(Reichspost 2 p stamp, used to replace the local stamps of many companies in 1900)
Return To Catalogue - Germany - local issues Aachen.. Barmen-Elberfeld - Bergedorf - Berlin, part 1 - Berlin, part 2 - Bernburg..Braunschweig - Bochum - Breslau - Bromberg..Colmar - Crefeld..Dortmund - Dresden - Duisburg.. Eschweiler - Essen.. Forst - Frankfurt AM - Frankfurt (Oder).. Hagen - Hamburg, private issues (Boten issues), part 1, Hamer, Krantz - Hamburg, private issues (Boten issues), part 2, Lafrenz, Marz-Verein - Hamburg, private issues (Boten issues), part 3, Scheerenbeck - Hamburg, private issues (Boten issues), part 4, Ch.van Diemen - Hamburg, other private issues - Hanover (Mercur) - Halberstadt.. Hohenstein-Ernstthal - Karlsruhe.. Koblenz - Koln.. Ludwigshafen - Leipzig - Magdeburg and Mainz - Mannheim..Nuremberg - Oelsnitz..Stettin - Strassburg.. Stuttgart - Trier.. Zwickau
Note: on my website many of the
pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the cd's;
contact me if you want to purchase them: evert@klaseboer.com.
As you might notice, many of the images of the local stamps in my catalogue are still missing. If anybody has pictures of stamps not yet present in this catalogue, please contact me!
The German law did not prohibit private delivery of mail inside the town borders. Many local mail delivery companies were started as a consequence of this. Some were very succesful, others less. A law of 20 December 1899 stated that all local (or private) issues of Germany would be forbidden from 1 April 1900 onwards. Many of the still remaining local posts issued so-called 'Abschiedsausgaben' (farewell issues). A special stamp at a reduced rate of 2 p was introduced to compensate for the loss of the local services:
(Reichspost 2 p stamp, used to replace the local stamps of many
companies in 1900)
Many more local stamps, prices and useful information can be
found in
1) Michel's 'Spezial-Katalog der deutschen Privatpostmarken' (in
German), 1990 Schwaneberger Verlag Gmbh Munchen
2) 'Glasewald privatpostmarken katalog' (in German), published in
1953
3) 'Handbuch der Deutschen Privat-Postwertzeichen' by Schmidt
1939
I have obtained some of the images with permission from the site www.privatpost-merkur.de / www.privatpost.info.
Most of the German local stamps are quite rare. The more common ones are from Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Some of them were also produced for stamp collectors, such as the stamps of the Hamburger Boten and Bochum.
Some 'hard to identify' locals of Germany:
(Flensburg/Trier)
'MERCUR PRIVAT - STADT - BRIEF -EXPEDITION', Hanover private issues (Mercur)
(Heidelberg, reduced size)
Merkur, Danzig
(Courier, Magdeburg, also exists perforated)
(Courier Privat Stadtbrief Beforderung, Magdeburg)
(Courier, Privatstadtbrf. Befoerderung, Stettin)
(Courier, Leipzig)
(Spandau: 'Courier Stadt Brief Beforderung')
(Schonebeck: 'Privatstadtbrf. Beforderung Courier')
Dessau: "COURIER BRIEFBEFOERDERUNG" and Gera:
"COURIER PRIVAT STADTPOST"
(Halberstadt and Kiel-Dusseldorf)
(Courier, Privat-Stadtbrief-Beforderung, Magdeburg and Danzig)
(Jumping horse, 'BRIEFBEFORDERUNG COURIER' and 'COURIER-POST',
Dortmund)
"COURIER STADTBRIEF BEFORDERUNG" from Hagen, stamps
with "EXPRESS' inscription were used in Halle.
Magdeburg
(Breslau stamp, very similar to stamps
issued in Hamburg)
(Stamp of Hamburg with overprint used for Brunswick)
(Hamonia, W. Krantz, Hamburg)
(Breslau, Lubeck
Koenigsberg and Stettin)
(Posen, "HANSA PRIVATSTADTGBR.-BEFORDERUNG" and
"HANSA Packet - Gepack- u. Brief- Beforderung.")
(Lubeck)
'Hansa Privat-Brief-Verkehr', Dresden
'Privatstadtbriefbeforderung Hansa', Konigsberg
(Hansa Stadtpost, Bromberg)
(Hansa, Bromberg; reduced sizes)
The following stamp was used in many cities (with different values and colours), the 2 p blue was used in Heilbronn and Ulm, a 2 p light blue in Augsburg, a 2 p yellow in Bamberg and a 2 p blue in a slightly bigger size in Furth. Some non-issued values exist for Karlsruhe (3 p orange, 10 p violet and 15 p violet):
Herion's private post was used in many cities, example:
(Muhlhausen and Augsburg)
(Herion Stadt Brief Packet Beforderung; Muhlhausen and Augsburg)
Other 'hard to identify' stamps:
(Wiesbaden 'Privat Packet Beforderung)
Privat-Brief Beforderung, arms, Mainz
Stadt-Briefbeforderung with arms: Hamburg
(Privat Briefbeforderung, statue, Essen)
(Halle)
Beuthen, stamp with inscription 'Flora':
(Beuthen, 'Flora')
Metz, Colmar and Freiburg: 'STADT BRIEF BEFORDERUNG':
(Metz, Colmar and Freiburg)
Furth: 'PRIVAT-STADT-BRIEF VERKEHR':
Dusseldorf: 'BRIEF-BESTELLUNG KRAUS', lion with letter:
Neue Privat-Stadt-Briefbeforderung, pigeon with letter, Breslau:
(Reduced size)
(Dresden parcel stamp; inscription only 'PFENNIG' and value)
Inscription 'Stadt Express EIN EIN', with large '1' in the center
This is supposed to be a local issue for Berlin. It is entirely bogus and made by the forger Ferdinand Elb (source: 'Philatelic Forgers, their lives and works' by Varro E. Tyler). There should be three values 1/2 Sgr, 1 Sgr and 2 Sgr. At least four types of forgeries were made of this bogus stamps, probably one of them by the Spiro Brothers. I do not know if the above stamps are the 'original' or one of the 'forgeries'.
(Mystery: TW TEKEL? KEHL EILT, flying pigeon, I'm not even sure
that this is a German stamp)
Postal stationery, examples:
(Reduced sizes)
Some ship company stamps:
(Oberelbesche Dampfschiffahrt-Ges. e. G.m.b.H, reduced sizes)
('Lauenburger Dampschiffs Fracht-Marke HAMBURG', reduced sizes)
Bogus ship company labels; 'Ne. Sachs. Bohm D.S.E.G. Exped. Ab. Marke'.
(Steamship, inscription 'Ne. Sachs. Bohm D.S.F.G. Exped. Ab.
Marke.')
These stamps are bogus, three values exist: 5 kr (=1 gr), 10 kr (=2 gr) and 15 kr (=3 gr). There even seem to exist forgeries of these bogus stamps! The original bogus stamps could have been made by Ferdinand Elb.
For stamps with inscription 'Ed. Hofer Leitmeritz Express Compagnie' see under Austria.
Some stamps wiht inscription 'PACKETFAHRT JNSTITUT ROTE RADLER' exist in the values 5 p green, 10 p red and 40 p yellow. I have only seen the 10 p red value. Since the cancel below indicates 1907 I presume they were issued around that time.
(Reduced sizes, with cancel 'Packet Fahrt Rote Radler 4-MRZ.
1907)
(Kurierpost Briefmarke Lauterbach Hessen, 1946 local)
Other curious item 'Kinder Post 20 Pf.'
Some local stamps of Schliersee, issued during the inflation period (1923), inscription 'Postamt' in black circle, value in red and 'Verrechnet -E4', futhermore a seal of Schliersee in violet color and a signature of the postmaster. I have seen the values 20000 M, 30000 M and 2000000 M:
reduced sizes
(A local stamp of Halle a.d. Saale of 1923, inscription 'Gebuhr
bezahlt taxe percue')