Introduction to Polish Philately

BACKGROUND

Collecting Poland offers opportunities in a wide range of specialty areas, in addition to the general areas of stamp collecting.  As a result of a unique geographic location and turbulent history, including two world wars and other regional conflicts, Poland’s boundaries had been frequently redrawn. These historical and geographic changes provide the basis for a multitude of diverse collecting interests and specializations, making “Collecting Poland” an interesting and enjoyable philatelic adventure.

In order to get an overall impression of the variety of collecting interests available, refer to the outlines in Table 1- Historical Impact of Collecting Poland and in Table 2 – Other Collecting Interests. (click to open new page) The collecting interests highlighted in Table 1 refer to the “General Area” of stamp collecting for which country catalogues and albums are available to assist collectors in identifying and maintaining their stamps in a chronological manner.  All other collecting interests found in Tables 1 & 2 are considered “Specialty Areas”.  The bolded numbered text in the summary below refers to these tables.

Poland Today

SHORT HISTORY OF POCZTA POLSKA

BelowThe earliest record of a postal system in Poland dates back to the 14th century (1387), a time when merchants organized a private system and introduced horse riders to replace foot letter carriers. In 1558 King Sigismund II Augustus appointed Prospero Provano, an Italian merchant living in Kraków, to organize a single postal system that consolidated the private systems, thereby founding “Poczta Polska”.

In 1583, King Stefan Batory introduced the first uniform postal rate in the world. This resulted in a uniform postal rate of 4 groszy per letter not exceeding 1 łót (12.66 grams) for any distance in Poland. In 1764 postal markings were first introduced in Poland. This summary covers more than four centuries of postal history, a time during which Poland was known as the Kingdom of Poland and the collecting interest for this period is (1) Stampless Mail, for which various postmarks and seals represent the hallmark of postal history for this era. At left is 1838 stampless cover from Stettin (Szczecin in Polish) to Bordeux

1838 stampless cover from Stettin (Szcecin in Polish) to Bordeux

The three Partitions of Poland (1772, 1793 and 1795) perpetrated by Russia, Prussia and Austria progressively reduced Poland’s size until after the final partition, the state of Poland ceased to exist. Postal services were controlled by the respective occupying powers with the exception of the Free City of Kraków who had been granted autonomy and responsibility for the post during the period 1815-1846.  However despite protests from the Free City of Kraków, Prussia, Austria and Congress Kingdom (Russian occupied area) each established their own post offices for control of the postal services to and from their respective territories. The collecting interest, therefore, for the (2) Free City of Kraków is the variety of postmarks. For example, the Prussian post office used three different date stamps all with KRAKAU; the Austrian post office  used a single line date stamp with CRACAU; and the Congress Kingdom used two date stamps with KRAKÓW.

In 1815 the Congress Kingdom of Poland was established in the Russian occupied area as a personal union with the Russian Empire. In 1858 control of the postal services was briefly given to the Congress Kingdom but following an uprising in 1863 it again came under Russian control from 1866 until World War I. From 1815 the postmarks were in Polish; from 1860 the postmarks were in Polish and Russian; from 1871 the postmarks were in Russian only. The collecting interest with (3) Postmarks of the Congress Kingdom is the variety of standard postmarks that were used at the time.

Poland #1

World War I Occupation 1915-1918

In 1914, World War I split the ranks of the occupying powers pitting Russia, as ally to France and Britain, against the leading members of the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1916, attempting to increase Polish support for the Central Powers and to raise a Polish army, the German and Austrian emperors declared a new Kingdom of Poland (Regency Kingdom of Poland). During this time, military field stamps were brought into circulation in the territory occupied by Austria-Hungary. This constitutes the collecting interest (5) Austrian Occupation. German stamps overprinted “Russisch Polen” (Russian Poland) and other overprints were issued in the German area called General Gouvernement Warschau (General Government Warsaw). This constitutes collecting interest (6) German Occupation. As part of the plan to position the Regency Kingdom of Poland for more autonomy, essays were developed via a competition among Polish artists and the winning 13 designs inscribed Królestwo Polskie (Kingdom of Poland) were printed. However, stamps were never printed nor issued. This brief activity constitutes collecting interest (7) Kingdom of Poland Essays.

During the period 1915-1918 the occupying powers had control of postal services but these services did not include local delivery, i.e., delivery to the addressee. As a result, some town councils produced stamps for this service and others used cachets that were hand stamped on the letters. This specific area defines collecting interest (8) Local Postal Service. Below are 1918 local post issues from Przedborz.

The Warsaw Issues (Fi 2, 3, 4, 5)

2nd Republic of Poland – General.

An independent Poland, absent from the map of Europe for 123 years, was reborn following the Armistice on 11 November 1918 and emerged as the 2nd Republic of Poland. Polish authorities set out to organize a consolidated postal service and, in the interest of time, issued instructions to temporarily use existing stamps and modify or replace cancelling machines with Polish place names. This is the start of collecting interest (9) 2nd Republic of Poland – General.

The first stamps to be released by the newly established Republic and the Polish Ministry of Post and Telecommunications in Warsaw were Provisional Issues on 17 November 1918. (See above) Four different designs of unissued stamps, which had been produced for the Warsaw Local Post in 1916, were overprinted with the value in “fen” at the top and “Poczta Polska” at the bottom. This is the world’s first known occasion on which local stamps were used to produce state or country stamps.

A Second Provisional Issue used a large stock of General Gouvernement Warschau stamps left behind by the Germans. These stamps were overprinted by obliterating bars and “Poczta Polska”. This was followed by the First and Second Lublin Provisional Issues, based on overprinting of Austro-Hungarian K and K Military Post Imperial Welfare Fund stamps. Due to haste in production, errors such as inverted overprints and double overprints are known to exist.

Serious collectors of the 2nd Republic of Poland include the Provisional Issues, especially the Cracow Issues. On 2 January 1919, all Austrian stamps that were held in Kraków were sent to two printers (A. Koziański and F. Zieniński) for overprinting. In total 20 different postage stamps; 5 different  newspaper stamps; and 12 different postage due stamps were overprinted with Poczta Polska in two lines with a diamond or similar ornament shape between the lines. The stamps were issued for sale on 10 January 1919. Based upon the quantities printed, ranging from 440 of the 10 korona (Figure 3) to 100,000 of the 25/80 halerz (Figure 4), catalogue prices can range from USD$12,000 to USD$10. As with most overprints and surcharges, especially a series commanding high prices such as the Cracow Issue, excellent counterfeits exist. I highly recommend expertizing by a certified expert as a condition of purchase.

Figure 4

The remainder of the general stamps issued during the 2nd Republic of Poland  are considered to be commemorative issues featuring heroes, political leaders, monuments, landmarks, et al.

  Polish Soviet War 1919-1921 

The end of World War I ushered in regional conflicts that threatened the borders, if not the independent status of Poland. The most significant of the conflicts was the Polish – Soviet War of 1919-1921, in which Russia under communist leadership had hoped to fully occupy Poland, and use it as a bridge to assist other communist movements and bring about other European revolutions. The Battle of Warsaw in August 1920 was such an unexpected and great defeat for the Red Army that it was called by some as the “Miracle at the Vistula”. A formal peace treaty, the Peace of Riga, was signed on 18 March 1921.

Examples of Central Lithiania Stamps

Free City of Danzig (Polish: Gdańsk)

The Free City of Danzig (Polish: Gdańsk) was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939,  consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk). It was created on 15 November 1920 in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles after the end of WWI and was under the protection of the League of Nations. The Free City had its own stamps, the first of which were overprinted German stamps issued on 14 June 1920 and later, the stamps were of the Danzig Free State. Due to the majority of German inhabitants, the stamps and postal system was heavily influenced by Germany. However, Poland operated a post office in the harbor of Danzig from which stamps destined for Poland were issued. Most of these stamps were existing Polish postage stamps overprinted “PORT GDAŃSK” on two lines.(see Figure 6) The first Port Gdańsk stamps were issued on 5 January 1925. The Danzig Free State and Port Gdańsk stamps continued to be used until 1939 and the outbreak of WWII. Collecting interest (12) Free City of Danzig (Gdańsk) is a specialty area for collectors of German, as well as, Polish stamp collectors. Whereas, the collecting interest (13) Port Gdańsk is more of a specialty area for collectors of Poland.

1941 General Goverment Cover from Warsaw Ghetto to Paris

World War II Occupation 1939-1945 

The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 was the tripwire that set off World War II and on 17 September 1939 the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, once again dividing and occupying Poland. Following the German attack on the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, Poland was occupied by Germany alone and postal service was subjected to German administration or, as it was called “General Gouvernerment”. In May of 1945, Germany was defeated ending WWII, however, Poland had been abandoned by the Western Allies and was subjected to the communist system against the will of the Polish people. This was the beginning of the People’s Republic of Poland during which time Poczta Polska resumed postal services.

OTHER COLLECTING AREAS

By 1989 the rise of the Solidarity Union (Solidarność) and its recognition by the communist government led to the first free election in over 50  years. With the Polish government now led by non-communists, the plan to transform the Polish economy repidly from centrally planned to free market was adopted and the country was renamed the 3rd Republic of Poland. Through the political transition since the end of WWII, Poczta Polska continued with postal services, however the subjects featured on the postage stamps changed. Topics forbidden under communism can now be seen on new issue of Polish stamps.

Having completed the chronology of postal history for the past 450+ years, we can now review the outline for “Other Collecting Interests” that appear more generic for philatelists.

LOT First Flight Cover to Beirut 

Poland has a rich history in the area of aerophilately, the results of which are well researched philatelic articles, top international awards at exhibitions, and outstanding collections of stamps, covers and postal history. Above is an example of a LOT first flight cover to Beirut, Lebanon on 27 October 1936.¹

Neubrandenburg Postal Card

THEMATICS AND POLONICA

Polonica is defined as collecting philatelic material from foreign postal authorities that contain a thematic reference to Poland. Examples would be stamps commemorating Chopin, Copernicus, Pope John Paul II, Pułaski, et al.

In addition to general topical collecting, of which Poland has many stamps to offer, topical collecting limited only to Polish stamps is popular with students and collectors interested in learning about a specific topic, such as Polish  mushrooms or ski jumpers.

REASONS  TO  COLLECT  POLAND

Whether you are already a collector of Poland and are reading this to learn more about other areas of collecting Poland, or you are not yet a collector of Poland and you are just satisfying a curiosity, the following are five (5) reasons to consider collecting Poland:

1. An interesting way to learn more about Poland. Behind every stamp there is a story and by collecting you can learn about the significance of the stamp’s subject and purpose for its issuance.

2. Poland’s stamps are among the most beautiful in the world. Every stamp is a work of art and Poland has a legacy of world renowned engravers, artists and designers of philatelic material. Poland has been winning awards at international competitions, such as the Asiago, Italy competition for the “Best Postage Stamp”.

3. Poland offers a wide range of collecting interests to choose from. Whether a beginner or advanced collector, these choices will help you focus on an area that will be interesting, challenging, manageable and affordable.

4. A must for students of military/philatelic history. Battles that changed the course of history, world wars, regional conflicts with bordering countries, these and more are reasons why Poland is at the heart of military /philatelic history.

5. Resources readily available to help new and existing collectors of Poland. Polish stamp catalogues, websites, and societies are available to help new and existing collectors with their questions and problems.

Endnotes:

1. Cover from article by Dr. Jerzy W. Kupiec-Węgliński and Jacek Kosmala titled “LOT Polish Airlines: Domestic and International Routes (1936-1939)”. Bulletin of the Polonus Philatelic Society, No. 561, December 2005.
2. Postal stationery card from article by Piotr Pelczar and translated by Roman Sobus titled “Unofficial Multi-Stamp Postal Stationery Cards from Camp Post of Oflag IIE in Neubrandenburg”, Bulletin of the Polonus Philatelic Society, No. 556, September 2014.