Thursday, May 8, 2025

Victorian Pizza Party?

 I picked up this photo in a box of postcards at a sale recently.  I would date the photo to around the turn of the 20th century.  Frankly, the image baffled me.  This jovial group appears to be dining on pizza.  




Here in America, we tend to think of pizza being a product of post-World War II, though it was brought here by Italian immigrants in the early 20th century. It actually dates much further back to Roman times.  Modern pizza has its roots in focaccia and other flat breads topped with vegetables, fruits and cheeses. It evolved into what we know as pizza in Italy between the 16th and 18th centuries.  Descriptions of pizza including its use of basil, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese date as early as the late 1700's.

There's writing on the back of the photo which appear to include names, but I haven't been able to translate.  "Wiegand" and "Mueller" are decidedly un-Italian.


The smiles and expressions on their faces implies it's quite a treat and novelty.  I wonder what they would think of modern fast food pizza.

***UPDATE***

Thanks to reader Karin (see comment below), we have a translation for the back of this photo.  Per Karin, "...those first 3 words are 'das verfressene Kleeblatt!' which at first I thought meant 'the greedy cloverleaf' which made little sense to me. But looking up kleeblatt, I learned it is sometimes used figuratively to describe a trio of people (presumably because a clover usually has 3 leaves).So what you have there is a picture of 'the piggish trio'."

She also mentioned the "the black 'cursive' on the back is Sütterlin script, which is how students in German schools were taught to write from 1915 to 1942."

As for what they're eating, Karin suggests a solid theory: "since they seem to be German, it could be 'Flammkuchen' -- Italians weren't the only ones to develop a thin circular crust with stuff on it."

Having never heard of it, I looked up "Flammkuchen" and found it to be a very likely candidate for this photo, especially given the clearly German connection.  Flummkuchen is "often described as similar to a pizza but is distinguished by its incredibly thin, cracker-like crust and specific toppings. Unlike a traditional pizza, flammkuchen is typically made with an unleavened dough, so it does not require a long rising time. "

Thank you for helping date and clarify this photo, Karin!

7 comments:

  1. What a great find! i love photos like this. I have some (digital and physical) that i've collected of everyday people enjoying absinthe. Similar vibe, as the kids say.

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  2. Wowers. Great find. Is this a Real Photo Postcard, or mass produced? Just spitballing, but even if it's mass produced it's probably a $25 card, and if it's an RPPC circa 1900-1930 I could see a collector paying $100+

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    1. It has the look of an RPPC, but the back is plain and the stock is thinner than a postcard, you might even say flimsy. I wondered about it myself.

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  3. Great photos! It is heartwarming to see everyone so lively and happy eating pizza. I want to eat pizza too.

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    1. >I want to eat pizza too.
      Who doesn't love pizza? Probably my favorite meal.

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  4. So I found to your site today because I was looking for information about an Amana radarange popcorn popper a neighbor have me to put into a garage sale. And then I found this page because... I enjoyed rabbit trails. And who could turn down a heading titled Victorian Pizza Party?!?

    Being half German myself, I knew immediately that Mueller and Weigand are indeed quite non-italian and instead very German. And sure enough, the black "cursive" on the back is Sütterlin script, which is how students in german schools were taught to write from 1915 to 1942.

    As far as I can make out, those first 3 words are "das verfressene Kleeblatt!" which at first I thought meant "the greedy cloverleaf" which made little sense to me. But looking up kleeblatt, I learned it is sometimes used figuratively to describe a trio of people (presumably because a clover usually has 3 leaves).

    So what you have there is a picture of "the piggish trio" (the caption makes me love the picture even more! 😂) enjoying their... pizza? Or since they seem to be German, it could be "Flammkuchen" -- Italians weren't the only ones to develop a thin circular crust with stuff on it. 😀😉

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    1. Fantastic research, Karin! I love it! Thank you for digging deeper into this mystery. And thank you for the translation. I will add what you found to the post. I'd never heard of Flammkuchen, so thank you for enlightening me.

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