Private Ship Letter Stamp Issuing Companies up to 1900 - The Jan Berg Collection

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Private Ship Letter Stamp Issuing Companies up to 1900 The Jan Berg Collection

To be offered spring 2020

Private Ship Letter Stamp Issuing Companies up to 1900

Private Ship Letter Stamp Issuing Companies up to 1900 The Jan Berg Collection The first adhesive postage stamp of the world was issued by Great Britain. Every stamp collector knows the famous Penny Black issued on May 6th, 1840. Other countries followed and by the end of the 1800’s most countries had issued their own stamps for postage.

But in the beginning of this era most of these stamps were meant to pay for the postage within the own country only.

In those days, the state-run postal administrations did not think of issuing postage stamps with the purpose to affix on letters going abroad. Let alone did they think of how to issue stamps for the payment of the journeys the letters made on private ships.

Private ship companies had the idea, thus copying the idea from the postal monopolies, to print their own adhesives to document prepayment of these fees.

Jan Berg’s collection is devoted entirely to the stamps designed and issued by these private steam navigation companies. Many of these stamps are very pretty and creatively designed. After all, the private companies were not under pressure to depict heads of states, coats of arms or other propagandistic topics which the state-run postal organizations had to use for their stamps.

Jan Berg’s collection includes great rarities of the Private Ship Letter Stamp Issuing Companies of the nineteenth century. Among the stamps and covers are items which have such distinguished provenances like Arsman, Ferrary, Caspary, Fabergé, Boker, Movrogordato, Lee, Mertens, Casey, Steindler, Provera, Napoleone, Melat, Schneider, von Lind, Chiavarello, Gebauer, Heister, Bustamente, Golden, Stimmel, Czyl, Sundman, Bremer, Capellaro, Linz, Goron, Antonini, Chiangir, Fikri, Ackerman, Chaftar, or Jakob von Uexkull. Each and every one of the aforementioned are highly respected specialists and renowned collectors for their special areas.

The collection includes archival material, stamps, blocks and covers.

Jen Berg’s collection was first awarded Large Gold for his exhibition collection on F.I.P. level at Philataipei 2016. This leaflet will give some examples of which rarities are included in Jan Berg’s collection. For the complete overview, the EDITION D’OR No. 58 is available and can be ordered at Heinrich Köhler, Wiesbaden or Corinphila Switzerland.

The collection will be offered for sale in a special auction catalogue by Heinrich Köhler in the Spring auction of 2020.

Pre-order the auction catalogue now!

This collection is presented in EDITION D’OR vol. 58.

The Jan Berg Collection

Coro - La Vela Postal Service The postal service was established about 1867 and although it originally was intended for mail sent by rail between the cities of Coro and La Vela, the stamps were also used on ship letters forwarded from La Vela to Curacao.

Coro in Venezuela in 1895

1889, ½ real blue in combination with Curacao 25c, on cover from Coro via La Vela and Curacao to the US – A great Rarity

Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. In 1875 the “Royal Mail Steam Packet Company” decided to provide a postal service between the ports of Curacao, Surinam, San Domingo, Puerto Plata and Puerto Cabello. Stamps were issued to prepay the cost of 10 cents for distributing covers not exceeding a 1/2 ounce in weight.

The Harbour of Porto Cabello

1877, TEN CENTS on cover from Porto Cabello via England to Barcelona – one of 3 recorded entires with this stamp

Private Ship Letter Stamp Issuing Companies up to 1900

R.O.P.I.T The Russian Company for Steam Navigation and Trade more commonly known as R.O.P.I.T. was established in 1856.

The company shortly after created a wide network of routes connecting Odessa with other ports both in Russia and in the Levant; and from the beginning the company established agencies in all ports of call.

View of Messina

Philipp von Ferrary

1865, 10 para in used block of 4 – one of 2 recorded and unique off cover Provenance: Philipp von Ferrary (1923)

1868, letter with combination franking Ropit/Imperial Post from Messina to Taganrog Provenance: J. Steindler (1972)

View of Chios

1868, The famous cover with block of 4 + 2 pairs 10 para from Chios to Constantinople – The most important cover of Russian Levant and one of the most important covers of Russian philately!

Provenance: ‘Pavlovsk’ (Cor. 96)

The Jan Berg Collection

Asia Minor Steamship Co. The company, also recorded under the name “THE ASIA MINOR SCREW STEAMSHIP COMPANY” and later also “BELL’S ASIA MINOR STEAMSHIP COMPANY’, was founded in Smyrna in 1868. The company’s steamers plied between Smyrna and Adalia and agencies were established in the ports where the company’s ships called, e g Chios, Chesme, Samos, Calymnos, Cos, Syris, and Rhodes.

Smyrna in 1890

1870 (ca.), 2 pia. on green with “JOLY” handstamp

1870 (ca.), 2 pia. on green on large part cover from Smyrna to Mahri Fethiye – 2 covers recorded

Private Ship Letter Stamp Issuing Companies up to 1900

DDSG The Company “Erste Kaiserliche Königliche Privilegierte Donau Dampfschiffart Gesellschaft“ or D.D.S.G. as it was called was founded in Vienna in 1829. Trading privileges were transferred to the company in 1830 for Austria, in 1831 for Hungary and in 1846 for the Danube; in return the company undertook to convey Austrian Government mail free of charge.

This continued until the different countries involved entered the U.P.U. except for Bulgaria and the Dobrudja where it continued to 1880.

Steamship of the DDSG leaving harbour

1868, DDSG stamp on 10 kr. violet in combination with Austria 5 kr. on letter from Piquet via AltOrsova to Pest

1844, “PP. IBRAILA” on letter to Constantinople Provenance: Antonini (Cor. 92)

1868, 10 kr. green and 10 kr. violet on letter from Giurgiu to Galatz

The Jan Berg Collection

Delfosse et Cie The company "DelfossĂŠ et Cie" was a shipping agent on 24 Rue des Petites Ecuries in Paris, France operating around 1875.

View of Malta ca. 1875

1875, cover from Malta to Constantinople with green steamer label – the finer of two recorded covers with this stamp

Danube & Black Sea Line - T.B. Morton & Co. This company is believed to have been established in 1855 with its head office in Constantinople. Mail was carried between Constantinople, the Black Sea ports and on the river Danube as far as Braila. Between July 1, 1869 and December 31, 1872 the company was registered as a mail boat service between Constantinople and Galatz via Sulina.

1869/70, 3rd and 5th issue combination franking on cover from Deraliye to Ibraita – just four such combinations recorded

Private Ship Letter Stamp Issuing Companies up to 1900

Canal Maritime De Suez The original act of concession was given already in 1854, but the actual work on site commenced in April 1859 and was finalised in November 1869.The need for postal communications between the various construction sites and the neighbouring countries was a matter of great importance and up to the issuance of stamps the postal services were free of charge.

Early photo of ships on the Suez Canal

1868, multiple franking 5c green on cover with content from Kantara to Port Said – one of two covers in private hands with the 5c stamp Provenance: Cihangir (2000), Antonini (1992)

1868, double rate cover from Port Said to Ismailia - UNIQUE