Postcards, Translators and Esperanto Pioneers

An Alternative History of International Communication

Guilherme FiansAuthorBernhard StruckAuthorClaire TaylorAuthor

Esperanto has a rich and multifaceted history. Delving into a fascinating microhistory of a Scottish family and the ways in which they used Esperanto to build transnational networks across Europe, this book shows how ordinary Esperanto speakers used the language in its early decades. It explores how languages and media help shape the ways in which we build our worlds through words, providing an alternative, “marginal” approach to early twentieth-century globalisation.

Cover image: Zeppelin with inscription "Esperanto", 1920. Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.

Detail from a postcard, black and white, early 20th century. The postcard, printed in Nancy, France, shows a zeppelin flying over a lake or sea. The zeppelin has the word “Esperanto” printed on the side from front to back. At its tail it carries the green and white Esperanto flag. The background scenery shows a mountainous coastline and a cathedral

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