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A PERSONAL REMEMBRANCE OF DANZIG
Contributed by John Gilroy
As told by his friend Louis Newecki

My early working days were in the hardware company that was formed by my father. Our address was Thornscher hA. We were in a historical place, without realizing it then. In one one of your pages, it is mentioned that there was a post office located at #11 Thornscher, probably on the same lot. There was only a gas station (for illuminating gas, not gasoline). When empty, we used it as a stock room for our hardware. At that location, when we were there, was an old gas- house storage tank. Actually, there were two tanks; the larger one was firmly mounted in the ground and the smaller one was to regulate the gas pressure. We used it for storage.

I worked for my father in the wholesale business of selling nuts and bolts and much other types of builders’ hardware. My duties as general office boy and mail clerk included setting type for all of the different letterheads, cards, envelopes, etc., on the small printing press that we had in a tiny back room. You have an original env elope from my father’s business. What do you think of my handiwork? Everything was hand set. I also had to go to the post office every couple of days to get more stamps, since we had a lot of mail to send out.

Also, the postal rates seemed to change every week. Correspondence was carried on with letters, but invoicing was always done on post cards, requiring the 1 Mark on 3 Pfg stamp, which I bought by the sheet. I forgot to mention that vie purchased the business from a company in Schellmuehl. Did you ever see an envelope or Car(l with my father’s return address in the upper left corner? I sure would like to obt ain one since all that were sent out viere printed and handled by me alone.

The first U.S. money in bills that I ever saw was when the president of the Lucken— waicler Bcschlaege Fabric asked my father to buy for him the Innendienst set. lie did obtain one for $62.00 and sold it to him for $75.00, but every set that changed hands had to be expertized first, as there already were many counterfits floating around. At that time, Danzig had its own stamp catalog and also its own stamp paper, either the Danziger Briefmarken Rundschau or simply Zeiting.

In the old hardware warehouse, we had three workmen, and father and me, along with an old hardware man, who would go out to every job to be erected, to find out exactly what would be needed. Then we would load UI) the launch at dockside and make deliveries on the many waterways connected to the River Mottlau. The flag that flew from the stern of the launch is the one that I sent to you, along with another that I brought when we came to Minnesota.

I personalLy feel that the Danzig imperfs and other oddities are nothing more than printers’ waste that was salvaged by a janitor or irresponsible persons. I am certain from my experience in the Danzig Post Office that none of (his type of material was ever sold over the counter; of course, some obliging postal clerk could have handed over some “errors” for a fee. I have the Kogge under fire [58 11 in a corner block of four. It would be very interesting to find when that occurred, from the start of printing or during a run. To me, something like this is more worthw hile than finding flaws and broken letters on stamps.

I also have the 75 Pfg. Postage Due item [5 1, Field 29]. Also a green and red 300 Mark small stamp, with the right lion that has a definite collar around its neck, position unknown [130 ifi with collar on left lion and point under “Danzig”]. There are also a pack of sheets of 20x100 of [Scott?] #133, the one with the collar is on #118. Out of the 20 sheets, only one is normal as all the other 19 sheets have the last stamp with the lion licking his tail, so only one sheet does not have this variety. When did that occur? These things really fascinate me. Upside-down

 
Danzig Report Vol. 1 - Nr. 55 - April - May - June - 1987, Page 11.