Harry Piel ~ Beginning in the early years of silent film, Harry Piel was active in most areas of German film production, both on and off the screen, until the early-1950s. He directed over a hundred feature films and shorts as well as acting, writing and producing. He founded his own production company in 1921, the Harry Piel Film Company. In 1933 Piel joined the NASDAP but this did not save his company from nationalization by the Nazi government of Germany in about 1939. After World War II, Piel was sentenced to six months in prison by the British War Crimes Court and was blacklisted for several years after his release. Although he did found another production company he never reached the same degree of success as he had before the war.

This is a nice large format cigarette card from Lloyd Cigarettes. It was published in 1936 as part of their Bunte Filmbilder series one. It is card #237. Size: just over 2¼" x 2¾" (slightly smaller that a US baseball card). THe edges are gilt and showing slight wear. Overall the condition is fine/very fine.

This lot consists of a genuine German cigarette premium issued between about 1930 and 1937. In general, German cigarette cards and premiums make an interesting and inexpensive addition to any collection. The Nazi government of Germany opposed smoking and eventually put an end to cigarette cards. As a result, the native German card collecting hobby never developed to the extent of that in Britain or the United States. As a result, most German premiums and cards cost only a fraction of what might be expected from their American and British cousins.

Large photos are shown smaller than actual size while small ones are generally enlarged to as much as twice their original size. Almost all photos and cards are scanned through protective sleeves or pages which tends to cut the clarity a bit. Enlarged defects tend to look worse than they actually are.