"[Lot of 10 - Allegorical Map Postcards] Geographische Liebes-Rathsel - 10 Hochinteressante Postkarten",

This fascinating set of postcards are based on Heinrich Heine's famous collection of verses, Buch der Lieder, which was first published in 1827. Buch der Lieder (Book of Songs) was a collection of Romantic poems that featured bittersweet themes of unrequited love. This set of 10 "geographic love riddles" features 10 different Heine poems. What appear at first glance to be landforms within each map are actually the shapes of a man and a woman, and the place names within each map are the exact words to a specific Heine poem. The words are read from top to bottom and from left to right within each color-coded region, with a color-coded key below the map guiding the reader in deciphering the order of the verses. The postcards were meant to be sent to a loved one and include on verso lines to write the recipient's address and a place for the stamp. The set of postcards were sold in a printed envelope with the image of a double-hemisphere globe on the front. Complete sets such as this one are quite uncommon, particularly with the original envelope. As an example of Heine's work, the first postcard reads:

Bist du wirklich mir so feindlich,
Bist du wirklich ganz verwandelt?
Aller Welt will ich es klagen,
Daß du mich so schlecht behandele.

O ihr undankbaren Lippen,
Sage, wie könnt ihr Schlimmes sagen
Von dem Manne, der so liebend
Euch geküßt, in schönen Tagen?

This poem translates as:

Do you really hate me fiercely?
Have you really changed so sadly?
I shall proclaim to the whole world
That you've treated me so badly.

Say, ungrateful lips, how can you
Speak such evil, so cruel-hearted,
Of the man, who often kissed you,
Lovingly, in days departed?

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Condition: A

The postcards are in superb condition. The original envelope is soiled, heavily worn, has separations along the folds, and "Fantasie" has been written in black marker on verso..