Leopold Haase sent this picture postcard with a view of the equestrian statue of Peter the Great in September 1902 from St. Petersburg to "Fritz" Haase at the Haase firm in Richmond, Virginia.
Most likely, this was Leopold's nickname for Charles' son William Frederick Haase, who worked at the store. Leopold signed himself "cousin" on this card, and "uncle" on a different one to "Fritz" Haase.
Catherine the Great commissioned the statue, located in the Senate Square of St. Petersburg, in 1782. In 1833 it was renamed the “Bronze Horseman” after a famous poem by Aleksander Pushkin. As one of the symbols of St. Petersburg, the Bronze Horseman was a popular postcard design in the Russian Empire.
In November and December 1902 Leopold sent these two picture postcards from Reval to Charles and Fritz Haase.
The left postcard shows the “Petersburger Landstrasse,” the main road from Reval to St. Petersburg, and was sent in November 1902 from Reval to Virginia.
The right postcard shows a view of the harbor and skyline of Reval. Beneath the picture is the city's coat-of-arms and the words: “Greetings from Reval,” written in German. One corner of the card is missing where someone “collected” the stamp. In addition, one side of the card has broken off, but enough remains of the words to read the verse, which rhymes in the original German:
From Family to Family -
Good Health to All!
My Toast Rings Out -
Even - “without the Punch Bowl!”
The German titles of these two postcards illustrate the influence of the German language in the Baltic provinces.