Gallery

 

Danzig Post Office issued a set of twenty-two postal stationery cards, with eleven views on each of the postage values lOPf and 2OPf, the provincial and foreign postcard rates, respectively. Full details of these are available in Danzig Reports Nos. 34 (1982) and 53 (1986), as well as in Michel and Michaelis. However, for the sake of completeness, just two cards (one view from each value) are illustrated at the end of this article. The details on availability of these cards for Congress delegates as given on the second page of the Congress publicity leaflet (see item B above) make for interesti ng reading, and the text of this section is translated below:

OFFICIAL POSTCARDS
On the occasion of our Congress, the Free State of Danzig Postal Authority has issued a set of official postcards with related postmarks and also with text in the Esperanto language. The complete series comprises 22 cards (11 inland @ 10 Pfennig and 11 foreign @ 20 Pfennig), showing the address side views of Danzig and the title of our Congress. Because it is assumed that every delegate will wish to have a set of these unique items, of which issue quantities are limited, we are pleased to satisfy orders for them against the following conditions:

Method 1. A complete set immediately sent by registered post under sealed cover. For Austria, Germany and Poland: 4.30 Gulden; for all other countries: 5.00 Gulden.

Method 2. A complete set, each card separately sent and postmarked with the special publicity cancellation for our Congress, for any country (but at the risk of the purchaser): 4.50 Gulden.

Method 3. A complete set reserved for the purchaser and handed over to him with the Congress documentation: 3.60 Gulden. We cannot fulfill orders not conforming with the quoted methods above! In the Congress Post Office a special postmark will be used.

Conclusion
Clearly, the 1927 Esperanto Congress in Danzig was a major event for it to be marked by the issue of 22 postal stationer( cards and by special postmarks and, no doubt, the postal authorities made a reasonable profit from their enterprise. Nevertheless, as the Congress’ publicity leaflet states, these cards were issued in relatively small numbers and this coupled with the again relatively small demand for the special Congress postmark, makes for scarcity and explains the high prices commanded by mint and used cards.

I would like to record my thanks to staff of the Esperanto Centre, (140 Holland Park Avenue, London Wil 4UF) for their kind help in the preparation of this short study and for the use of their library.

Vivu Esperanto! Vivu Danziga filatelo!


 

Danzig Report Vol. 1 - Nr. 72 - July - August - September - 1991, Page 15.