- Postage stamps and postal history of Austria
This article deals with the stamps and postal history of
Austria ."(pre-stamp postal history here)"Monarchy, 1850 - 1918
The
postage stamp issues ofAustria began on 1 June 1850 with a series ofimperforate typographed stamps featuring the coat of arms. At first they were printed on a rough hand-made paper, but after1854 a smooth machine-made paper was used instead. Issues between1858 and1861 used a profile of Emperor Franz Josef, then switched back to the coat of arms, in an oval frame.Franz Josef profiles reappeared in
1867 , as a side-effect of the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (at this pointHungary began issuing its own stamps), and continued until1907 , with various changes, including a change of monetary system in1899 - from 60kreuzer to thegulden to 100 heller to thekrone .1899 also saw the appearance of
varnish bars , as diagonal shiny yellowish strips applied to the stamp paper before printing, intended to prevent cleaning and reuse of stamps. In the illustration to the left, the bars are so prominent that they appear to be on top of both design and cancellation, but of course this is impossible; note especially the "72" in the lower right, where even the brief soaking that removed the stamp from the letter caused the ink of the design to start flaking off. The experiment was abandoned with the 1908 issue.In
1908 , Austria issued a series of large pictorial stamps, designed by Koloman Moser, to commemorate the 60th year of Franz Josef's reign, depicting previous emperors, Franz Josef at various ages,Schönbrunn Palace , and theHofburg (both inVienna ). The designs were reused in1910 for a Birthday Jubilee issue celebrating Franz Josef's 80th birthday, the dates "1830" and "1910" being added at top and bottom.A series in
1916 depicted Franz Josef, the Austrian crown, and the coat of arms, and between1917 and1919 Emperor Charles I briefly made an appearance on stamps before therepublic was established.First Republic, 1918 - 1938
The first issues of
German Austria wereoverprint s reading "Deutschösterreich" on stamps of the empire, issued beginning in December1918 .In
1919 the republic issued new designs; a post horn, the coat of arms, a kneeling man representing the new republic, and the Parliament building, all done in a vaguelyArt Nouveau style, and inscribed "DEUTSCHÖSTERREICH" ("ÖSTERREICH" appeared in1922 ).However, Austria was caught in the
hyperinflation of the early1920s , and was forced to print new stamps in ever-increasing denominations, topping out at a 10,000 kroner value in1924 . (Even so, Austria was still better off than neighborGermany , who was issuing stamps of 50milliard (!) marks at the time.)In
1925 , a new monetary system was introduced, 100groschen to theschilling , which continued in use until replaced by theeuro in2002 . New stamps were printed also, featuring numerals (for the low values), a field crossed bytelegraph wires, awhite-shouldered eagle , and a church of theMinorite Friars . Subsequent issues depicted scenic views (1929 ), and costumes of various districts (1934 ). The assassinated chancellorEngelbert Dollfuss was commemorated in both1934 and1936 .Anschluss, 1938 - 1945
In early
1938 theAnschluss put a sudden end to Austria's stamps. Although the entry of German troops in March was sudden, the transition of the postal system took several months; and included a period where German stamps were required in addition to Austrian stamps (amixed franking ). The cover to the right, for instance, was mailed on6 May 1938 fromVienna toFreiburg im Breisgau , then was forwarded toHamburg . (Receiving mark s on the back indicate that it arrived in Hamburg on the 8th of May.)After the transition period was over, Austrians used stamps ofGermany until the end of theThird Reich in1945 .Occupied Austria, 1945
The wreckage of
World War II included the postage stamp production system, and the Allied occupation forces handled the situation in different ways; the Soviets overprinted German stamps before issuing locally-printed stamps, while the American/British/French zone used stamps printed in theUnited States .In the
Soviet occupation zone , starting on 2 May 1945, the stamps of Germany were overprinted. Initially the overprint consisted of just "Österreich", or "Österreich" and a bar obliterating the "Deutsches Reich" inscription. Hitler's face remained visible, and this was objectionable, so after4 June postal clerks were expected to blot out Hitler's face manually, until on21 June a new series of overprints came out with a set of stripes over Hitler. In the meantime, somesemi-postal stamps of Germany were also surcharged. InGraz , an additional set of overprints with "Österreich" vertical were issued on22 May for use inStyria .New stamps inscribed "REPUBLIK ÖSTERREICH" were issued on
3 July by theSoviet Union , for use in Vienna and surrounding areas, still denominated in German currency.On the other side of occupied Austria, the
Allied Military Government issued a series28 June depicting aposthorn , for use in areas under Allied occupation (Upper Austria ,Salzburg ,Tyrol ,Vorarlberg ,Styria , and Carinthia). These stamps were produced by theBureau of Engraving and Printing inWashington, D.C. , and valid for postage into1947 .(Despite the relatively short period of use, almost all of the occupation-related issues are common and inexpensive to collect today.)
Second Republic, since 1945
General issues produced by the Second Republic became available on
24 November 1945.Since that time Austria has issued a steady stream of stamps with a variety of subjects, many of them attractively engraved.
Austria-related issues
Lombardy-Venetia
Lombardy-Venetia was a kingdom in the north ofItaly that was part of the Austrian empire. The inhabitants used the Italianlira for money, so in1850 the government issued stamps identical to those for the rest of Austria, but denominated in values from 5 to 45 centesimi. The monetary system changed in1858 , 100soldi s to the florin, which required a new issue of stamps, designs otherwise identical to the contemporary Austrian issues.Lombardy was annexed toSardinia in1859 , andVenetia to the new kingdom of Italy in1866 , at which point the Lombardy-Venetia stamps went out of use.Because of the early date and limited area, all Lombardy-Venetia stamps are uncommon, especially unused, the cheapest costing US$3 or so. The rarest type of
newspaper tax stamp last sold for US$100,000.Italian Occupation
Near the end of
World War I ,Italy captured the Austrian territories ofTrentino andVenezia Giulia . In1918 , Italy issued overprinted stamps for these areas. Stamps sold atTrieste were overprinted "Regno d'Italia / Venezia Giulia / 3. XI. 18." on Austrian stamps of 1916, and then just "Venezia / Giulia" on Italian stamps, while in the Trentino the overprint was "Regno d Italia / Trentino / 3 nov 1918" on Austrian stamps and then just "Venezia / Tridentina" on Italian stamps. In January1919 the Italians issued overprinted stamps for all of the occupied territories, the overprint consisting of, for instance, "5 / centesimi / di corona". This lasted until September, when the Trentino was permanently assigned to Italy and used Italian stamps thereafter, while Trieste became a free city.Foreign post offices
Austria maintained foreign post in the Mediterranean area in the 19th and early 20th centuries. See:
*Austrian post offices in Crete
*Austrian post offices in Liechtenstein
*Austrian post offices in the Turkish Empire for further details."See also:"
list of people on stamps of Austria Sources
*
Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues
* [http://www.jl.sl.btinternet.co.uk/stampsite/home.html Encyclopaedia of Postal History]
* Stuart Rossiter & John Flower: "The Stamp Atlas"
* Marian Carne Zinsmeister, "Austrian Stamps and Their Background 1850-1937", Kessinger Publishing (2006), ISBN 1428662251.External links
* [http://hologuides.com/stamps/catalogues/Austria/ HoloGuides - stamps Austria]
ee also
*
Marcophily
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