Bust-length photograph in formal attire as Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog. Signed in full and inscribed in blue: "To C. K. Strate from Lauritz Melchior

1945. 140 x 90 mm. "The heroic scale of his singing, even as experienced through recordings," marked Lauritz Melchior as the foremost Heldentenor of the twentieth century. "In his later years [he] sang little but Wagner, and concentrated on the heaviest roles, in each of which he appeared over 100 times (as Tristan, over 200). These figures suggest the stamina and endurance that enabled him to sound fresh in the last acts of Tristan and Götterdämmerung. A certain baritonal warmth remained a welcome characteristic, but there was no corresponding constriction in his top notes; Siegfried’s lusty high C always rang thrillingly. These virtues were coupled with vivid and enunciation." Desmond Shawe-Taylor in Grove Music Online.

Melchior was named Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1945.