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DANZIG REPORT  -  -  STUDY and RESEARCH GROUP

Editor: John H. Bloecher Jr., 1743 Little Creek Drive, Baltimore, Md. 21207

Continuing in this issue is the Ruberg article on Danzig's postal history. Augmenting the original are many historic covers from Bud Hennig’s collection as well as some added historic data on the Napoleonic siege of Danzig.

A correction on the Was Ist? article from that issue is in order. The Editor misinterpreted the hand-stamped slogan “20 P Einl. -Geb”, which should be “20 Pfennig Einhieferungsschein Gebühr”. Although our explanation of the meaning (fee paid to mailann to register a letter at the post office for the sender) has been challenged, we are sticking to this explanation until other proof is offered. Reason: the Postal Regulations of 1871. were still valid during the Free City era and we have found no superceding of this regulation as yet. This is not to say that none have been printed by the postal authorities, but we would like chapter and verse before changing our stand. Our authority (the 1871 book) is one of 11 known to exist today. If this directive was superceded, you will be the first to know, with our apologies.

The booklets of Report No. 11 have stirred more interest, even though the scarcity of material eliminates most of us from that phase of collecting. Ken Kloss has sent more information that should interest us all:

“Many of the world’s booklets are great rarities: Estonia issued a booklet, of which only two copies are known today. Examples from Colombia and Trinidad, unlisted in any reference, were discovered recently, and a few British Colonial varities are known today only in the form of specimen copies from the printers’ archives, although they were undoubtedly issued and sold.

At one time there was an active club here in the States that specialized in booklets; it died out around 1960 but for some time published a little magazine called “The Booklet.” I have a complete run of the magazine and have constructed a fairly complete index. From this I found only two references to Danzig booklets:

a) In Vol. III No. 12, p. 7 (June ‘56) there is a reprint from Janet van den Berg’s column in Linn’s Weekly: “Got the Danzig booklets issued in 1933 and 1934? They cost only a few cents each when issued but they’ve turned out to be mighty scarce and are currently bring

 

Danzig Report  Nr. 13 – January - February - March - 1977, Page 1.