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The Austrian Empire stamps were first issued on June 1, 1850: a coat of arms under the text KK Post-Stempel.[1] The word Austria does not appear, which is logical, as the issue served in whole central Europe, more precisely in all or in part of the current following countries:
For a better understanding of the historical context, see the article Austria-Hungary.
Empire (1850-1867) and Dual-Monarchy (1867-1918)
The Austrian Empire, between 1816 and 1867.
The first postage stamp issue of the Empire of Austria was a series of imperforatetypographed stamps featuring the coat of arms. At first they were printed on a rough handmade paper, but after 1854 a smooth machine-made paper was used instead. Issues between 1858 and 1861 used a profile of Emperor Franz Josef, then switched back to the coat of arms, in an oval frame. Four clichés of the 1850 issue had St. Andrew's crosses printed per pane so that an even multiple of florins were paid per pane sold.[2]
The scarlet Red Mercury (Zinnoberrote Merkur, lit. "vermilion Mercury"), issued on March 21, 1856 is the rarest of the lithographed newspaper stamps authorized on September 12, 1850 which bore Mercury heads but no denominations. The low value blue variety used to frank individual newspapers is the commonest but the higher values in yellow, rose, and scarlet were used on wrappers of bundles of 10 or 50 newspapers and were often discarded.[3]
Franz Josef profiles reappeared in 1867, as a side effect of the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (at this point Hungary began issuing its own stamps), and continued until 1907, with various changes, including a change of monetary system in 1899 - from 60 kreutzer to the florin to 100 heller to the crown.
The varnish bars appear faintly on this 1904 issue
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. 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 the Hofburg (both in Vienna). The designs were reused in 1910 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 between 1917 and 1919 Emperor Charles I briefly made an appearance on stamps before the republic was established.
Austro-German Postal Union
On 6 April 1850 the Austro-German Postal Union agreement was concluded between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Prussia to take effect from 1 July 1850. The primary purpose of the agreement was to provide a uniform system of postal rates. By 1 June 1852 all the remaining German states joined the Union. It subsequently became the model for the creation of the Universal Postal Union in 1874.[4]
First Republic (1918-1938)
Austrian stamp of Charles I overprinted Deutschösterreich
The first issues of the Republic of German Austria were overprints reading "Deutschösterreich" on stamps of the empire, issued beginning in December 1918.
In 1919 the Republic of Austria issued stamps with new designs; a post horn, the coat of arms, a kneeling man representing the new republic, and the Parliament building, all done in a vaguely Art Nouveau style, and inscribed "DEUTSCHÖSTERREICH" ("ÖSTERREICH" appeared in 1922).
A 2000-kroner stamp of the 1922 "Art and Science" series
However, Austria was caught in the hyperinflation of the early 1920s, and was forced to print new stamps in ever-increasing denominations, topping out at a 10,000 kroner value in 1924. (Even so, Austria was still better off than neighbor Germany, which at that time was issuing stamps of 50 billion marks.)
In 1925, a new monetary system was introduced, 100 groschen to the schilling, which continued in use until replaced by the euro in 2002. New stamps were printed also, featuring numerals (for the low values), a field crossed by telegraph wires, a white-shouldered eagle, and a church of the Minorite Friars. Subsequent issues depicted scenic views (1929), and costumes of various districts (1934). The assassinated chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss was commemorated in both 1934 and 1936.
In 1938, Nazi Germanyannexed Austria and incorporated its territory, which 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 (a mixed franking). After the transition period was over, Austrians used stamps of Germany until the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Allied occupation (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 the United 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 after 4 June postal clerks were expected to blot out Hitler's face manually, until on 21 June a new series of overprints came out with a set of stripes over Hitler. In the meantime, some semi-postal stamps of Germany were also surcharged. In Graz, an additional set of overprints with "Österreich" vertical were issued on 22 May for use in Styria.
New stamps inscribed "REPUBLIK ÖSTERREICH" were issued on 3 July by the Soviet Union, for use in Vienna and surrounding areas, still denominated in German currency.
1945 overprint on "Hitler Head" of Germany
1945 overprint, handstamped
1945 overprint, improved
8pf stamp of the Soviet occupation, used in Vienna 2 August 1945
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
A 1850 stamp of Lombardy-Venetia
Lombardy-Venetia was a kingdom in the north of Italy that was part of the Austrian empire. The inhabitants used the Italian lira for money, so in 1850 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 in 1858, 100 soldis to the florin, which required a new issue of stamps, designs otherwise identical to the contemporary Austrian issues. Lombardy was annexed to Sardinia in 1859, and Venetia to the new kingdom of Italy in 1866, 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.[citation needed]
Italian occupation
An Italian stamp overprinted for occupied Austrian territories, 1919
Near the end of World War I, Italy captured the Austrian territories of Trentino and Venezia Giulia. In 1918, Italy issued overprinted stamps for these areas. Stamps sold at Trieste 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 January 1919 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.
Austria-Hungary issued stamps named Feldpost (K.u.K. FELDPOST) in 1915 until 1918 for use in the occupied regions.
Austro-Hungarian military stamp for use in occupied Italian territories, 1918
Austro-Hungarian military stamp for use in Montenegro, 1917
Austro-Hungarian military stamp for use in occupied Romanian territories, 1917
Austro-Hungarian military stamp for use in Serbia, 1916
Postal stationery
A Polish version postal card sent from Przemyśl, Galicia in 1881
The first items of postal stationery to be issued by Austria were envelopes Briefumschlägen in 1861 followed by postal cardsKorrespondenzkarten in 1869 and wrappers in 1872. The concept of Korrespondenzkarten has been invented in 1869 by Emanuel Herrmann.[6] They have been printed in 8 languages.
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or ticket after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail. Well-recognized varieties include commemorative overprints which are produced for their public appeal and command significant interest in the field of philately.
The Austrian Empire was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, it was the third most populous monarchy in Europe after the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom. Along with Prussia, it was one of the two major powers of the German Confederation. Geographically, it was the third-largest empire in Europe after the Russian Empire and the First French Empire.
This is a partial timeline of significant events in postal history, including dates and events relating to postage stamps.
Austria and other European nations maintained an extensive system of post offices in the Ottoman Empire, typically motivated by the unreliable postal system of the Ottomans.
This is an introduction to the postal and philatelic history of Italy.
This article provides an overview of the Austrian post-offices presence in Crete and the use of French currency on Austrian stamps in the Ottoman Empire.
Venezia Giulia, traditionally called Julian March or Julian Venetia is an area of southeastern Europe which is currently divided among Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia. The term was coined in 1863 by the Italian linguist Graziadio Isaia Ascoli, a native of the area, to demonstrate that the Austrian Littoral, Veneto, Friuli, and Trentino shared a common Italian linguistic identity. Ascoli emphasized the Augustan partition of Roman Italy at the beginning of the Empire, when Venetia et Histria was Regio X.
The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom", was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866. It was created in 1815 by resolution of the Congress of Vienna in recognition of the Austrian House of Habsburg-Lorraine's rights to the former Duchy of Milan and the former Republic of Venice after the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed in 1805, had collapsed.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
The story of the postage stamps and postal history of Yugoslavia officially begins with the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on 1 December 1918.
The 1866 Treaty of Vienna was an agreement signed on the 3rd of October and later ratified on the 12th by the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire that concluded the hostilities of the Third War of Italian Independence, a theatre of concurrent Austro-Prussian War.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Croatia.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Montenegro.
Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, was founded in 1558 and postal markings were first introduced in 1764. The three partitions of Poland in 1772, 1793 and 1795 saw the independent nation of Poland disappear. The postal services in the areas occupied by Germany and Austria were absorbed into those countries' postal services. In 1772 the area occupied by Austria was created into the Kingdom of Galicia, a part of the Austrian Empire. This lasted till 1918. The Duchy of Warsaw was created briefly, between 1807 and 1813, by Napoleon I of France, from Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. In 1815, following Napoleons' defeat in 1813, the Congress of Vienna, created Congress Poland out of the Duchy of Warsaw and also established the Free City of Kraków. Congress Poland was placed under the control of Russia and the postal service was given autonomy in 1815. In 1851 the postal service was put under the control of the Russian post office department regional office in St Petersburg. In 1855 control was restored for a while to the Congress Kingdom but following the uprising in 1863 again came under Russian control from 1866 and continued until World War I. In November 1918 the Second Polish Republic was created.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Slovenia.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Czechoslovakia.
The study of postmarks is a specialized branch of philately called marcophily. It brings added value to the stamps by their historical significance. Other parameters are the rarity and the attractiveness. In particular, the stamps issued by the Habsburg monarchy during the 1850-1867 period, are collected for their variety and beauty. A first publication on this topic was made by Hans Kropf in 1899. Edwin Mueller in his Handbook of Austria and Lombardy-Venetia Cancellations on the Postage Stamp Issues 1850-1864, published in 1961, described all postmarks used in the Austrian empire, Lombardy, Venetia and in the Austria post-offices in the Ottoman empire. The relative valuation of those postmarks contains a popularity index, which is a multiplicative factor on top of the rarity. Closely related article is Postage stamps and postal history of Austria for a better understanding of the historical context.
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