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An original 6.5x4.5" antique photo from a stunning and extensive collection of rare WW1 press photos that we acquired from an estate collection in London from a major sale house. It is an original silver gelatin photo. Professionally packaged in a rigid mailer for safe delivery.
Photo Overview
This historic German press photograph shows the signing of the German-Russian armistice at Brest-Litovsk in late 1917, with Prince Leopold of Bavaria, supreme commander of the German Eastern Front, seated among a packed room of German and Russian officers and diplomats under a grand chandelier as the armistice documents lie ready on the long conference table.
The Armistice of Brest-Litovsk, signed in December 1917, ended active fighting between Imperial Germany and Revolutionary Russia and paved the way for the March 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which allowed Germany to shift divisions to the Western Front and shaped the final year of WW1. Original contemporary prints of this conference, particularly clearly showing Prince Leopold of Bavaria, are scarce outside institutional collections, so securing this example now offers collectors a rare chance to add a pivotal Eastern Front negotiation scene to their holdings before it disappears into another private archive.
Text Present
Front, upper right corner, white handwritten number:
"6288"
Back, printed Dutch caption on pasted paper slip:
"De Duitsch-Russische wapenstilstand van Brest-Litowsk.
Prins Leopold van Beieren, de opperbevelhebber aan het Duitsche Oostfront, onderteekent het wapenstilstands-verdrag."
Translation to English:
"The German-Russian armistice of Brest-Litovsk.
Prince Leopold of Bavaria, the supreme commander on the German Eastern Front, signs the armistice treaty."
Print analysis:
Sepia-toned gelatin silver press photograph mounted on period backing with an attached typeset Dutch caption strip and editorial number on the front, consistent with WW1-era European press agency material. Paper tone, typography, language, and subject all point to a print made contemporaneously c1917-1918 from the original negative, placing it within roughly three years of the event; this supports classification as a Type 1 original press photo.
Condition: Photo is in fair to good condition. Please check photos for the most accurate condition. The back of the photo may have remnants from having been attached to an album page.
