in an arm chair in front of a patterned drapery. This postcard was signed in black ink by Walter Kirchhoff in May of 1926 (see "Provenance" below). Printed in Berlin, Germany, this vintage original "country of origin" postcard is unused in very fine condition with a light diagonal mark (not a crease) on the bottom left corner from where it was inserted in one of the albums described below. There are no tears, stains, or other flaws and his signature and date are as fresh and bold as when he signed this postcard in 1926. Provenance: Approximately 8 years ago, we purchased a collection of two albums of vintage original German postcards from a rare book dealer at an antiquarian book fair in Pasadena, California (see photos). Approximately half of the postcards were signed by the respective personalities and the ones that were dated by the actors are all dated "1926." We were informed by the dealer that these photographs came from a film collector in Germany who acquired the postcards at the time they were issued and then had them signed by the respective actors when he/she met them in person. We are now pleased to make these vintage original postcards available to other collectors. Walter Kirchhoff (March 17, 1879 in Berlin, Germany - March 29, 1951 in Wiesbaden) was a German opera singer ( tenor) and chamber singer. He first entered the military career and became a cavalry officer. On the advice of the director of the Berlin Court Opera, Count Georg von Hülsen-Haeseler, he had his voice trained and studied singing in Berlin with Eugen Robert Weiss and Lilli Lehmann, and later, to perfect his voice, also in Milan. His stage debut was probably in 1906 at the Stadttheater Metz as the title hero “Manrico” in the Verdi opera. The Troubadour. Kirchhoff had a "powerful, shiny metallic" tenor voice (carriage / belt), with which he had great success, especially in the heavy Wagner subject. He was instrumental in the international distribution of Wagner's music dramas through his role interpretations. At the beginning of his career, he sang numerous lyrical roles, such as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Achilles in Iphigenia in Aulis, and Alfred in La Traviata. Later, he played roles of the youthfully dramatic tenor, the heroic tenor, and, in later years, also of the character tenor. His games included u. a. of Lohengrin, the Tristan, Don José in Carmen, Canio in Pagliacci, Narraboth in Salome, Aegisthus in Elektra, and the singing teacher, Alfred, in the Strauss operetta, Die Fledermaus. Kirchhoff's sound documents have been preserved on various record labels ( Pathé, Parlophone, HMV , Ultima, and Odeon). The earliest recordings date from the years 1907/08 and xcerpts from Ring performances were published in 1929.