Germany on Stamps: Stamps of Type Germania

THE "GERMANIA" STAMP TYPE

In the end of XIX century and with the intention to substitute the basic series (Eagles), in circulation at that time, the Kaiser Wilhelm II putted in charge to the graphical artist German Paul Waldraff to carry through the drawing destined to a new series of stamps.

It's the beginning of XIX century and Germany, now unified and transformed into a powerful colonial empire, desired to above all use to advantage the national identity and the spreading that provided the stamps, due to ample world-wide covering that the post office started to have, thanks to the development of the commerce and the ways of communication.

To have a powerful impact was decided to represent the image of Germany in a feminine figure that incarnated the values of the native land. Thus "Germania" appeared, inhaled in warlike mythology as the symbol of the empire.

The designer had as model the actress Anna Führing (according to some personal friend of kaiser Wilhelm II), and it drew a series of sketches and projects until arriving at the final model.

On 1st January of 1900 it was emitted the first set: Ten stamps with face values in "pfennig" being four of them in "German Marks". All they had the registration "Reichspost" (imperial post office).

Throughout its long existence the stamps of the series "Germania", had been used in the German normal post office, had been printed matters in postal cards, had served as advertising form adding to the stamp advertising vignettes, had been used during the World War I in the occupied territories with local overprints.
Still they had been reproduced by the allies as form of military propaganda, in Germany as values of tax after World War I, as colonial stamps and as beneficence stamps.

They had still served in the new, adventurer and pioneer air mail that for those times gave the first steps.

The stamps of this type had given to the German post offices an enormous service and have enormous and historical importance to German post history. They are tempting to any stamps collector.

Some types exist in several colours and with legends and varied overprints that tell us innumerable facts of historical relevance.

The Page

Posted in: GermanyOnStamps, Histories/Histórias