Journal of the Rossica Society of Russian Philately

ROSSICA

OCTOBER 2000 No.135

The Journal of the Rossica Society of Russian Philately

THE ROSSICA SOCIETY OF RUSSIAN PHILATELY

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY All rights reserved. No part of this journal may be re-
President: Gary A. Combs produced or transmitted in any form by any means
8241 Chalet Ct, Millersville, MD 21108, USA without permission in writing from the journal editor.
Vice President: Raymond Pietruszka The views expressed by the authors in this journal are
211 Evalyn Street, Madison, AL 35758, USA their own and the editor disclaims all responsibility.
Secretary: Gerald (Ged) Seiflow
1249 St. Claire PI, Schaumburg, IL 60173, USA
Treasurer: Gary A. Combs The Rossica Society of Russian Philately, Inc. is a
8241 Chalet Ct, Millersville. MD 21108, USA non-profit, non-political organization incorporated in
Librarian: Gerald (Ged) Seiflow the state of Maryland, USA, and affiliated with the
1249 St. Claire PI, Schaumburg, IL 60173, USA American Philatelic Society. The Rossica Journal is
Auditor: Webster Stickney the official periodic publication of the Rossica Society
7590 Windlawn, Parker, CO 80134, USA of Russian Philately, Inc., published twice a year in
April and October and mailed "surface rate." Price
BOARD OF DIRECTORS for non-members is US $10 per issue. For air mail
George G. Werbizky delivery, please add US S5. Subscriptions are avail-
409 Jones Road, Vestal, NY 13850, USA
S, ,able for US $30 which includes air mail postage.
Dr. G. Adolph Ackerman
S9. d A er E W in O Available back issues are listed in the section titled "In
629 Sanbridge Circle E., Worthington, OH
43085, USA The Back Room." Submit articles for consideration
Dr. Ray J. Ceresa directly to the Editor. Periodically. other Rossica pub-
Spinnaker House, 7 Jacken Close, Felpham, locations are listed in the back of the Journal. Informa-
Bognor Regis, West Sussex, P022 7DU, United tion is available from the Editor or Secretarn.
Kingdom
Society dues are US S25 per year with a discount for
PUBLICATIONS early renewal. Membership applications can be ob-
Bulletin: Raymond Pietruszka trained from the Treasurer or Secretar at the addresses
211 Evalyn Street, Madison, AL 35758, USA listed under "Officers of the Societ".
Journal: Ivo Steijn .
Journal: Ivo Steijn Dealers wishing to advertise in the Journal are \\el-
6350 Stoneridge Mall Rd #G205, Pleasanton, CA
94588, USA comed. Information pertaining to advertising can be
found in the back of the Journal.
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SOCIETY Checks and money orders submitted should be made
USA payable to The Rossica Sociert of Russian Philately
Washington-Baltimore Chapter: Steve Alushin and not to any officer. Checks not drawn on a LS
13103 Wellford Dr, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA bank must include an additional US S20 for process-
Northern California Chapter : Ed Laveroni ing fees. Sorry. no credit cards are accepted. Please
860 East Remington Drive No. A, Sunnyvale, CA make all checks payable to:
94087, USA
ROSSICA SOCIETY OF RUSSIAN PHILATELY
EUROPE
EUR E c o Gar\ A. Combs
Jack G. Moyes, 23 Stonywood, Harlow, Essex,hat
8241 Chalet Court
CM18 6AU, United Kingdom
Millers\ille. MYD 21108
USA

The ROSSICA homepage may be accessed at: http:/'wwxw.rossica.org
Rainer Fuch's homepage devoted to zemstvos may be accessed at: http:' fuchs-online.com zemst os

Copyright 2000 The Rossica Society

ISSN 0035-8363

THE JOURNAL OF THE
ROSSICA SOCIETY OF RUSSIAN PHILATELY

Journal No. 135 for October 2000

Editor: Ivo Steijn
Editorial Board: Gary Combs, David Skipton, Karen Lemiski

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A word from the new Editor: HELP! 3
President's Message, by Gary Combs 4
Election results 5
Warning on forgeries of Russian stamps and postal history 6
The Imperial stationery-Zemstvo connection, by George G. Werbizky 9
Further notes on Romanov-Zemstvo combinations, by Leonard Tann 16
A closer look at some uncommon and not well-documented zemstvo stamps,
by Bill Nickle 17
Russian mail to the west before 1843: some forwarded letters, by W.J. de Jongh & Ivo Steijn 27
A Russian Prisoner of War's correspondence during the Crimean War, by lan W. Roberts 34
The devil is in the details: the Russian Scientists issue of 1951,
by Gregory Mirsky & David Waterman 35
Ship mail in the Far East during the Civil War, by Ivo Steijn 42
Russia celebrates her most famous son in style, by Jeff Dugdale 43
Postal stationery for Russian servicemen during WW1, by Alexander Epstein 50
Library notes 69
Auction notes 70
Member-to-member adlets 73
Society publications for sale 74
Reviews 79

A word from the new Editor:
HELP!

By Ivo Steijn

Observant Rossica members will notice three future issues to be published on gold-plated pa-
things about this issue of the Rossica Journal: per, I might be a tad vague about the chances of
that happening any time soon, but at least make
1. It's LATE! the wish known. You'll find my address and
2. It's kind of thin email at the bottom of this editorial.
3. It appears to have a new Editor
And of course, a plaintive cry for help goes to
To start with the latter feature, Karen Lemiski all members (and non-members-I'm not
has handed over the editorial reins to yours proud) who are thinking of writing an article.
truly, and she has made things as easy for this Let's face it, it's a struggle to fill each issue and
new editor as she could. On behalf of all Ros- I would prefer not to have to write vast reams of
sica members, let me thank Karen for the won- articles myself to fill up white space, particu-
derful work she has done during her tenure as larly as my choice of subjects will be limited to
Editor, and let me curse her quietly for raising those things I know something about.
the bar for the rest of us...
I've heard some pretty interesting reasons for
The relative thinness of this issue is easily ex- NOT writing an article over the last few years.
plained: a large article which was planned for For instance, one person said he was reluctant to
this issue had to be withdrawn unexpectedly, write an article because as soon as it was pub-
leaving us with a rather sizable gap to fill. For- lished, people would come out of the woodwork
tunately, many regular contributors stepped in to correct it. While it is true that publishing an
to fill that gap, which is why you are holding a article often brings new information to light,
thin issue, not a nonexistent issue. that is the whole point of writing the article, in
my opinion. How else are you going to commu-
As for the lateness, here I must squarely absorb nicate what needs to be brought out into the
the blame. Learning the ropes of yet another open? So don't let that one stop you.
piece of software and spending hours reproduc-
ing the layout of Rossica Journal pages in the Others claim that only the Hallowed Experts
new format was a task that simply took much write articles and that readers wouldn't be inter-
longer than expected. Let's hope future issues ested in subjects that don't deal with stamps and
will be less strenuous to publish, covers worth 1000s of dollars. To which I say
balderdash (which I rarely say, trust me). There
So why the cry for help? Well, I need the assis- are many interested readers out there for articles
tance of the members for a number of a things. on any subject, rare or common, expensive or
First and foremost, I would like to hear from cheap.
you about any subject you wish to talk about. If
you have desires for articles on any particular So let me summarize all this:
subject, write! (I can't promise I'll be able to HELP!
rustle up said articles, but at least I'll know what
I'm looking for) If you have thoughts about the Ivo Steijn, 6350 Stoneridge Mall Rd #G205,
future direction of the Rossica Journal, let's Pleasanton, CA 94588, USA
hear it. My powers are limited so if you ask for madscientist.geo@yahoo.com

Rossica Journal Number 135 3
October 2000

President's message

By Gary Combs

It seems like I just wrote a message and now another form of communications that members
another one is in order! Where has the time should use to gain knowledge relative to the
gone? hobby. Try it, it is not illegal, immoral, or fat-
tening. And best of all it is free.
Rossica continues to be a strong and viable So-
ciety that is well respected in the philatelic com- In August, Rossica and the CSRP announced a
munity. Our journal is continues to be widely joint venture aimed at providing assistance to
acclaimed as a "leading" document and is read our respective members on Internet auctions.
around the world. I find this exceptional as the The reason for this is simple...I have seen many
numbers of postal historians, publishing re- members buying bogus material based on their
searchers, and exhibitors continue to plummet at apparent lack of knowledge. There are several
a terrible rate. sellers who prey on this lack of knowledge and
are doing quite well. Please read about this ef-
The new slate of officers is dedicated to ensur- fort located elsewhere in the journal and at the
ing Rossica continues to lead the way. They are website. We have put the world on notice that
not shy and are fully capable of discussing is- Rossica and the Canadian Society are concerned
sues. Believe me, I know this first hand! Please and willing to provide assistance to our mem-
feel free to write to any of us at any time. A bers.
word of caution is in order. We will not attempt
to engage any member in a long-winded phi- We continue to have too many members who
losophical dialog as we have sometimes in the physically move or change their email addresses
past. We expect to hear opinions from members, and fail to notify us. If you do not get a Journal
but are under no obligation to alter the course of or a Bulletin because of your failure to notify
history based on a single opinion, us, please do not expect the Society to absorb
the cost for sending a second copy.
I am a bit alarmed at the lack of people attend-
ing stamp exhibitions. In the last two years at- The Expertization Committee no longer exists.
tendance by Rossica members has dropped off Leon Finik resigned as Chairman. I cannot guar-
dramatically. An exhibition is the single best antee it will be revived do to lack of qualified
place to "conduct business" as a collector and volunteers to run it. A quick review of the ex-
should be used to maximum advantage. On the pertization records clearly indicates that it is not
same note, I have noticed that the number of a function very well used by the members. The
people actively collecting Russian philatelic overwhelming majority of requests throughout
material is on the rise. Yet, at the same time, the its entire life have been for Scott Nos. 1-4, the
number of collectors actively participating in consular overprints, and the 15-kop. yellow
anything other than collecting items is rapidly "lemonka." All of the lemonkas, except for a
declining. Anybody have an idea on how to re- couple, were from the same dealer. It would be
verse this latter trend? Living in a closet is, in very easy to simply say, "who cares" and drop
my opinion, the absolutely worst way to collect the function completely. This will be a topic
anything. discussed at the annual meeting and a decision
made. With all of the self-proclaimed experts in
Our website is achieving results, albeit they are the world, do we really need an expertization
much slower than I would like. This is simply committee? Perhaps we do, perhaps we do not.

Rossica Journal Number 135 4
October 2000

One thing is very clear. Without volunteers, the Elections
service will not exist. Elections for Rossica officers for the period
2001-2003 are over. The results are listed be-
What is the effect of the Internet and the elec- low. The election tells us many things about the
tronic media on Russian philately? This is an- society. As always, some are good and some
other topic that will be discussed at the annual otherwise. So, what do we know...Of the 361
meeting. What are your thoughts? 1 would love members eligible to vote, 186 were sent paper
to hear them. One last thought repeated again ballots and 175 sent email ballots. Of the 142
for those who missed it before is that electronic members voting, 78 members returned paper
versions of material are nothing more than an- ballots and 64 members voted electronically.
other way to publish. Paper is still viable and This roughly equates to the following: 22% of
will remain for some time. For those of you who the eligible members voted using paper ballots,
feel that electronic copies are bad for whatever 18% of the eligible members voted electroni-
reason, please remember that you can print a cally, and over 40% voted-one of the better
paper copy from an electronic version. If you elections in history!
spill coffee on a page or scribble all over it, sim- The votes were:
ply print another copy. President Combs--140 yes, 2 abstain
VP Pietruszka--142 yes, 2 abstain
Our new journal Editor, Ivo Steijn, is looking Secretary Seiflow--138 yes, 4 abstain
for articles for the upcoming April 2001 journal. Treasurer Combs--138 yes, 4 abstain
Give him something to do! Ray Pietruszka is Librarian Seiflow--138 yes, 4 abstain
always looking for short items for the Bulletin. Board members
Make him happy! Kick both of them up a notch Ackerman--138 yes, 4 abstain
by actively participating. Share your informa- Werbizky--138 yes, 4 abstain
tion with others. Ceresa--137 yes, 5 abstain
Auditor Stickney--140 yes, 2 abstain
Dave Skipton finished the translation of The The ballots of 19 members were returned for
Mute Cancels of Russia, 1914-1917, Part 1. bad addresses (regular mail and email).
Now we are working on the illustrations. This is
an exciting publication by Arnold Levin and Of interest, the voting relative to countries
one all members will want on their philatelic shows that the US had 282 eligible votes, but
bookshelves. I look forward to making it avail- only 113 voted (40%). The UK/England had 24
able in the near future to all members as well as eligible voters, but only 6 voted (25%). Canada
the rest of the world. had 16 eligible voters, but only 5 voted (31%).
We are either doing such a fantastic job or such
It is with much sadness I announce that the a pathetic job that approximately 60% of the
Midwest Chapter is no longer active. This was membership decided not to vote.
one of our liveliest chapters in the past. Several The figures are actually very good compared to
attempts to revive it have not been successful, past elections, but continue to reflect an apa-
The officers will discuss disbanding it at this thetic membership. The really sad part is that of
year's convention, the 13 functional positions that support the soci-
ety (President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer, 3 board
Congratulations go to Karen Lemiski for a Ver- members, Librarian, auditor, expertization com-
meil award for the Rossica Journal received at mittee, Bulletin and Journal Editors, website
STAMPSHOW 2000. I would encourage all manager), 12 since I am listed twice, there were
members to let her know that we appreciate her 3 people who did not vote. Sorry, no names
continued efforts in support of Rossica. You can listed here. My position is simple. If you do not
find her address in one of the previous journals. want to function in a position, then resign or be
asked to resign.

5 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Warning on forgeries of Russian stamps

and postal history

From Rossica and the CSRP

For those of you who have been following the the Internet. We know there are sellers who do
auctions on eBay and other Internet auction this without any reservation. We cannot disclose
sites, you have noticed some rather interesting names since that may leave us vulnerable to a
items. It appears that some sellers do not under- lawsuit, a weapon fully understood by these un-
stand the nature of an auction, wherein the price scrupulous characters.
starts at a nominal price with the hopes that it
will go higher. Rarely does the item begin at its Another clue is when the seller quotes catalogs
actual value. This is normal in a market-driven that are not necessarily in every collector's li-
business. The buyers make the value of an item brary, i.e., Russian catalogs, because the price is
rise or fall. This may be OK for speculators, but higher. Often sellers will state their item has
can be a real problem for inexperienced collec- been "signed" or bears the expertization mark
tors. of so-and-so without naming the owner of the
mark. Stating that a stamp has been "expertized"
We have reason to believe, but no absolute by a famous Russian expert named so-and-so is
proof yet, that there are sellers who engage in the same thing as any American applying an
what is known as shilling. These individuals ownership mark to a stamp from the USA. If the
make a bid with no intentions of purchasing the name is not recognized by the International
item solely to drive up the price. This is fraud, philatelic community, it should indicate
illegal, and carries some fairly stiff penalties. "caution" with the item.
Unfortunately, fraud must be proven by the ac-
cuser and not the alleged perpetrator. Rossica and the Canadian Society of Russian
Philately (CSRP) believe it is time to warn our
Another form of deception or fraud is deliber- respective members of what may be fraudulent
ately misidentifying an item in the hopes that activity on the Internet auctions. The informa-
the buyer will pay a good price for an item tion provided is to be used ONLY as reference
based solely on what the seller states in the de- material. It is not to be used as the "gospel"
scription. An inexperienced collector can pay a truth about anything covered. Out of fairness to
lot of money for an item that is worth nowhere the sellers of questionable material, we must
near the hammer price. In these cases, the col- state that even those who routinely fall into this
lector may have the option to return the item IF category, not everything they sell is fraudulent.
the collector can prove the lot is not as de- It is impossible to determine if an item is genu-
scribed. Here again, the burden of proof rests ine or not based solely on a digital image on a
with the buyer. The seller most often will say computer screen. However, it is possible to ren-
that he/she was misinformed or did not know. If der an opinion that must be considered only an
they offer the same item again without any dis- opinion and not an expertization. The decision
claimers, you have your proof. to purchase the item remains with the buyer and
our opinion can not be the basis for return with
The last category of fraud is when a seller either society's name attached or the name(s) of
knows the item is fraudulent and sells it anyway anybody rendering this opinion. If you want an
without any warning to the buyer. This is the item expertized, you must first acquire it and
largest category observed to date on the Inter- follow the procedures already in place.
net, not to say that it also does not happen off

Rossica Journal Number 135 6
October 2000

Starting in August, a committee made up of nal Soviet Medals imperforate issues of the
members from the CSRP and Rossica will begin 1940s. In general, if any stamp or set already
offering opinions, NOT expertizations, to our exists imperforate, then there is ALWAYS the
members on items on Internet auctions. We will possibility that bogus perforation varieties may
not be able to continue this forever since state- be produced.
of-the-art digital imaging and reproduction ca-
pabilities continue to drop in price. We believe (f) Pairs imperforate-between exist for many
there are sellers that are either "manufacturing" Soviet issues and some have been trimmed to
bogus items using computers and printers or produce apparent IMPERFORATE PAIRS.
functioning as conduits for those who do manu- That is philatelic vandalism at its WORST, as it
facture bogus items. destroys varieties that were originally very in-
teresting in the first place!
To better explain the kind of opinions we will
be offering, some issues are provided immedi- (g) Beware of digital certificates, as they are
ately below, subject to manipulation. Ask for original signed
certificates.
Forgeries of the Imperial and early Soviet peri-
ods have been well documented in the past, but (h) Digital forgeries of postmarks on otherwise
collectors should now be especially on the look- legitimate covers. These are very difficult to de-
out for the following categories: tect even with the item in hand. However, there
are certain "red flags" that may be observed.
(a) Deceptive forgeries exist of Russia Used
Abroad postmarks, copied from the volumes (i) Removal of and/or replacement of original
issued by S.D. Tchilinghirian and W.S.E. franking.
Stephen (the so-called "Shtempelgate Forger-
ies"). In fact, postmarks that can be found illus- (j) Beware of photocopies of original literature.
treated in any published work should be com- There may be copyright violations involved.
pared with that work. Get your postmarks ex-
pertized! (k) Russia Number One, some thoughts:

(b) Digital forgeries of overprint varieties for Beware of Russia Number 1, for example, that
the early Soviet issues. are listed as "mint." or "unused." These are
probably items from which the cancellation has
(c) The notorious line-perforation 11 1/2 forger- been removed. No. 1 MINT is a great rarity and
ies made in Berlin on originally imperforate we know only of one pair in the SPB State
Dirigible Construction and North Pole Flight Postal Museum and one other copy reported by
sets of 1931, producing BOGUS fantail varie- Mikulski.
ties and pairs imperforate-between. They are
scarce, but know what you are buying and LA- Beware of Russia Number 1 without reason-
BEL THEM AS SUCH, otherwise you will suf- able margins all around or at least on three
fer when exhibiting or trying to sell the items! sides. We have noted an increasing number of
trimmed Scott Number 8 and 15 and possibly
(d) Remember that complete forgeries exist of Number 2 stamps being offered as Number
the 10th Anniversary of the Soviet Civil Avia- Ones. Cut down copies ofNos. 8 & 15 should
tion set of 1934 They are poor photo- be recognized by the reddish-brown color of the
lithographic copies. line-perforated 11 1/2 on frame plate, as No. 1 was printed more in a
thicker paper and WORTHLESS! chocolate-brown shade.

(e) Recent perforation forgeries made on origi- Some copies affixed to mail missed cancella-

7 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

tion and have been soaked off, so they are, tech- trial surface again.
nically speaking, "unused." Theoretically, they
should be very slightly scuffed, having gone 7. All responses will go out under the heading
through the mails. of "Joint CSRP and Rossica Committee on
Internet Fraud."
Used copies with postmarks must be put under
ultra-violet, to show if the original pen cross has 8. Rossica will maintain a list of items about
been removed and a forged cancel then applied, which members have inquired and the opinions
of the committee at the Rossica site, but it will
Check for forged postmarks applied on stamps only be available at the Rossica site to Rossica
which were already pen-cancelled, members or in a restricted area (TBD). The
CSRP will retain information in printed form.
Check for postal fraud where the pen cross
has been removed and the stamp affixed to an- 9. The Committee will provide opinions within
other piece of mail, receiving, thereafter, either 72 hours. Each member with an opinion will
another pen cross (!) or a postmark send the opinion to Andy and Gary, who will
respond to the initial request for opinion.
Ground Rules
10. The names of the committee members who
1. This service is available ONLY to Rossica provided opinions will not be published with the
and CSRP members with Internet access and for opinions.
whom we have a valid email address.
11. The committee will not address revenue or
2. Andy Cronin, postrider@sympatico.ca, other Cinderella items. Zemstvo items are con-
(CSRP) and Gary Combs, gcombs@cablespeed. sidered philatelic for this process.
com or gary.combs@rossica.com, (Rossica) are
the focal points for their respective societies. 12. Individuals to whom opinions have been
provided must agree that the information will
3. Opinions from the committee are provided not be sent to the seller as evidence or proof of
solely for informational purposes. It remains the any decision not to bid or as a basis for return of
decision of the individual whether to buy an an item.
item or not. The CSRP/Rossica opinions will
not be used as an endorsement to buy or not to
buy.

4. Requests for opinions must come via email to
Andy and Gary so we have a record.

5. Whoever gets it, Gary or Andy, passes it to
the other and requests assistance from commit-
tee members. Requests for opinions will be sent
to all committee members (by Gary or Andy
only) even if it is not their specialty.

6. Gary and Andy will ensure the pictures
(JPEGS/GIF/etc.) are captured and stored. This
way should one system fail the other has it. We
need to keep all correspondence as well. We
have a feeling we will see some of the same ma-

Rossica Journal Number 135 8
October 2000

The Imperial stationery zemstvo
connection

By George G. Werbizky

Introduction Summary of examples in the literature
In Rossica 133, as a result of Rabbi L.L. Tann's Two books were used to tally items in the above
suggestion, I examined postal sending that had categories: Imperial Russia Zemstvo Post by
both zemstvo and Romanov stamps. The result Oleg A. Faberg6, and the superb Corinphila
was that such mail is fairly scarce. Following a catalog of the Faberg6 zemstvo collection
parallel path, this article examines the mail to or auction, December 1999. The straight count is
from zemstvos that used Imperial postal items as follows:
with imprinted stamps, i.e.: Ten covers and five postal cards in the
a. Postal cards Faberg6 book, representing 15 districts
b. Stationery envelopes Nine letters and twelve postal cards in the
c. Wrappers auction catalog
The combination of zemstvo Arms issue A letter from Borovichi is shown in both the
stamps occurs frequently and thus is not part of book and the catalog. There is not a single
this examination, example of a wrapper, postally used, in either
the book or the catalog.

Examples of Imperial postal cards, stationery envelopes and wrappers

^ .7 y ,
'* ..... ^ /~i.~~ .~;;ro~-.~4.^'-^e./....... .... ...

o i

Ha a1mofi CeLopOUHb niUtuleino mrlo.tivo aOpep i ,

Figure 1 Postal card sent from Moscow to a village in Bogorodsk zemstvo
Rossica Journal Number 135 9
October 2000

I ,r
&^ ^^^^cffl-- .......

Figure 2. Letter sent from Belozersk, where Imperial and zemstvo posts met, to the RR station
Ushaki on the Nikolaevskaya RR line. Note that both postmarks are Belozersk, as expected.

Figure 3. Letter sent to St.Petersburg from Borovichi zemstvo.
10 Rossica Jouerskal Number 135
October 2000
October 2000

s B BCEMIPHLIfI IITOTOBbIlT COI03b. POCCISI.
UNION POSTAL UNIVERSELLE. RUSSIE. .

OTIPbITOE fMCbMIO. CARTE POSTALB \

; :: ................. ..................... ....
......... .. ... .......-

H7a onio6;rot It ,W) montf.wo aOpeos. CGt6 resermd eaxclusvrenent (I I'adresse.

Figure 4. Postal card sent from Shtokmansgof, Wenden to Dresden, Germany. The Scott cata-
log lists Wenden, but does not list any zemstvos. A peculiar situation.

FO 9 APTOL4K.A

I

Figure 5. Postal card sent from Glazov zemstvo to Moscow
Rossica Journal Number 135 11
October 2000

FIOqTOBAql KA A

Figure 6. Postal card forwarded by Imperial postal system to a village in Griazovets zemstvo.

Figure 7. A registered letter sent from Dneprovsk zemstvo to Moscow. On the back of the enve-
lope is the zemstvo administration seal, indicating that this is official mail.

October 2000
s u *

October 2000

B1 OTrjIn CebeRolt OROHomiH

in CeJIacKoXo3SCTBeHnOfl CTaTHCTFIRH

MaLHcTepcTea 3ejieAlaia
H rccyaapOTBeHHIXM IMXyIecTBb.

"L C.-HIemepypze.

Figure 8. Letter sent from Pskov zemstvo to St.Petersburg. The recipient is the Dept. of Statis-
tics for Rural Households, Ministry of Arable Farming and State Properties. Such envelopes
with pre-printed address are found originating from several zemstvos and in all probability
every zemstvo had to send certain requested reports. The stationery envelope was probably
provided by the Ministry.

(4-

*

i'3 0 ""' 9 -__"__
Figure 9. Reverse of the cover in fig.8, shown reduced.
Rossica Journal Number 135 13
October 2000

Xep ry6.

"" :" ~ i E. *?w *. "*

.11 .- .- ";-
.| ... .. .. ........ ..;, ....

FigureFigure 10. Postal cardLetter sent from Chistopol' zemstvo to dessa, to Alexander Ya. Cherleniovski. Forow.

just who Mr. Cherleniovski was, see Rossica 120, 128-129 and 130.
..October 2000.

*' a.. 0 "-" 'v C'
"( : i .... -, .... ', _. .. "i

14 Rossica JoumIal Number 135
October 2000

/ Koida ra nepect.IKy ni;umqe1ur iftW ffo.Ab
o0f., mo 609eAt irume.m'itA ineitameaomda -
qdono. ,,nme.jitilm noi moetA ?i.r ic. ~ -0*

1-

"-. '. 4 ',:.,; '

^. : j, ,-. 1-..

T4II7 EP T XH-iorb It

Figure 12. Wrapper for printed matter sent from Moscow to Bogorodsk zemstvo. All wrappers ,

with a zemstvo connection should be considered scarce.

Rossica Jourrial Number 135 15
-'- -I

n .. JI OT H, C : ". 1 ; ."
-, .
.. i' i .
" i.c- _. -' : .

Figure 12. Wrapper for printed matter sent from Moscow to Bogorodsk zemstvo. All wrappers
with a zemstvo connection should be considered scarce.

Rossica Journal Number 135 15
October 2000

Further notes on Romanov-Zemstvo
combinations

By Leonard Tann

Once again, let me pay a well-deserved tribute imperial PO pmk are of the same district as in
to our friend and fellow-collector, George Wer- Fig 1 shown by George (Rossica 133, p 32) and
bizky, not only on 'taking up my challenge' to Fig 4, the very fine 7k Nicholas II stationary en-
investigate Romanov-Zemstrvo combinations, velope plus 3k War-Charity stamp with added
but on the splendid items he illustrated in Ros- 2k brown Ust'-Sysol'sk Zemstvo stamp, both
sica Journal 133 of Oct. 1999. with Ust'-Sysol'sk pmks, to Petrograd.
In an exchange of correspondence since then,
we have agreed that Romanov-Zemstvo combi- (b) Incoming mail to a Zemstvo via its local
nations fall into two distinct categories, imperial PO.
This includes mail from any other location ad-
(a) Outgoing Mail from a Zemstvo via its lo- dressed to a Zemstvo via that Zemstvo's local
cal imperial PO. imperial PO. Such incoming mail could be
This includes cards/covers that originate in a franked with any stamps or combination -
Zemstvo PO and have to pass through an impe- Arms, Romanovs, War-charities...but the Zem-
rial PO to enter the imperial postal system. As stvo of destination adds its local stamp for local
we are agreed that Zemstvo POs were well delivery.
stocked with the Arms stamps and did not re- I show here my solitary example of a Romanov-
ceive consignments of Romanov stamps/ Zemstvo item. It comes under category (b)
stationery, at this point Arms stamps would be above, incoming mail. It's a 3k Romanov sta-
added. If the outgoing card/cover bears a Ro- tionery postcard from Slobodskoi, Vol[ogda] G.
manov stamp, it can only be because the sender dated 30-4-14 addressed to the Ust'-Sysol'sk
had one and affixed it to the card/cover. As district in the Vologda province. It bears a 2k
George pointed out, use of Zemstvo stationery brown Ust'-Sysol'sk Zemstvo stamp duly can-
envelopes with imprinted stamps, as well as use celled 9-5-14.
of Romanov stationery envelopes/pcds would Now that we have opened up this new avenue of
be far scarcer and the more desirable in Ro- philatelic research, we look to our fellow collec-
manov-Zemstvo combinations. tors particularly those in the Zemstvo field -
In this category, the Zemstvo pmk and the local to augment our examples with further ones.

October 2000

A Closer Look at Some Uncommon and Some Not
Well-Documented Zemstvo Stamps

By Bill Nickle

The recent Faberge auction of 1738 lots of Rus- for recent forgeries prompted by price increases
sian zemstvo stamps and covers shows that this and improved color reproduction processes.
area of philately is alive and well. Record
prices were realized on most of the material. Figure 1 shows a full sheet of the 2nd edition on
Many of these stamps and covers found their yellow smooth paper, Byelozersk Chuchin num-
way back to Russia but a few were bought by ber 14. The number 3 is shown on stamp num-
collectors and dealers from Europe and the ber 5 instead of the letter z. Also, the capital
USA. letter A is shown in stamps 11 and 12 instead of
the regular sized letter A. The black on green
Catalogs of zemstvo stamps which were issued paper Bobrov Chuchin numbers 5 (R) and 5C
from 1865-1917 are not very detailed and are (RR) are show in Figure 2 (only 24 copies
rather repetitive with perhaps too much atten- known) and 3 (only 20 copies known). Perhaps
tion paid to location of stamps on full sheets, the king of the Zemstvo stamps, Alatyr' 2 (only
Some catalogs were incomplete and some had 25 copies known) rated RR is shown in Figure
no pictures of the stamps. The total print runs 4. This example is stamp number 18 on a sheet
of some of these 3000 stamps were between of 20. Apparently the short supply of these
150-1000 making them rare. Perhaps the best stamps was brought about by the unwillingness
catalog was Schmidt (1935) in German, but of the persons in charge of the Alatyr' Zemstvo
only ten copies were made. This volume sold to send these stamps to collectors, thus the re-
recently for 8500 Swiss francs and is essentially cent price rise in the Faberge auction to $3,000
unavailable. The most commonly used catalog (U.S.) A rather coarse design, the 1883
is Chuchin (1984, revised edition). The repro- Bugulma 4 (R), is shown in Figure 5, the num-
ductions of the stamps are small and sometimes ber 2 is upright in the lower corners. Figure 6
blurred. I find the 2842 page copy of Gold's shows Borovichy 4 (RR) with the typical ink
treatise on the Baughman collection to be useful cancellation mark. Total issue was only 1570
along with the yet to be finished Artuchov vol- stamps. An early forgery, Figure 7, was done
umes. The Faberge auction catalog (1999) itself by someone who was not familiar with the cyril-
with its color photographs is a most welcome lic alphabet. The standing postman on the blue
addition to our knowledge of these interesting 4k, 1894 Gryazovets 68 is shown in Figure 8. It
old stamps. Much of the Zemstvo private mail has another engraving (Figure 9) with the post-
was sent free and the official mail of the Zem- man having a dotted shadow (Chuchin 76). Ko-
stvo administrative offices was sent free with lomna 39 without the stars in the shield (rated
the placement of official seals on the envelopes R) is shown in Figure 10. The more common
(Nickle, 1999). variety Kolomna 34 is shown in Figure 11. Fig-
ure 12 shows Lokhvitza 1 with the blue rubber
The purpose of this article is to enlarge stamped official seal postmark for packets on it
and show more clearly some of the uncommon along with a small hole in the middle of the
and some of the not well-documented stamps of stamp. Seventy copies of this stamp were found
this Zemstvo period from my collection. Im- strung on a piece of thread. Lebedian 2 is
portant characteristics of some of these stamps shown in Figure 13. It is a grey-green in color
have not been shown before. A few early for- and is rated RR. Also rated RR are Lebedian 3
genes are also shown. Collectors must be alert (20 copies known) and 4 (only 7 copies known).

Rossica Journal Number 135 17
October 2000

IU03EPCKAJI BIAO3EPCKIA IVM8lO3EPGKAfl
3EMCIOWAM aEMCE@AMM 3EMCEAO
3EMCKAJI EMCORAA BEMCIAI
CeAcitusIIO IO a C CIIHOva CoCbCReflOT
ABO ROM A ROM ILs non.

MNJA3EPCKAIA IAOI03ECAA IZO3EPCIKAA
3EMCAJI 3EMCKAJI 3EMCRAJH
cemCaInoT' icccAClasm coilOum
ABOB KROI ABI ROn. ABS IIO

AONCEEP ICKA IiiA03EPCKAA Ri'BAOUPCKEAA
3EMCBAal 3EMCKAJI 3EMCRAJI
cjCRBaIISnT CiCCR&I anola c riucaMa
ABSB KEOH ABBS ROO. |ABlS XOH.

B$AO3EPCRAC B1o3KPCKAJI11 WB103KP
3EMCEAM 3EMCKAfJ1 3EMCREAH
CacRCORTS no, TacecaanoTaI CACRcanoTa
ABS ROM. ABs ROn. I ;ABS EOn.
Figure 1
They are shown in Figures 14 and 15. It is in- the oval and the five is above the letter D in-
teresting that all the stamps of this town are 5K stead of the letter Z. Figure 26 shows the top
which is higher than most other towns. The en- strip with salvage of a full sheet Pskov 48-51.
graver's name Lith. N. Uhl. SPB can be seen in The sheet was printed with six blue 3k, four yel-
Figure 16 of Nolinsk 10. Nolinsk 3 (R) and 4 low 1K, two rose 5k and one yellow green 10K.
can be seen in Figures 17 and 18 along with There were six vertical rows of these 13 stamps.
their early forgeries Figures 19 and 20. Figures Figure 27 shows a nice representation of the 3K
21 and 22 show Orgeev 1 (only 16 copies blue Okhansk 3. It is not known if this stamp
known, RR) and number 2 (only 17 copies was placed in circulation. I like the fish nets in
known, RR) with their blue and rose networks, the legend. Figure 28 shows the not so common
Pskov 1 (RRR) (only 13 copies known) is (R) Okhansk 4 with its stars which are diagnos-
shown enlarged in Figure 23 with the space be- tic along with the ornamentation above the
tween the five and the oval. Also, the 5 is di- shield. Figures 29 and 30 show Okhansk 5 and
rectly above the letter Z. Figures 24 and 25 de- 6 with variations in stars and ornamentation.
pict Pskov 2 and 3 and show the five touching Figure 31 shows the 1869 Tikhvin (RR) with
18 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

4..... : .

Figurm 31
4 Azaurpcasa

Figure 2

-K0 0 11

FigureFigure 4

Figure 5
Rossica Journal Number 135 19
October 2000

11 e

"Kovt"iic&i

Al43 r tc kace

Figure 6 Figure 7

M8PKa

Figure 8 Figure 9

20 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Figure 10

Figure 12

i rFigure 13

Figure 11

Rossica Journal Number 135 21
October 2000

S: . -

0

5 .. ii i
* j pd

., .... .. .Figure 15

Figure 14

I-=

Figure Figure 19
October 2000
Aon A 21 1.

Oe 21
112

Figure 20

Figure 22

Rossica Journal Number 135 23
October 2000

only 11 copies known to exist. Figures 32 and
33 show top left corer blocks of four of the
Shatsk 13C and 14a. The date 1889 is only on
the stamp in the upper left corer of each of
these sheets.

J3A Figure 24

4 /

Tb 10

Figure 23 Figure 25

24 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Figure 27 Figure 28
S----

Figure 29

11(0

Figure 26 Figure 30

Rossica 25
October 25

STHXBIHCOcfo

JCEJIhL OKt IIOqTb

Figure 31

0 a.... 00 0 0.
[! .* II *l 5.: i : *..@ j.-. e..
-- lI *

L. *-- *-A -i '

Figure 32 Figure 33

26 Rossica Journal Number 135
-October 2000
% i~~i- --I Ce 6S* 0000 000 gqO 000i 0000ji;

Russian mail to the West before 1843:
some forwarded letters

By W.J. de Jongh and Ivo Steijn

Sometimes we should realize how expensive it Let's look at two letters from Riga to Holland,
was to send a letter from Russia to the West in sent in 1706. The letter in fig. 1 is a normal let-
the mid-18th century, ter, weighing approx. 2 grams. The two-number
A letter from Russia to Holland or France had to code "14-38" on the reverse of the letter indi-
go through Prussia, and for that transit, Prussia cates the letter was taxed with 38 Polish Groszy
charged 10, later 11 gute Groschen. In those in Memel, where the letter was transferred from
days a carpenter earned 8 gute Groschen for an the Swedish to the Prussian mail. The letter was
11-hour working day, and therefore had to work prepaid to Cleve (fr.Cl6we).
for 14 hours to earn the money to send such a The letter in fig.2, on the other hand, shows no
letter. Today that carpenter earns a letter-rate in such postal markings, although it is from the
a few minutes! It is not surprising that cost- same correspondence. However, there is an an-
conscious merchants sought ways to reduce notation "port pro rato"...
these enormous costs. What is the explanation of all this?

Figure 1 (left) and 2 (right). Two 1706 letters from Riga to Amsterdam
Rossica Journal Number 135 27
October 2000

4y

Figure 3. A 1719 letter from Riga to Amsterdam. Prepaid for Memel-Emmerich with 190
groszy (quintuple rate). Dutch charges of 18 stuyvers.
28 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Figure 4. 1755 letter from Riga to Amsterdam, no postal annotations of any kind. On reverse,
the sender has written:

I request that the accompanying enclosures are delivered by mail as soon as possible and the postal
charges to be noted. I apologize for the trouble.

The cover contained one letter to London, one to Wackefield (sic), one to Lyon, one to Luyk
and one to Lijden (sic).

.. "

Rossica Journal Number 135 29
October 200 '
&\ *

S" \ :,

^ .4

Rossica Journal Number 135 29
October 2000

The answer is given by the 1755 letter from sible that the whole package weighed less than
Riga to Amsterdam in fig.4. The same sender 15 grams and that six letters were sent for the
and the same addressee as in fig.3 but again this price of one or two. The letter in fig. 2 now sud-
letter has no postal annotations of any kind. But denly makes sense: it was enclosed in a larger
on this letter there is a note to the addressee on shipment and the annotation "port pro rato" sim-
the reverse: "The enclosed herewith we beg you ply meant that the appropriate share of the total
to post and to book the costs on our account." postage was to be booked on the account of the
Furthermore, the addressee duly noted on the sender.
letter that he had dispatched 5 enclosed letters to This way of sending mail was not popular with
various destinations. So here we have at least 6 the postal authorities, and was in fact made ille-
letters under one cover! As we know that such gal after 1817.
letters could weigh as little as 2 grams, it is pos-

ie *
Li *

Figure 5. 1759 letter from Riga to Amsterdam, via Hamburg. Contained one letter to Lyon, two

30 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

From the same archive another example in fig. for 1 '2 lot: a single letter would have been
5: a 1759 letter from Riga which was sent as charged with 5 stuyvers according to the 1752
part of a packet to a forwarder in Hamburg. The Amsterdam tariff list. And in this letter we
packet was probably sent by sea because the again find 4 letters to be forwarded from Am-
land route was being made unsafe by the third sterdam onwards.
Silesian War (1754-1761), which culminated in
the Russian capture of Berlin in 1760. Some examples from the post-Napoleonic pe-
From Hamburg, the letter was sent by land mail riod are shown in figures 6-8.
to Amsterdam, and was taxed with 7 stuyvers

Figure 6. 1829 letter from St.Petersburg to London, via Hamburg and Amsterdam. Note script
cachet on reverse: "Hamburg / Over Amsterdam"
Presumably traveled "undercover" from St.Petersburg to Hamburg, and from there to Am-
sterdam. Dutch postal charges 15 cents, 35 cents were split by Holland and Hanover. British
charges for a ship letter were 8d.

0- X .' *

"Octor
4_

Rossica Journal Number 135 31
October 2000

",t -L "

by Hamburg mail to London, there charged for 8 x oz. = 160d = 13/4.
The letter contains the request: "the included letters to be forwarded to our friends in Spain," a
/-' ,:0." 3"

Figure 7. A 4 lot letter sent from Riga to London. Russian charges 342 kopecks. Transported
by Hamburg mail to London, there charged for 8 x oz. = 160d = 13/4.
The letter contains the request: "the included letters to be forwarded to our friends in Spain," a
practice which had been made illegal in 1817.

32 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Figure 8. Letter from St.Petersburg via a forwarder in Hamburg to London. Charged in Lon-
don with 1/8 which is the rate for letters from German cities.
In London the letter is refolded and sent on to Madeira with a new address.

S 'I

"

/t./

Rossica Journal Number 135 33
October 2000

A Russian Prisoner of War's correspondence
during the Crimean War

By lan Roberts

Ioann Zagorodnikov was a private soldier serv- 13 August the garrison was pleasantly surprised
ing in the No.10 Finnish Line Batallion of the to receive a delivery of mail from the local post-
Russian army in the Bomarsund garrison on the man who had managed to cross enemy lines.
Aland Islands. On 13 August 1854 he was taken
prisoner along with over 2,200 members of the Shortly after their arrival at Plymouth the pris-
garrison by an Anglo-French naval force which owners received a visit from the priest in charge
had been attacking the islands since June. The of the Russian Church attached to the Embassy
prisoners, some of which were wives and chil- in London, Evgenii Ivanovich Popov, who had
dren, were divided between the British and remained in Britain after the outbreak of war.
French. On 17 August Zagorodnikov boarded He had travelled to Plymouth by train from
the British naval vessel "St.Vincetn" which London on 14 October and on the following
berthed at Sheerness on the morning of 7 Sep- day, a Sunday, he held a service for the prison-
tember. After a short period of imprisonment in ers and the members of their families. Regular
the prison hulk "Devonshire" the Russian pris- visits by the priest continued throughout the re-
oners were transferred by steamer to the British maining months of 1854, 1855 and the first
naval base of Plymouth which they reached on 6 months of 1856 when the prisoners were repa-
October. triated to Russia.

Unlike most of his Russian fellow-prisoners, One of Popov's duties was the disbursement of
Zogorodnikov was literate. His father, who had pay to the prisoners. On his first visit Zagorod-
married the daughter of a Russian soldier, was a nikov received 2 shillings and 6 pense in British
junior civil servant (9h Grade Titular Counsel- pre-decimal currency. On 15 October Zagorod-
lor) in the Auditor General's Department of the nikov handed over to Popov his first letter to his
Army. As a result he had been taught to read aunt for onward transmission to Russia via the
and write before joining the army. At some British authorities. It will be recalled that Great
stage during his service he had attained the rank Britain had issued the first postage stamps (1
of non-commissioner officer, but ahd been un- penny and 2 pence) for internal postage in May
justly reduced to the ranks in 1852. Throughout 1840. Three stamps for overseas postage fol-
his military service he had corresponded with an lowed these issues in September 1847, Novem-
aunt whom he addressed as Darya Savelevna. ber 1848 and March 1854 to the value of I shil-
Neither her surname nor place of residence is on ling, 10 pence and 6 pence, respectively.
record. Zagorodnikov's subsequent letters to his aunt
were dispatched by the same method, although
Shortly before the Anglo-French attack on the it is not clear how Popov forwarded them to
Aland Islands, Zagorodnikov's aunt had in- Russia.
formed him it would not be possible for him to In a memoir written after his return to Russia,
transfer to St.Petersburg because of the outbreak Zagorodnikov recorded that in fir first letter he
of hostilities between Russia, Britain and France had only been allowed to give details of the
in March 1854. In early July 1854 postal ser- state of his health and the place of his imprison-
vices between the Bomarsund garrison and Abo ment. Zagorodnikov does not explain whether
(the modern Turku) in the Grand Duchy of this restriction was imposed by the British of
Finland had been suspended. Nevertheless on Russian government.

Rossica Journal Number 135 34
October 2000

The Devil is in the Details:
The Russian Scientists issue of 1951

By Gregory Mirsky and David Waterman

Objective example of stamps issued in 1951.
The objective of this study is to show Probably because of the popularity of
differences between general and specialized the set, it was reprinted two times. It was (and
stamp collecting. We used one common stamp probably it still is) common practice of the So-
issue to illustrate new horizons that open with viet government to reprint stamps if a specific
moving towards specialized collecting. Speciali- set has high public acceptance and interest
zation means acquiring detailed knowledge on a among collectors. Each printing has its own dis-
specific subject. We hope to highlight the ad- tinctive differences.
vantage of specialization as an additional value The first printing of this issue was in
for collectors. Common stamp sets, that can be August of 1951. All 16 stamps was issued. The
easily obtained if you look at it from generic stamps had a quadratic screen background,
point of view, represent significant challenge which none of the major catalogs mention
when one is trying to uncover and collect all va- (Figure 2).
rieties of that set. It brings new interest and The second printing was done in 1955.
challenges. The same 16 stamps were reissued. They still
had quadratic screens, but now the sizes were
Russian Scientists Issue of 1951 different probably due to different cylinders
We selected for our study a set of very used for printing (Figure 3). The design of one
common stamps first issued in August of 1951. of the stamps (Lobachevsky) was slightly
This set is devoted to famous Russian scientists changed the last "1" in "1951 was printed as
(Figure 1 and Table 1). "I" (without a serif). This variety is mentioned
(FiguStamps werTbe on un- in some of the general catalogs but without ref-
Stamps were printed on un-
watermarked paper in sheets of 100 (10 x 10) erence to a specific printing. (Figure 4).
and perforated 12.5. 1,000,000 Sets were There are different dates for this print-
printed. V. Zavialov designed all stamps. The ing in the literature. Weibrecht in his
designs of 2 stamps were based on a drawing "Spezialcatalog. R.S.F.S.R. und S.S.S.R. 1918-
and a painting: the stamp devoted to geographer 1960", published in 1995 mentions that the sec-
S.P. Krasheninnikov was based on a drawing by ond printing was done n 1956V.N.Ustinovsky
A.Osipov and the stamp for N.I. Lobachevsky and A.Y. Pevsner in "Katalog Spravochnik
was based on a painting by L.Krukov. All Pochtovih Marok SSSR, 1918-1991" wrote that
stamps were printed using the photogravure the second printing originated in 1955. To re-
method on white and colored paper. solve this discrepancy we found a copy of the
The fact that this set was very popular official Soviet catalog "Postal stamps of the
can be proved indirectly by the fact that several USSR" published in 1955. It solved the mys-
general philatelic books, published in different tery. This catalog describes that this set was is-
years use this set as an example. In 1957 the sued n 2 sizes and gives us the sizes of each
USSR Department of Communication published stamp. All Soviet books of this period had the
a book on "Soviet Postal Stamps" for a phila- exact date of publishing July 7, 1955, which
telic exhibit during the 6th World Youth and means that second printing of the set was issued
Student Festival [1]. This book devoted several before this date. Unfortunately the previous
pages just to describe this set as a representative printing of this catalog was in 1951. So, there
were no catalogs published between 1951 and

Rossica Journal Number 135 35
October 2000

-I I
I.E

Name Description
1 A. M. Butlerov Chemist, author of theory of structure of organic substance
2 P. N. Lebedev Physicist, optics
3 N. I. Lobachevsky Mathematician, author of nonlinear geometry
4 A.N. Lodigin Physicist, one of the inventors of the light bulb
5 A. 0. Kovalevsky Biologist and embryologist
6 S.V. Kovalevskaya First Russian woman-mathematician
7 P. K. Kozlov Geographer, Central Asia explorer
8 S. P. Krasheninnikov Geographer, Kamchatka peninsula explorer
9 N. S. Kurnakov Chemist, author of physics-chemistry analysis
10 D. I. Mendeleev Chemist, author of Periodic Table of the Elements
11 N.N. Mikluho-Maklay Geographer and anthropologist
12 A.N. Severtsev Biologist, author of evolutional morphology
13 A.G. Stoletov Physicist, one of the authors of photoelectricity
14 K.A. Timiriazev Biologist
15 K.E. Tsiolkovsky Inventor of principles of rocket building and movement in the
space
16 N. P. Yablochkov Physicist, electricity
36 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Figure 2. Quadratic screen of the 1st and 2nd printing

Figure 3. Size differences between 1st and 2nd
printing. The differences are random.
Figure 4. Varieties of N.I. Lobachevsky Stamp -
1st (1951) and 2nd / 3rd printing (1956/1957)
("1951" with and without a serif).

Figure 5. Horizontal Screen of 3rd Printing

Rossica Journal Number 135 37
October 2000
0 #N
WET

-_Nmpp_---WRPPSZqffpp--_Nqpp_

October 2000

Figure 6. Butlerov stamp overprinted for Mendeleev Congress of 1958
unissuedd) (from collection of Nikolai Kondrikov Raritan Stamps, NJ).

Figure 7 Cover with A.N.Lodigin stamp (size 33x22 mm) (1" printing was sent from Gorkii on 23.10. 51
to Mateza, Italy. It has arrival cancel of 4.11.5

38 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

1955 to determine exact year of the second details as some others.
printing. No general catalogs from this period
(Scott, Stanley Gibbons, Michel, Yvert, etc.) Conclusion
published annually include any information The general collector has a great oppor-
about the second printing. tunity to widen the collecting area by looking
The third printing was done in 1956 or
e td pr g ws de in 1 o into details of common inexpensive sets. Our
1957. Ustinovsky [10] and Soloviev [13] be-
lieve that it was 1956, when Weinbrecht [12] example shows the value of specialization and
states that it was in 1957. This time only 9 of 16 studying specialized literature. The set we ana-
stamps were printed a 3rd time. The sizes again lyzed has at least 42 stamps to collect instead of
vary and this time the stamps were printed with 16 listed in general catalogs. This is not exclu-
horizontal screen. This was a very limited issue sive to this set, but exists over and over again.
and stamps of this printing are difficult to find. The catalogs you choose as references play an
We could not find any publications that have the important part in your knowledge of the hobby.
numbers of stamps issued for the 2nd and 3rd
printings. We hope a reader will help us with
this information. The majority of the stamps of References
the 3rd printing was cancelled to order (CTO). 1. "Soviet Postal Stamps". VI World Youth
Consequently mint stamps of the 3rd printing are and Student Festival, 1957
a rarity. Some were never offered for sale on the 2. Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalog
Moscow stamp market according to Soloviev 2000, vol. 5, 1999
[13]. 3. Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, Part 10,
In November 1958 the Butlerov stamp Russia, 1986
from this set was overprinted with a red over- 4. Michel Europa-Katalog Ost 1997/98 (in
print "VIII Mendeleev Congress 1958". This German)
overprinted stamp was not issued since the con- 5. Yvert et Tellier Catalogue de Timbres-
gress was canceled. This stamp represents a sig- Poste, vol.4. Europe De l'Est, 1992 (in
nificant rarity. Nikolai Kondrikov (Raritan French)
Stamps) helped us to obtain an illustration of the 6. Minkus Stamp Catalog, Russia, 1981-1982
stamp from his collection. See Figure 6. Edition.
7. Postal Stamps of the USSR, 1955 (in Rus-
Postal Use sian)
The stamps of this issue are very diffi- 8. Postal Stamps of the USSR, 1918-1969, (in
cult to find on cover. We found one to prove Russian)
that it was actually postally used, but it is the 9. Postal Stamps of the USSR, 1918-1980, (in
only one ee discovered so far, see Figure 7. It is Russian)
hard to imagine that one million sets were 10. V.N. Ustinovsky, A.Ya. Pevzner. Catalog-
printed and only a very few stamps were Handbook. Postal Stamps of the USSR
postally used. May be somebody can help us to 1918-1991 (in Russian)
understand this mystery also. 11. Russia Postage Stamp Catalog (1857-1995),
"Tsentrpoligraf", 1995 (in Russian)
Catalogs 12. Spezialkatalog R.S.F.S.R., U.d.S.S.R. 1918-
Different catalogs (general and special- 1960 by Rolf Weinbrecht (in German)
ized) have different depths of coverage for this 13. V.Yu. Soloviev. Postal Stamps of Russia
set. We analyzed information from 12 catalogs and the USSR, 1857-1991. Specialized
and present the results of our study in Table 3. Catalog-Handbook, 1998 (in Russian)
This table clearly shows that none of the cata-
logs has all data. Weinbrecht [12] has most of
the information, but it does not go into variety

Rossica Journal Number 135 39
October 2000

# Description (paper color) 1st Printing 2nd Printing 3rd printing

Size (mm) Screen Size (mm) Screen Size(mm) Screen

1 S.P. Krasheninnikov (white) 22.5 x 33 O 21.8 x 32 O 21.8 x 32

2 N.I. Lobachevsky (white) 22.5 x 33.5 0 22.4 x 33 E 22 x 33

3 A.M.Butlerov (light blue) 22.5 x 34 O 21.8 x 32.5 0 22 x 32.5

4 A.G.Stoletov (rose) 22.2 x 33 O 21.5 x 32 O

5 A.O.Kovalevsky (rose) 22.8 x 33.5 0 21.5 x 32 O

6 N.N.Miklucho-Maklai (rose) 22.5 x 33.2 0 21.7 x 32 O

7 P.N.Yablochov (white) 22.5 x 33 D 21.5 x 32 O 21.5 x 32

8 A.N.Lodygin (white) 22.6 x 33.7 O 22.5 x 33 O 22.5 x 33.7

9 S.B.Kovalevskaya (rose) 22.5 x 33.3 O 21.9 x 32.4 E

10 D.I.Mendeleev (light blue) 22.5 x 33 O 21.9 x 32 O 21.5 x 32

11 KA.Timirjasev (rose) 22.8 x 33.8 O 22.5 x 33.5 D

12 P.N.Lebedev (light blue) 22.5 x 33 O 22.2 x 32.8 O 22.5 x 33

13 K.E.Tsiolkovsky (light blue) 22.6 x 33.6 O 21.8 x 32 O 21.8 x 32

14 A.N.Severtsev (rose) 22.5 x 33 E 21.6 x 31.7 O

15 N.S.Kumakov (rose) 22.8 x 33.8 E 21.8 x 32 O

16 P.K.Kozlov (white) 22.8 x 33.4 O 21.6 x 32 O 21.6 x 32

Table 2. Russian Scientists Issue 1951-1956

40 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

STI

Scott E 1568- X X X X X X
1583
I U*| Cl U W I

Stanley E 1707- X X X X X X X X
sFE d N I j i i A i l I AV 00

Gibbons 1722
2 i a 8 g s s

158390
Stanley E 1707- X X X XX X XX
Gibbons 1722
Michel G 1575- X X X X X X X X X
1590
Yvert et F. 1556- X X X X
Tellier 1571
Minkus E 1685- X X X X X X X
1699
Postal R 1666- X X X X X X
Stamps of 1681
the USSR,
1955
Postal R 1627- X X X X X X X X
Stamps of 1642
the USSR,
1969

Stamps of 1642
the USSR,
1980
Ustinovsky R 1627- X X X X X X X X X X
Pevzner 1642
Russian R 1788- X X X X X X X X X
Postage 1803
Stamp
Catalog
1857-1995
Weinbrecht G 1528- X X X X X X X X X X X X
1543
Soloviev R 1627- X X X X X X X X X X X X
1642

Table 3. Information about the set in general and specialized catalogs

Rossica Journal Number 135 41
October 2000

Ship mail in the Far East during
the Civil War

By Ivo Steijn

Russian ship mail in the Far East is not easily I can confirm that two mail routes were in op-
found at the best of times. The question whether eration in 1923 (by which time the Civil War
the known mail routes continued to function was mostly over): loose stamps of the 1921
during the Civil War is almost impossible to an- Chita issue occasionally surface with strikes of
swer from surviving material, as ship mail from the ship mail postmark of the Blagoveshchensk-
the Civil War period is an order of magnitude Nikolaevsk line, with dates in 1923.
scarcer than the (hardly plentiful) examples The Vladivostok-Kamchatka line delights us
from the pre-revolutionary period, with the cover illustrated below, from the Kom-
in this note I can tell you what I've been able to mandorski Islands to NiS in Serbia, where it ar-
find, and ask for more examples to be brought rived on 3 October 1923.
into the light of day.
Any other examples?

1 ) "/

4-1

Rossica Journal Number 135 42
October 2000

Russia celebrates her most famous son in style

By Jeff Dugdale
If we can gauge the fame and esteem of an his-
torical personage by the number of stamps is- --------
sued to commemorate him or her than one thing C. nYWK
is clear. More images of poet Alexander Push-
kin, or references to his work appear on Rus-
sian/Soviet stamps and other philatelic media
than for any other Russian, with the possible
exception of the first man in space, Yuri Ga-
garin.

At the end of the Twentieth Century Russia ROSSU
marked the two hundredth anniversary of the P 5.o00
birth of its greatest poet, Alexander Pushkin,
with a series of four colourful and elegant sets
each with a different sub0theme marking as an
aspect of Pushkin's life.
Finally in 1999, again on 6 June, the fourth is-
On 6th June (Pushkin's birthday) in 1997, a five sue to commemorate Pushkin consisted of four
stamp set (SG Nos 6681-5) illustrated with head and shoulder portraits of the Russian bard
beautiful drawings a handful of the most cele- by various artists depicting him aged 16, 27, 28
brated of Pushkin's fairy tales, for example and 37 (illustrated here in a portrait by K.
"The Fisherman and the Golden Fish", "The Bryullov), just before his death in fact (SG no
Golden Cockerel" and "Tsar Saltan" (see panel not yet known).
opposite).
Each of the three multi-stamp issues is available
Later that year on 19th November, there was a also in mini sheet format with elaborate and de-
minisheet (SG MS 6717) marking the transla- lightful illustration in their margins and they are
tion into Hebrew of Pushkin's verse-novel to be commended to the serious collector of lit-
"Eugene Onegin" by Abraham Shlomsky. This erature.
stamp depicts Pushkin's own cartoon for Chap-
ter One of the novel in which he imagines meet- In addition there is a whole series of elaborate
ing his own hero Onegin on the Neva embank- cachets and cancellations depicting Pushkin
ment. (There is a corresponding twin issue by from various towns and cities which feature in
Israel.) his life such as Saint Petersburg, Moscow,,
Pskov and Odessa and several postal mail items
The following year, a further issue continued carrying illustrations of his many homes and
the theme of using Pushkin's own drawings. actors who portrayed his characters.
This time the 28th May 1998 issue comprised
five cartoons showing for example a self- To understand why Pushkin is so celebrated so
portrait, a Knight in armour and Tatiana, the often in stamps is to acknowledge that he is to
aristocratic heroine of "Eugene Onegin" (SG Russian culture what Shakespeare is to English-
6762-6). speaking nations. Like the Bard of Avon, Push-
kin has contributed many phrases and sayings to
the popular language of his country and various
Rossica Journal Number 135 43
October 2000

critics have him dubbed variously, "the creator of the Caucasus" and "The Bandit Brother")
of modern Russia", "the greatest single progeni- Shelley and the composer Mozart, (of whom he
tor of Russian literature", "Russia's best loved wrote in "Mozart and Salieri"). But Pushkin's
poet" and "the soul of Russia". death resulted not from medical inadequacies in
the face of horrible disease or dreadful accident
The range of his material has made parts of the as with some of them.
Pushkin canon accessible to all ages Russian
fairy tales, romantic dramas, stories from the Rather, he was killed intentionally in a duel,
history of Russia, lyric poetry, tales of the su- fighting to preserve the good name of his stun-
pernatural, works of high seriousness and poetic ningly beautiful wife Natalia who was being
curios like "To My Inkwell". hounded at Court by a young French 6migr6
called d'Anthes, who in fact fired the fatal shot.
The appeal of Pushkin's work was also much
broadened by composers as Tchaikovsky, Mus- Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was born in
sorgsky, Glinka, Prokofiev, and Rimsky- Moscow in 1799 into a noble family. His great
Korsakov who took his major works and inter- grandfather had been a black general who had
preted it for the stage, just as Verdi would do served Peter the Great and there was Abyssinian
for Shakespeare. In this way Pushkin's charac- blood on Pushkin's mother's side which ac-
ters reached international audiences through the counted for his swarthy appearance, which is
medium of music. best seen in the 1999 3 rouble stamp showing
him as he looked in 1826,here illustrated.
Pushkin died young at 38, like several of his
contemporary or near contemporary creative Pushkin was educated at the Imperial Lyceum at
geniuses poets Burns, Keats, Byron (who in- Tsarkoye Selo of Moscow, but reports of his
spired him to write such works as "The Prisoner schooling were not complimentary, suggesting

Kyda

S KHHOexc npeanpHRTHR CBf3H aApec oTnpasBreAn

"-- m---------

nlmiHTe HmneKC npeAnpHrTHR CBR3H MecTa Ha3HaqeHHw

44 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

@@g A.C. nYW4KH c@ sonal tragedy of Onegin's wasted life to serious
commentary on more lofty matters of state and
it took Pushkin eight years to complete. (See
panel).

-- --------- He was moved to Odessa in 1823 and incurring
ScyKMHA 1.50 the disapproval of a superior he was dismissed
from government service the next year and ban-
ished to his mother's estate near Pskov where he
ROSSUA 19 wrote "Boris Godunov". (See panel). Two
R M ,, ). 00 years later, he was pardoned by Czar Nicholas I
S who helped to rehabilitate him into court circles
\.-'C< and who also much admired Pushkin's lovely
'I 18 new wife Natalia Goncharova as did many,
P;OCCWn ROSS'IA much to Pushkin's frustration. The pressures
became intolerable and Pushkin eventually chal-
he did not or could not apply himself to his lenged one young admirer to a duel, which as
studies. His own drawing of the school appears you know brought about his death in Saint Pe-
in the 1998 series and in a postal card produced tersburg on February 10h 1937.
in the same year which features an imprinted
stamp of the poet's schoolboy friend I.I.Puskin, Pushkin's influence on Russian and European
who is also shown with Pushkin in a coloured literature was immense. He also helped to
cachet on the card. "spring-clean" his won language which had
been suffering from too much French influence,
His first job in 1817 was in the ministry of for- though ironically it was a French 6migr6 who
eign affairs in Saint Petersburg, during which brought his life to an untimely end.
time he joined and underground revolutionary
group. Three years later his "Ode To Liberty" Sources Used:
irritated the authorities and he was exiled to the
Caucasus though still holding official posts. In Dictionary of European Writers by W.N. Har-
that year 1820, he published "Ruslan and Lyud- greaves-Mawdsley (Everyman 1968)
milla" a long romantic poem based on folk tales
which earned him the reputation of an up and Pushkin biography on internet by J.T. Shaw
coming poet. This poem is commemorated in
SG 2550 (1961: Russian Fairy Tales) and of The Rough Guide to Opera by Matthew Boyden
course by Mikhail Glinka's opera completed in (Rough Guides 1997)
1842.
Papers Issued with The Pushkin Prizes (1999)
The influence of British poet, Lord Byron, is
much in evidence in the next series of major po- Various internet sites for folk tales
ems, like "The Prisoner of the Caucasus", "The
Fountain of Bakhchisarai" (both 1822) and "The
Gypsies" (1823/24).

Soon after Pushkin began his most famous work
"Eugene Onegin" again a Byronic style ex-
tended narrative, described as the first great
Russian novel, although in verse. This is work
which operates on many levels from the per-

Rossica Journal Number 135 45
October 2000

Evgenii Onegin

S- .-P CYHK4 1.50

J 4f ROSSUI2 fA O IA B A NW
ABMA# towti11 303c7 A1.1 0 n

Si0m POCC 15 o

Pushkin's first great opus, "Eugene Onegin", is Olga Larin, whilst her sister, Tatiana, is capti-
usually described as a novel in verse and as vated by the suave figure cut by Onegin.
such is ofMiltonic proportions, written part by
part in various locations over all of eight years Tatiana (shown in this 1998 issue based on a
from 1823 to 1831. The poet is very much the sketch by the poet himself) writes a gushing let-
intrusive narrator in the original story and in the ter to the urbane young gentleman, the Letter
first chapter he imagines himself meeting his Scene in which she sings, "May I perish; but
hero Onegin on the banks of the River Neva, a first I will call upon some mysterious bliss in
scene which Pushkin himself captured in a car- the radiant hope that I shall know all life's
toon which is reproduced in the 1997 souvenir joys!"
sheets along with the cover page of the first edi-
tion of the novel. being amongst the most famous of all opera sce-
narios. Alas, the young rake does not respond
In the much-abridged narrative of in kind, telling her he is not ready for sincere
Tchaikovsky's opera first staged in the Maly commitment and he upbraids and humiliates her
Theatre of Moscow Conservatoire (whose 150th in his rejection.
anniversary is celebrated in SG 4327 of 1974) at
the end of March 1879, the composer himself In Act 2 at a dance there is gossip, however,
produced the book which he subtitled "Lyric about a possible relationship between them and
Scenes from Pushkin". Inevitably this version an irritated Onegin begins to flirt with Olga
of the story omits all the social commentary of much to Lensky's embarrassment. Lensky feel-
the verse novel and of course Pushkin's own ing insulted challenges Onegin to a duel in
point of view, so evident in the original, which Onegin kills him.

Briefly the simplified plot begins with the visit Some six years later Onegin, in considerable
of two friends Vladimir Lensky, a poet and depression after a series of sadnesses in his life,
Yevgeny Onegin, a clerk and man-about-town encounters Tatiana once again, no longer the
of doubtful repute to a country estate. Lensky is simple country girl but married to nobleman.
interested in the younger daughter of the family, Onegin realises now he has strong feelings for

46 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

0.75 Pocc.u

A. B. Hem.aHOBa B CH S epbl l KH
Kyda

A. B. Hex4aHoza a cueme m3 pb 111HH
n. M. HaMKolcKoro EareHHm = erm
Ha eKc c np fnpHRTHR CBR3H H anpec oTnpaaBTeJR

: :.. ::... ::.. i :.... .. ... ...
KOCTPOMA. *NJIs OTABKA
nHWUHTe HHAeKC npenpnp aTHN CBH3H MeCT Ha3HaqeHR OA 1 r.

her and in a complete inversion of the early part rural Russian on literature and human nature.
of the story, he writes to Tatiana only to be re-
jected "I was younger then", she sings and At least four film versions of the operatic ver-
left wretched and solitary. sion of the tale were made between 1959 and
1987 but the story was only recently made into
Professor Asa Briggs sums up the verse novel as the motion picture. "Onegin" directed by Mar-
"a kaleidoscopic work in which the simple plot tha Fiennes was released in April 2000, starring
is complemented by an irrepressible flow of pic- Ralph Fiennes in the title role with Liv Tyler as
tures, images, ideas and comments on urban and Tatiana and Toby Stephens as Lensky.

Boris Godunov

In 1824/25 Pushkin wrote "Boris Godunov" a Unlike the clerk Onegin, Boris Godunov was a
Shakespearean style tragedy whilst exiled at his real historical figure, born in 1551 and who was
mother's estate close to the village of Mik- effectively in charge of matters of state during
hailovskoe near the town of Pskov, in North the reign of Tsar Feodaor Ivanovich before be-
West Russian and now on Estonian border (see coming ruler himself in 1598, his coronation
cacheted envelope below). However, because being depicted in SG 6643.
of the authorities suspicious attitudes towards
him he was given permission to publish the His achievements include strengthening the
drama only after waiting for four years and then Russian states Southern border, building cities
under his ""own responsibility"" in Siberia and coping charitably with the terrible
famine in the early years of the Seventeenth

Rossica Journal Number 135 47
October 2000

in 1868/9 and reworked (and again later and no-
toriously by Rimsky-Korsakav) before being
premiered in early February 1874.

The opera tells of Godunov's ever deepening
guilt after murdering Dimitri the true heir to the
SOCCII ROSSUlJt p- throne and of how the Czar is haunted by the
"__ images of his guilty past. According to Mat-
Century, alluded to in the illustration on the thew Boyden it is "an austere, often bleak crea-
right of this 1996 stamp. tion in which the tortured characters are starkly
delineated in tableaux like scenes carefully
Modest Musorgsky's opera based on Pushkin's linked through the use of recurrent motifs".
drama in Prologue and four acts was composed

The tale of Tsar Saltan

This tale explains how Tsar Saltan overhears powers enabling him to build a Wonder-City,
three sisters who are confiding to each other over which he is chosen to reign. One of these
their views on the subject of happiness, powers is metamorphosis which allows him on
one occasion to change into a bumble bee and
The youngest, having declared that she would fly back to his father's Court to sting his evil
wish nothing better than to become the mother aunt: the celebrated "Flight of the bumble bee".
of a hero, is chosen by Saltan for his bride.
While he is at the War the jealous sisters plot The swan, having resumed her former estate of
against the young queen, who with her little son Princess, consents to share his throne.
is consigned to the waves in a barrel, which
drifts on to an island. Returning from the Wars, Tsar Saltan hears of
the famous island, and journeying thither is re-
Later when the boy is a sturdy youth and now united with his queen.
"The Tsarevich" he saves a swan from a pike
that is pursuing it. He is rewarded with magic The tale was turned into an opera by fellow
Russian Rimsky-Korsakov in 1899 to mark the
centennial of Pushkin's birth and contains the
Dazzling world famous "Flight of the Bumble
A lMMin im a Bee" among other exciting melodies.

50 jOLqTA.CCMC Q.. .MR

48 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

A plethora of Pushkin portraits

AC.t 1 71 A..C.nYULEIX H 1837 fA-CJIYU

100th Death Anniv 100th Death Anniv 110th Death Anniv Pushkin with Polish poet
1937 after T.Paita 1937 Moscow monument 1947 Mickiewicz 10th Anniv of
used for SG 728/30 by A. Opekushin SG 1261/2 Russo-Polish Friendship
used for SG 731/33 1965 SG 1885

with statue of Peter the Great
(The Bronze Horseman) A.C. KHH YL
1956 Russian Writers issue.
SG 2042)
150th Death Anniv after T. Rait with label showing lines
from "To N.A. Ya Plyushkova" 1987 SG 5767
PMCYHKM
1.5 0 rr
A.C. nYlJKMHA I.50 ...............
S* *.. nYWKMH

AC. YWH 200th Birth Anniv
SA. YK (3rd series)
"after S.Chirikov
1999 SG ??
ABTOnoPTPET
nrPOCCHf 1998 *: l0 t
POOSiA ROSSIJA
"miemmIJ PA 7.00 !
200th Birth Anniv ...................
(2nd series) 200th Birth Anniv
self portrait (3rd series)
1998 SG 6765 .ex mini-sheet
after V Tropinin
ROSS I.oo 1999 SG ??

Rossica Journal Number 135 49
October 2000

Postal stationery for Russian servicemen
during WW1

By A. Epstein

The beginning of the WW1 meant for Russia, such indications was not to be delivered at all
among other things, the mobilization of great [1].
masses of people for the Army-in-the-Field. The
result was a drastic increase of the mail stream All these rules are printed as notes I and II (the
to and from the Army. In this connection there latter on the reverse side) on the PS card shown
appeared special postal stationery intended just in Fig. la,b. This postal stationery card printed
for such mail. All these postal stationery items in black color on a rather thin white card also
can be divided into three categories: official, has the words B'b LlEfICTBYIOIUYIO
semi-official and private. Most such postal sta- APMIIO (To Army-in-the-Field) on the upper
tionery is rather scarce; therefore the present left and e3rsnaTHO (Post-Free) on the upper
article gives only a general review of them, not right. It is undoubtedly an official issue, but
pretending to give a detailed listing. That should there remains open the question whether this PS
be a matter for the future, card was issued by the Main (Central) Postal
Administration (in such a case it deserves to be
Official postal stationery included even in general postal stationery cata-
logs) or by some local postal authority (Post/
The principal feature distinguishing official Telegraph District or Main Post Office of Petro-
postal stationery (i.e. issued by the Imperial grad or Moscow; in the latter case its status
state post) from private issues was the Imperial would be the same as that of the official post-
coat-of-arms in the upper left corner of the PS card blanks issued by such administrations from
card or letter-card (PS envelopes had no such the beginning of 1900s). Information about the
feature, but there was, anyway, an imprinted date of issue is lacking as well.
stamp design in the upper right corer). There
seem to have been very few such official postal Fig. 2 features a PS formula card intended for
stationery items for servicemen's mail. soldiers' messages from the Army and printed in
red on buff card normally used for PS cards. It
From the very beginning of war, the post-free resembles very much the normal postcard
privilege covered ordinary mail of normal blanks issued by local postal administrations.
weight (to 30 g) to and from the Army. There- However, instead of a rectangle for stamp in the
fore no postage stamps should be affixed to upper right comer, there is an oval marking with
such covers and postcards. Besides, strict rules Red Cross in the center and text reading
were established as to writing the address on "Storehouse of Her Majesty Empress Alexandra
mail to the Army. According to these rules, the Fyodorovna" between the inner and outer ovals.
address should include the rank, name, patro- This means that although this postal stationery
nymic, and surname of the addressee and the was an official issue (the coat-of-arms on the
designation of the military unit or institution upper left), it was distributed by this branch of
where the addressee was serving. No front, the Red Cross rather than by post offices.
army, corps or division designation, except of
the cases when it was included into the unit des- It was announced at the beginning of 1917 that
ignation, as well as the destination place was as of February 1, even ordinary mail to the
allowed to indicate in the address; mail having Army would no longer be free, but should be

Rossica Journal Number 135 50
October 2000

Figure la

B'b 2SHCTBEIOlIyiO APMIEO. BesniraTuo;

S IIOHTOBAH KAPTOLKA.

I. Bib aApecamb TrenrpaMET H noqtroaurb'onpaBneeif aBI AlsICTSyIo-
iUymo apMin nHanekan yKashaBaTb TOnlho HHn-, aHM, OT4eCTBO
ia aNMniJO appecaTa, a TaKxe HanMeHoiaHie qacuT Hanu y'peKcAe-
Hil Ba KOTOpoM'b aLpecaTb cnymwKTb.

Ha smoi aouopo;nb ,rt::n:emc moabKo aORpec.

Figure lb

II. 06osHaaeIe t nca saxb H TenerpaMMaxb MtcTa pacnnooeHina RacTea soacarb
aHH BsoDCKOBbxI yppewneeHia ocnpetaeTcR : nCbma H TenerpaMn c-s yxasaHlexis
nMc HaxomcaeHf aoAcKoBoO qacTH yRpenseHni BCoe nH 6yHyjry ornpaanaeMbw.

#-

51 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Figure 2

Figure 3

nrlO4TOBAq KAPTOqKA

B% JthiCTBayIouymo ApMiro .

-. . .. .- -

S................. ... ....

Rossica Journal Number 135 52
October 2000

Figure 4a

IOTO BA8 KAPTOQ .,
SB6 tARCTByloiyo AppM
(C-b OTBSTOm-b)
(HaameHoeaHle aoTa MAN y'pemfleHia, Ba noTr

4-.-4
0 (M1Hib aApecafa) ~- Aw- ?

0 (,oT_ Tec ) ................ ........ ..................... .
S(arnInB) dlt^Of ___ I

o06ue1OT OAul UMRI naino flOTpMa"uw3b M Swbmuxb Ailwlrd
HeMi* I ma. Tea.97..?8.

Figure 4b

T BA IAPTO K -
JnI OTBITA)

Hasb AIRCTBYIoi[eA

*) Keay ........ < / ^

S*) MparUnM a pe l xw w.a u oa-Ur Inu or TpasLaR s.

53 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

prepaid according to a special privileged postal CEPTIONIST K. Bodrov (the name as signa-
rate: 2 k for postcards and 5 k for letters [2]. It ture). This means that the order for manufactur-
was this event which we can thank for the emer- ing these PS cards was taken by the State Print-
gence of the PS card proof depicted in Fig. 3. ing Works. However, all evidence shows that
printing was not started, as no copies without
This PS card is listed by Ascher [3] as well as the receptionist's cachet seem to exist. The rea-
Prigara [4] under No 281 and 28/2, respectively, son is apparently that the prepayment of mail to
as not released for use; it is not mentioned, how- the Army had been abolished by the Provisional
ever, in the Higgins & Gage catalog [5]. Its de- Government at the end of March 1917 [6] and
sign resembles the 3-k PS card of the 1909-issue such mail became free again, so the need for a
but differs from the latter in some aspects. The special PS card disappeared.
color is green instead of red, and the imprinted
stamp face value is 2 k in accordance with the Semi-official postal stationery
above-mentioned privileged rate. The stamp de-
sign is the same as that of the corresponding ad- Postal stationery issued by private organizations
hesive and not that on the 3-k postcard. There is but in co-operation with the post (probably also
an additional text "To the Army-in-the-Field" sold over the postal counters) are listed under
under the main text fIO4TOBAAI KAPTOMKA. this category. Double postcards, i.e. dividable
units with a message (to the Army) and a reply
The cachet applied to the card together with the (from the Army) part, printed in various towns
text written in manually reads: "APPROVED by but having a common pattern are the common-
Main Post/Telegraph Administration / LETTER est of these semi-official issues.
of 24 Jan. 1917 No 7515/232 / ORDER RE-

tCTByK)IOUTy Ap

S ......... .................. ... .. .

October 2000
"" i Otoasnt Onrnnl noram nocpuuuinnnb o1n Bou AItdnul. |
-.' noeporpaPn, Koaonaojiaa ya- 9 -B. 8 TM. 2.S.6

Figure 5

Rossica Journal Number 135 54
October 2000

Figs 4a and 4b show the message and reply for Rendering Assistance to Persons Having
parts of such a double postcard printed in Petro- Suffered from Military Activities, with an ad-
grad. Both halves are printed in black on a gray- dress in Petrograd, Nevskii Ave 10, flat 5, and
ish card with the text "To be sent without the telephone number.
stamp" within the rectangle at the upper right. The reply part has less text. The address
The address lines in the dispatch card are pro- consists only of lines "To Whom" and "To
vided with inscriptions in brackets correspond- Where" with a note on the bottom that "the
ing to the addressing rules cited above, i.e. from sender him/herself is to write in his/her
top to bottom: address".

Designation of the unit or institution where the There were several, slightly different printings
addressee is serving of this postcard. While the reply part remained
Addressee's rank unchanged, there were some alterations in the
Name message part. So, in the next printing of the
Patronymic Petrograd postcard shown in Fig. 5 the price is
Surname. no longer indicated (probably because of the
instability caused by the growing inflation), and
The vertical text on the left indicates the post- the vertical text on the right now reads after the
card price equal to one kopeck, the text on the number: "Approved by Petrograd and Moscow
right after the number informs us that the post- Main Post Offices". Also the address and phone
card is "Approved by the Petrograd Main Post number were changed, the first to Kolokol'naya
Office". Finally, the framed text on the bottom str. 9, flat 8. The card is of a slightly darker buff
gives the issuing organization, i.e. the Society shade and has a smoother texture.

IIOITOBAI KAPTOIA i .

B t^icTBayioLyo. RpMIIO
S (Cb OTBTOMb).. .. ...
( HO M .CTNa Mn ylpeniAeHIi, S b. aIpea

9 (0Ai .... -

(OrT eOTBo) ... .... ..... .J ...
(CaOW A lAR) rr.. ........ ................... ..... ......... -:
AoxoA nocTyn bi no pacuipemi rocnauTaa A NN soln .-
npn fIMaxlarpqIecKoN Kiinnurt NMIEPAf AOoc MOCKo. Ywsepcrr.
Csnaa : MoesCa, B. I.apmnuaCK&a ya., M 85. Tea. 61-09.

Figure 6

55 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Figure 7a

Iq0TOBAH KAPTOqKA .. o neR
Bi A -BCTByIoumylt ApMi
(Cb OTB1TOM-b). .... 1
(HaMeHosaHiN ,lcT MnI ylpemAeHiR, Bb I Op ib a Ca
L -...- ..

S(.nH.b aApecaTa).. ........
(..a.).. ........ I ---
B (Oecao) ... ..
(Nor)_
I AoxojAa nocTynaeTo ,Ia ,y*Ao bIo pacuwpeoilo rocnuTa.IR al oNNIOSb
nups nrxiarpMaeenoli hKAEIIt HnEPATOPCHArO MOROBs. YNHNepoNr

Figure 7b

1
rHOUITOBAJ KAPTOqKA
(A n OTBTr a). p.

Msm TLtHcTBYIuoien RpMiH

*) KHony ... ../.. ..... ..... ..........

"*) Hya aJ... ..:. ./ (.,.1 -

... .. ........... ...... ......... .......... ...... ... .- .- .... .

') 06paniiu a,ipcci n ojxenz aanO~iiinli, OtpaBMiei,. i#ll.'" --' "^''

Rossica Journal Number 135 56
October 2000

Figure 8a

IIOTOBAt KAPTOIKA .

Br AgteCTByIOiyKIO ApMiKIo.'
(C-b OTBSTOmb). 5
(HaMmeHosaHNi aCTH HJu ypeMAeHia, Bb HOTOpOM
CJIYMnHT) ... / ,.. i. 2
-/ --- S

S( 11 B a..pe .c ........... ................... ....
..... .. .... ...... .. .-. . .. ........... -
S(OTecTBo). _

S AoexoAal noeTynaeTtb a n yIma no paowuNpenilo roonrTaAn AI BonoB
npa ncmxiaTpM*ec40oi0 HAnuMb HMIIEPATOPCHArO ttcxos. YmnsepoNT.

Figure 8b

nllOTOBAM KAPTOqKA 60-h
(An 0 -r v 1 T a). .

IM3 AtfeyTByIoinelI ApMiH

*) .oMy ......
.-. .. .. ... ...... ..... . .... ...............--- ---- -

*) KyAa .. ....

1, O01 i alpeci ioj eri.e nanlioAniIT oTIipaBHTelii..

57 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Figure 9a

1O0TOBB1 KRPTOqKR jtC
flq 13 mmrmm
8b AtICTIByloAyMi
S'(B
(HaNeaHOanle suCT$n N y4pemAnia, aB KOTrp 1 Pecarb ,
enywNTI)......

S('4NH aApecaTa)....
I.- ......... ..
.. (.a. ....

OniecmO a Iaala na BoeHOrne sI i iillIc8l. E
r. KLaIs B.-BTIanMnHPC KIa yfn. M 39, Kn. 30.

Figure 9b

I0oTOBfR KIPTO'KA
(Al OTBITA) cnaeTZc
6e 3l
H3a AtHC TByiouei APMIH .

k) Homy
) H o y ....... ...... .... .... ... .. .........

") KyAa

*) 06parHbit aApecb AonmKeHb 3anonrIHH ornpaz HTenb.

Rossica Journal Number 135 58
October 2000

Figure 10

1 atpe4<- AtKnI" 3a novIHT ?Ionpaike ..,

.. - .

59 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Fig. 6 features the dispatch part of such a double Moscow printings. The vertical text on the right
postcard printed in Moscow on buff card. Con- is the same as on the Moscow issues, while the
trary to its Petrograd counterparts, the text on issuing organization is the same as in Petro-
the right reads: "Text approved by Main Post/ grad the Society for Rendering Assistance to
Telegraph Administration". The price on the left Persons Having Suffered from Military Activi-
is indicated as 1 k. The framed text on the bot- ties, but with its Kiev address at B.
tom tells that "The income is directed to the Vladimirskaya str. 39, flat 30. The card is white
needs for expanding the Hospital for soldiers at and a little thinner than by Moscow printings,
the Psychiatric Clinic of the EMPEROR'S Mos- and the price is shown as 3 k instead of 1 k as
cow University". More text below that indicates this printing was effected probably in 1917 by
the storehouse address: Moscow, B. Tsaritsyn- the ever-growing inflation.
skaya str. 35 and phone number.
Such postcards were probably also printed in
The two other Moscow printings (both parts of other towns, and there could be other printings
the double postcards are shown in Figs 7a, 7b in the same towns described here. Certainly,
and 8a, 8b, respectively) differ from the de- other organizations also issued similar post-
scribed above by the lack of mentioning the cards, e.g. the Moscow Local Administration of
storehouse as well as by different fonts. The the Russian Red Cross Society, see Fig. 10.
card is white for both printings.
The origin of the postcard of which the message
One more such postcard printed in Kiev, both part is illustrated in Fig. 11 is not certain yet,
parts of which are depicted in Figs 9a and 9b, but it was probably printed and released in
has features common to both Petrograd and Petrograd. Its general pattern differs in many

ZIIOTTOBAH ICAPTO EKA
.e' 1 Cb OTBBTOMNb \

B'b A'B l CTB IO .LI YIO APM

& HOMY. .... ........ .

B OTecr o -... ..

S.131amie -/

.M 1 ... -

Figure 11

Rossica Journal Number 135 60
October 2000

details from all those described above. There is frame).
no rectangle in the upper left corner, and the ad-
dress lines have the following explanations Beside the postcards, envelopes for letters to the
(from top to bottom): Army overprinted in the same general pattern
TO WHOM: name were also issued during the WW 1. Such PS
Patronymic envelopes were issued by the same institutions
Surname as the double PS blanks described above (Figs
Rank 12 to 14) as well as by some other
Where serving (regiment, staff, hospital, etc. organizations, of which the name was not
The vertical text on the left reads: indicated on the envelope (Fig. 15). These
Price 1 kopeck envelopes were manufactured of paper of
Reprinting is forbidden various colors and shades: gray, grayish-green,
light blue etc. Their selling price is indicated.
This card is mailed free of postage (in the

Figure 12

61 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000
i '. ,.:. ._ .. .. _ .: .

October 2000

Figure 13

Figure 14

sJI.tfCTayiowIyly flph l MH
.L- *

4' (Oi'mo) -
^H t' ," ": ,n

PI (.0Auu a) .._ ..... ... .....

AAA..' IE MOCKOBnAmO MCTArO YPABJIENIR POCCICIKAro C06UECTIA
iPACHArO KPECTA.
A pt omnpaaumesq: .. ... ....... ...... .. .

Rossica Journal Number 135 62
October 2000
..'p--' 93llI YOlO)r Y1THT ....eI acrcnr rq
-. apcu (Nmm) "

,--,

October 2000

Figure 15

Figure 16

JloporasM 3aaIHTHHKaM-b poAHRuu UnpBtrT noqTM, Tejerpa4a, TeJte4)oel .
JafiT o eedb SaeTro4Ky rIhebMShm.

OTKPHITOE

J ,. 4e L. .. .l

63 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

The postcard in Fig. 16 is quite another story. This SOLDIER'S CARD printed in black on a
This blank printed in red on a buff card of very rough card of rather inferior quality has no coat-
good quality used for stamped PS cards was evi- of-arms in the upper left corner. However, as
dently a semi-official issue of the Main Post/ this postcard seems to have been issued not
Telegraph Administration and distributed to- earlier than the summer of 1917, the Imperial
gether with the gifts sent to the soldiers by this coat-of-arms would have looked quite
administration. The text in the upper part reads: irrelevant, and the new coat-of-arms being
"Greetings of the post, telegraph and telephone designed under the Provisional Government was
to dear defenders of the Fatherland! / Drop a not developed or adopted yet.
few lines about yourselves in this letter". There
seems something strange: the fact that the post- Private postal stationery
card is designed OTKPbITOE FIHCbMO, i.e.
"Open Letter" instead of nIOqTOBASI There exists a great number of various kinds of
KAPTOqKA, i.e. "Postcard" as this terminol- postal stationery for soldiers' mail manufac-
ogy was established by new postal regulations tured and issued without any participation of the
as long ago as 1909. This may indicate to that postal administration. Here only a few examples
this blank was actually printed much earlier, are shown.The double postcard in red, both
probably during the Russian-Japanese War parts of which are illustrated in Figs 18a and
1904-1905. However, it is known used only 18b, was issued by the Economic Society of
during WW1. Officers of the Moscow Military District. There
Finally, a postcard (Fig. 17) that is included is a picture of the brothers' Cherepanov ancient
here into the category of semi-official issues but engine in the upper left and the Cross-of St.
may well be of private or even official nature. George under a band in the upper right.

TCHOE IMCLV

~- --- m_

Figure 17

Rossica Journal Number 135 64
October 2000

Figure 18a

HOChI.lATb BE3' MAPOK'X.
IIOqTOBARI KAPTOqKA.

3'b,TBIICTBY[OIIllYO APM1l 1

be

Figure 18b

,OCUlATb 8831 MAPOKl.

IH31 )hISRCTBYIOE11WE APMlIl

..... .(...... ..... ... : .... .. .. ........

65 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Figure 19

: i

OTk<' dbfro- nMCbMO.
P3b 1CTBVyK Iule apMiH.

Thi, AMC
a3 poAMMUI Kpaft, l .. ...
Tank yAH, I L
L/u .j j, g^ r i k t ru

i. .. L .. .... .

Figure 20

Rossica Journal Number 135 66
October 2000

Figure 21

The manufacturer of the single postcard "From Finally, it is also worth mentioning postal sta-
the Army-in-the-Field" in blue color (Fig. 19) is tionery for special purposes, e.g. such as illus-
unknown. The rhymed text in Russian under the treated in Fig. 22. This PS blank was intended for
picture sounds in a free translation as "Fly to the soldiers who had received gifts and wanted
your native land, you'll see there the bright para- to thank the senders.
dise".
The postal stationery for servicemen's mail
Beside postcards, there were also letter-cards represents quite a fascinating field of collection
and envelopes with the appropriate drawings that deserves a more detailed research, for
among the private postal stationery for service- which more information from the readers about
men's mail. Two such envelopes are shown in such items in their possession is required.
Figs 20 and 21. The first of them with the pic-
ture in blue on a grayish-rose paper has the
same text expressed in verse, as on the postcard References
Fig. 19, so the manufacturer must be the same. 1. HOqTOBbIh CHPABOqHHK'b
The verses on the other envelope printed in (Heo14HuiaJbHbblia) no "focTaHoBJIeHiaMb
brown on buff paper can be translated literally no norTOBOHi LacTH" 1909 r. i
as: "Bravely forward against the foe, brothers / nocjeayroimtnu pacnopsaDeHHMsu3,.
To a battle for the righteous cause". 143aHae aecaToe. KieBb 1916.

67 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

2. npaBsrenbcTBeHHHblf BecTHHKi, 1917, .N 5. Higgins & Gage. Priced Catalogue of Postal
8, 1. Stationery of the World. 1970.
3. Dr. S. Ascher. GroBer Ganzsachen-Katalog, 6. Circular of the Head of Riga Post/Telegraph
Bd II, 1928. District No 17532 of 27 March 1917. Esto-
4. C.B. IpHrapa. Pyccicaa norra B HMnepan, nian State Archive in Tartu (Fund 322,
a TypurH, B KHTae H novTa B File 221)
[apcTBe IfonbcKOM. 1941

IIOITOBAa RAIDT01KA

ang oTBTa 0 nonyenHin nonapHa.

.. ..... .. . ;.... . .o... .. . .

o0 cmopou* ntuwe cAr motMO ao p

Figure 22

Readers' reactions to this and to all other arti- journal is at best equal to the quality of the illus-
cles in the Rossica Journal are eagerly invited, trations you send, so together we should strive
If you have additional information, want to for the best possible quality at all times.
comment or ask questions, write to the editorial
address or send email. Many authors of articles can also be contacted
If you want to add illustrations, I can refer to the directly by email, and the Rossica Email List
"Guide to authors" elsewhere in this issue for (maintained by Alexander Safonoff,
details on how pictures can be sent most easily. The_Tsar@pacbell.net) will give you the re-
Remember: the quality of the illustrations in the quired email address.

Rossica Journal Number 135 68
October 2000

Library notes

By Ged Seiflow (ged.seiflow@rossica.org)

As is usually the case during the summer, this #1 this could be a multi-page article in
has been pretty quiet from a library perspective, and of itself, suffice it to say that many
A few requests from previous users and a few '#1's are not genuine
requests from members who have not previ- misidentification occurs especially in the
ously taken advantage of the library, so all-in- Imperial period
all, not too bad. I anticipate that this will change etc
as winter draws closer.
How can the library help? First and foremost,
One of the most interesting ways in which our the library has many catalogs available for loan
hobby has been impacted in recent years has (many are not written in English, but with the
been brought about because of the use of the aid of a foreign dictionary most are 'readable'.)
Internet, specifically in two areas: on-line auc- Scott's is used by the vast majority of philate-
tions and web-sites. Please don't stop reading lists and is a good point of reference in addition
this article ifyou don't have access to the to being the de-facto standard for numbering.
Internet, I believe that you willfind the point I However it is not very precise as far as varieties
am trying to make useful and interesting re- (color, printing, perforation, mini-sheets, etc.)
gardless. are concerned. Stanley Gibbons' catalog is
much more detailed as is Michel's. There are
Let's look at the two areas in more detail: also many excellent catalogs that come out of
Russia that are also available for loan. If you are
On-line auctions (this now includes on-line interested, just drop me a line.
sales from the APS at www.stampstore.org)
have revitalized this hobby for many of us. Now In addition to catalogs, there are many excellent
everyone can sell their duplicates easily, and Journals where those who have done research
those interested in enhancing their collection share their knowledge with us through articles.
can do so much more easily. What does this The library has the majority of journals/
have to do with the library? An informed buyer magazines relating to Russian literature and, al-
is a better buyer. I have seen many instances though these may not be available for loan be-
where buyers have paid far too much cause of rarity etc., xeroxes of relevant articles
(subjective, I know) for material presumably are available at a minimal cost. If there is a spe-
because of a lack of knowledge (I too have cific subject you are interested in, please let me
fallen into that trap, I continue to learn and it know and I can easily tell you what we have in
happens to me much less frequently now.) I see the library that references it.
the same old 'favorites' appear again and again:
"* B14 through B16 (the Volga Famine issue) Web Sites the number of web sites related to
are generally the forged versions (if there is Russian Philately continues to increase. The
a gap between where the walking stick best of these, is of course www.rossica.org (our
touches the ground and where the shadow web site managed expertly by Jeff Radcliffe).
starts, it is a forgery) One of the many pages has links to other web
"* B30 through B33 (Obligatory Tax) forged sites relevant to Russian Philately, so I won't go
versions are more frequently identified as into any further details here. There is a tremen-
such, however some are not (differences are dous amount of information available on these
more subtle but an absence of a period after web sites take advantage of what others have
the denomination can indicate a forgery) put so much energy and effort into making

Rossica Journal Number 135 69
October 2000

available for you and me. There are wonderful later this year. I have also been leading the
larger-than-life illustrations in color, many spir- 'Lobachevski Project' Lobachevski wrote a
ited discussions on all kinds of subjects, areas very detailed catalog of Imperial Russia that
where questions can be asked and addressed, was serialized in several issues of the Rossica
and so on. If you have access to the Internet, Journal back in the early '80s This hopefully
boldly go where others have been ... will be available late 2000, early 2001. My per-
sonal collection is woefully inadequate when it
Future This has been an exceptionally busy comes to examples, if you would like to help
summer for me personally so I have not accom- with images, please contact me, the more people
polished everything I originally had planned. I involved, the better the final product will be.
am still hopeful that I will be able to complete When this is re-published, it will be magnifi-
several more sections of the Rossica RSFSR cent! And that is basically it.
Specialized Catalog (this truly is a bargain!) and
I will also bring the Subject Index up to date As always, have fun collecting!!!

Auction notes

By Ivo Steijn

Mention of online auctions in the above Library sented. The drawback: the auction catalog is in
Notes makes me realize that it has been quite German, but it is very well illustrated. There is
awhile since there was any kind of comprehen- also a website (http://www.nagl-auktion.com)
sive review of auctions for us Russia collectors with further information and special offers.
in the pages of this journal. While I presume Outside this lone specialist there are a few
that many of you know more about the auction auctions that, while general in nature, usually
scene than I do, maybe a quick review will be of have such a wide offering of Russian material
use to some readers. they are pretty indispensable. The Cherrystone
Auction (119 West 57th Street, New York, NY
But before we go into the auction scene, we 10019) is always worth a look, and now you
might as well agree that we Russia-collectors can even view the auction catalog on their
are very well served by a surprisingly large website (www.cherrystoneauctions.com). An-
number of specialized dealers who have unbe- other auction that is well supplied with Rus-
lievably large and varied stocks of Russian ma- sian lots is Raritan Stamps (P.O.Box 1539,
trial for us. A quick look through some of the Highland Park, NJ 08904. Website is at www.
ads in issues of Rossica and you'll have no trou- raritanstamps.com) which lately has been very
ble finding half a dozen addresses of dealers strong in specialized offerings of stamps, as
who may have something you've always been well as postal history.
looking for hidden away in their stocks.
While there may be other auctions that I
However, we are also well supplied with auc- should have mentioned here, I am unaware of
tions where we can get rid of that pesky extra them. If you want to repair the holes in my
cash. To the best of my knowledge there is cur- knowledge, send all tips to the editorial ad-
rently only one regular all-Russia auction, and dress.
that is the Nagl Auction (Postfach 2104, 96012
Bamberg, Germany). This semiannual auction If you are a closet masochist like me you also
offers around 2000 lots each time, with stamps like to look through old auction catalogs, to
and postal history of most periods well repre- see what treasures were sold for $0.57 or so

70 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

back in 1953. I am firmly convinced that read- item in question plays the most important part,
ing old auction catalogs will one day be the im- but you'd be surprised. If rarity is measured by
petus for the invention of a time machine! Most how difficult it is to find an example then some
spectacular are the so-called "name sales": the well-known "rarities" aren't all that rare as they
auctions during which the collection of a fa- can be found in virtually every major Russian
mous collector was auctioned off. In the Rus- auction. Take the imperforate Zeppelin stamps
sian sphere the list of such auctions probably of 1930. Rare, right? Only 1,000 issued, right?
starts with the Agathon Faberg6 sale in 1939, (actually, I believe opinions are divided on that
followed by the Goss sale of the 1950s, the subject) Well, I see those two stamps in practi-
Adler and Polon sales of the 1970s and more cally every single auction catalog with a decent
recently the Liphschutz auction of a few years Russia section. Hard to find? Not in a million
ago. years.
Zemstvo collectors will still feel the financial The trick is of course that the vast majority of
pain of the recent Corinphila auction, where that entire print run ended up in the hands of
Oleg Faberg6's collection of zemstvo's changed collectors and dealers, and have been kept safe
hands, and another zemstvo auction by that from harm since 1930. The number of these
same auction house is promised for December. stamps that is actually still around today is
probably not significantly less than the original
While not in the same stupendous class as, say, number issued. By contrast, some other Russian
the Liphschutz sale, the late George Miskin's rarities with a print run of a similar magnitude
collection of Russian registered mail was one of can hardly be had for love or money. Try find-
the nicer collections around of this huge and ing the 1932 Express Mail stamp of 80 kopeks
challenging field, and Phillips (101 New Bond on an express mail cover, and that thing had a
Street, London W1S I SR, England) made the print run of 200,000!
October 12 auction of his collection a special
event, with a lavishly illustrated auction catalog. So rarity is a deceptive guide, and should really
Some wonderful lots found new owners-I was be measured by how often you see the thing of-
most impressed by the 1916 registered cover fered for sale. But even then it's only half the
from the Winter Palace in Petrograd with suita- story. If we happily ignore every major advance
bly inscribed registration label and I remember in economics since the late 19th century we can
George showing me this wonderful cover during regard "market price" as the result of two fac-
a BSRP meeting a few years ago. It is a nice tors: supply and demand. "Rarity" determines
thought that George's excellent collection is supply, but what determines demand?
now being appreciated by many happy buyers.
Some fields are just more popular than others. I
I'm not aware of any more impending "name collect Siberian stamps of the Civil War period,
sales" which is just as well as they are often the and some of those stamps had tiny print runs of
result of a collector's career coming to an abrupt a few sheets, but I will never expect to pay 4-
end. But when they do occur...get a copy of the figure sums for them as I would for the imperfo-
auction catalog at least! rate Zeppelins, simply because there are far
fewer people collecting these stamps than there
The Forbidden Subject: prices are people collecting Russian airmail stamps,
So how are prices developing these days? Be- stamps with Zeppelins on them, etc. In other
fore I attempt to say anything halfway sensible words, the demand for those Siberian stamps is
(25% sensible would be a record) on the sub- far lower, and their market price is far lower as
ject, let's go briefly over the factors that deter- a result.
mine, or should determine, a stamp/cover's
price. But even that simple logic breaks down in the
Most people would guess that the rarity of the heat of the marketplace. An auctioneer of my

Rossica Journal Number 135 71
October 2000

acquaintance once said that the final price is de- pressive prices.
termined by the two most fanatical buyers in the
market, not by the number of potential buyers. Geographical differences in rarity sometimes
And it's true, you see it time and time again: affect the market price of items as well. For in-
that one item that fits really neatly in the collec- stance, if you collect classic Russia on cover
tions of two or more collectors will attain a fan- you will notice that a lot of 19th century covers
tastic price at an auction, far higher than you have three-color frankings. There is an excellent
would expect. How can we explain a price of reason for that: rates for mail abroad were un-
over $100,000 for the postmark of an obscure wieldy numbers like 14 or 26 kopeks, and such
Russian office in Mongolia? Surely there aren't rates had to be made up with at least 2 or 3
that many collectors of this field? No, there stamps. Since most of the Russian covers out-
aren't, but all it takes is two of them with deep side Russia are Russian mail abroad, collectors
pockets and veins pulsating on their temples in the West were quite used to seeing such 3-
during the auction... color frankings.

Then there's the fad factor. As recently as 10-15 But for Russian collectors such frankings were
years ago you couldn't give away Soviet propa- pretty exotic-looking, and now that our Russian
ganda cards of the 1930s. I saw them languish- colleagues are active in the marketplace, we see
ing in dealers' boxes at $1 apiece. Then the the- many such covers being "repatriated" to Russia,
matic collectors discovered them, Soviet philat- where they sell for healthy amounts. Again, put-
ely became a bit more popular and suddenly ting our faith in the invisible hand of the market,
they routinely sell for $20 and up, with three- that means some global price equilibrium will
figure sums paid for the more rare examples. As be reached for such material after awhile. A
an another example, look at loose stamps with more recent example are the "special flight"
interesting postmarks, such as those of the Rus- covers with the 1930 Zeppelin stamps, most of
sian offices abroad. Such loose stamps used to which went abroad, making them relatively un-
fetch high prices at auctions but the fashion usual in Russia itself.
changed towards collecting such postmarks on
complete covers, and loose stamps have never That works both ways. Until relatively recently,
recovered from their subsequent collapse in finding some of the Soviet stamps of the 1930s
popularity, on cover was a tough job. They were designed
for franking inland letters, and such letters were
So with all these caveats firmly in place, what not often seen outside Russia. But since the
can we say about market prices "out there"? great outflow of philatelic material from Russia
got started, we are now seeing such covers more
Well, it's difficult to spot any global trends. I and more often, and as a result, prices are drop-
still feel that some Russian stamps are wildly ping.
undervalued while others are simply too expen-
sive given how often you see them offered. So- Finally, a word about eBay. I don't regard
viet prewar postal history seems to be slowly prices on eBay as very important, simply be-
gaining in popularity but certainly not at the ex- cause there are a lot of uninformed buyers and
pense of Imperial postal history. Ephemeral ma- sellers active there. When a block of bogus
trial, such as revenue stamps and cinderellas stamps featuring Tiger Woods sells for $160
seems to be becoming more popular, with prices there, I cease to regard eBay as part of the phila-
definitely on the rise for the better material. As telic marketplace. Bargains can sometimes be
for zemstvos, the relative flooding of the market had there, but never think that eBay bargain
with high-quality material certainly hasn't af- prices reflect the market, just as exceptionally
fected prices very much: all the recent zemstvo high eBay prices don't. Buyer (and seller!) be-
auctions saw items changing hands for very im- ware, is the motto there.

72 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

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for the October issue. We strongly prefer com-
mitments for ads in three consecutive issues or Inside back cover $100
more (except for the back cover) to aid us in Outside back cover $150
planning. However, one-time ads for upcoming
auctions or mail-sales can be accommodated If you have any questions, please contact the
and are welcome, journal editor.

Rossica Journal Number 135 73
October 2000

Society publications

The Russian Post in the Empire, Turkey, The Russian Posts in the XIX Century
China and the post in the Kingdom of Poland by K.V. Bazilevich, translated by Dave Skipton
by S.V. Prigara, translated by Dave Skipton.

IIwmI DhCsWa
&a'f ,THE RUSSIAN POSTS IN THE XIX CENTURY
*^" l jf r lll NH M no

This is the standard upon which many studies The original work, published in 1927 in Mos-
and conclusions have been established. Written cow, is today almost impossible to find. It is
in 1941, the book is considered by many to be one of the most detailed overviews of the impe-
the authoritative guide for Russian postal his- rial Russian postal system to be found under one
tory. Any serious collector of Russian postal cover, and contains a wealth of information and
history must have this book on his shelf. The illustrations. Dave has provided many illustra-
translation can be purchased from the Treasurer tions not in the original. If you want to learn
or Librarian at the following rates: about the why and wherefores of old Russia's
communications system, this book will oblige.
Non-Rossica member $40 postpaid
Rossica members $35 postpaid Intended as a companion to the Prigara transla-
Dealer rate $24 per copy for single orders of tion, the Bazilevich book will be a handsome
5 or more. addition to your shelf: 165 pages on semi-gloss
paper, casebound, with a purple and white dust
jacket. Members may order directly from the
Treasurer, Librarian or Journal Editor of the so-
ciety. Prices are as follows:

Non-Rossica member $50 postpaid
Rossica members $45 postpaid
Dealer rate $30 per copy for single orders of
5 or more.

Rossica Journal Number 135 74
October 2000

Imperial Russian Postal Placename List, Re- Rossica Library Subject Index-Part One, by
verse Sort (1858-1915) compiled by David David Skipton.
Skipton.
Dave Skipton spent over a decade creating one
Have you ever had a partial strike on a loose of the finest Russian philatelic libraries in the
stamp or cover, where the first few letters of the world. However, all the knowledge of what is
placename are missing? If so, and you collect available has rested solely with Dave until now.
imperial Russian cancellations, this working aid Dave, with the help ofJ.D. Myke, Scott Allen
is a must for you. It contains 18,187 postal pla- and Ged Seiflow has spent an incredible amount
cenames gleaned from ten sources, ranging of energy in compiling a partial library index for
from the Prigara book to the official 1916 Postal general dissemination.
List.
The Index is approximately 800 pages long and
The Reverse Sort is 379 pages long, photocopy, contains 10,600 entries, which are divided into
printed on one side only and unbound. It con- 92 cross-referenced categories and it is only
tains an introduction, an explanation of how to a partial listing. A large Part One would be too
use the RS, compiler's notes, a list of cancella- bulky and extremely demanding on the repro-
tion abbreviations, format explanation, a list of duction process. Part Two is currently in devel-
sources, province and oblast' trigraph listings, a opment.
Cyrillic-Latin alphabet conversion chart and
361 pages of cross-referenced placenames. A The Index is mostly arranged first by subject,
must for the serious cancellation collector, then by period of Russian history, and in some
Members may order directly from the Secretary, cases further by type. Each category is pre-
Treasurer, Librarian or Journal Editor of the so- sented by title, author, journal., volume, date,
city. Prices are as follows: page numberss, publisher, translator and ab-
stract.
Non-Rossica member $45 postpaid
Rossica members $40 postpaid (Overseas A transliteration guide and a comprehensive
orders please add $3 for surface mail on all or- philatelic or communications journal abbrevia-
ders.) tion list also is provided.

Dealer and bulk purchase rates are available If you are serious about using your library for
upon request. philatelic research but d not know what, if any-
thing, is available, then this Index is a must for
your bookshelf. However, be sure that the shelf
is sturdy since the Index weighs in at approxi-
mately four pounds!

The Index is currently being reproduced in lim-
ited quantities so order your copy now. Actual
costs for shipping will be determined when the
item is mailed rates vary by type of postal
service and location and you will be notified
of the additional charges.

Cost $50 plus postage ($5) for members. Orders
may be sent to Dave Skipton or the Treasurer.
Please make checks payable to "The Rossica
Society."

75 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Cumulative Alphabetical List 1858-1916, by Back Issues of the Rossica Journal
Gary Combs. 138 double-sides pages plus four
introduction pages. We have a limited number of back issues of the
journal for sale, both in English and Russian
In 1984 Dave Skipton introduced the Reverse language editions. Russian edition s available
Sort, which is used by Russian philatelists are numbers 44-69 (see list below for availabil-
around the world. Nearly a decade later, Gary ity); English editions available are numbers 70-
Combs has taken this massive work over 127. Unfortunately, there are many holes and
18,699 entries and rendered a "Forward sort" some issues have less than three in stock. Prices
of the information and corrected a few minor listed for back issues are in U.S. dollars. To or-
discrepancies. This work first appeared in Eng- der, please contact the Treasurer.
lish and subsequently reworked to produce a
Cyrillic version thanks to computer support pro- Single Issues:
vided by Pat Eppel. This version is better than Member-$7.50
the original. Non-member-$10.00

As often as I use the Reverse Sort to find a loca- Single issues currently available are: 44, 45. 54.
tion when only the last part of the placename is 62-71, 73-75, 79, 80, 88, 89, 93, 110-112, 115-
visible, I found a definite need for a work that 117, 119-127, 130-134
provided the same information, but in a left-to-
right or "forward" order. This work precisely Double Issues:
fills that void. Member-$15.00
Non-member-$20.00
Both the Cumulative Alphabetical List and its
partner publication the Reverse Sort offer the Double issues currently available are: 46/47.
postal historian and cancellation collector the 76/77, 94/95, 96/97, 98/99, 100/101, 102/103.
most comprehensive listing of locations avail- 104/105, 106/107, 108/109, 113/114
able, albeit not a complete listing of all possible
locations. An effort to produce a document of Copies of issue 128/129 are available at a
that magnitude would clearly exceed the size of charge of $20 for member sand $30 for non-
this work. members

Gary has done an impressive job with this work
and filled a void that has existed since day one
of collecting for those without access to State
archives in Russia or numerous postal listings.
This work represents the largest single cumula-
tive listing of Russian locations in existence in
the Western world.

This publication is highly recommended for the
serious postal historian or cancellation collector.
Let him know if you want it sent via a faster
method (and include extra postage).

Cost: $45 for Rossica Members, $50 for non-
members. Sent post paid at surface rate. Avail-
able from the author. Also available on floppy
or CD ROM in Adobe Acrobat format.

Rossica Journal Number 135 76
October 2000

A Study of the Postmarks of Moscow, 1765- ROM version is set at US $40 for Rossica mem-
1917, Part One by Gary Combs and Noel Warr. bers and $60 for non-members, which includes
Air Mail shipping anywhere. Pricing for the
Over a decade has passed since the effort began, paper version will be set later.
During the ensuing years, the scope of the work
has grown tremendously with input from some Anyone interested in purchasing this Rossica
of the world's best-known philatelists. Now publication on CD ROM should contact Gary
Part One is ready for publication and comes in Combs at the address listed below or via email
at nearly 300 pages. at gcombs@erols.com. Cash, money order or
check drawn on a US bank and made payable to
Gary and Noel have captured information from Rossica are accepted. Sorry, no credit cards or
many sources in their attempt to bring together stamps or non-US currency are accepted.
information in English about this overlooked
subject. Part One is just the tip of the iceberg. It Gary A. Combs
is richly illustrated where possible. The amount 8241 Chalet Ct.
of information contained in this study is stag- Millersville, MD 21108
gering. However, as Gary and Noel say, "... USA
there is still so much we do not know. If we
hold off publishing waiting for more informa-
tion, we would be rewriting the study over and The Philatelist's Guide to Maps, Atlases and
over. It is now time to return it over to the Gazetteers of Russia by Peter A. Michalove.
philatelic community and openly solicit their
further input into the effort." In 1993, Peter Michalove published this epic
work in a limited edition, which quickly sold
The study opens with a brief historical synopsis out. Rossica is pleased to announce it is again
of the Russian postal system from the 1660s to available for publication in CD-ROM format.
roughly the 20th century. After the historical Both the Moscow study and Peter's book may
section, they launch into an incredibly detailed be had on a single CD-ROM. Just let Gary
presentation of the post within Moscow proper. know when you send in your order.
They include: the design of the city, locations of
all the gates, a bit on the environs and introduce This excellent reference book is a must for all
the telegraph. Once all this is said and done, serious Russian postal historians. The book con-
they get down to the main subject of this study, tains three parts with topics as follows:
Moscow Postmarks. They have borrowed heav-
ily from publications in Russian and include il- Part one: The classic cartography of Russia
lustrations of rarely seen items where possible. Contacts between Russia and the West
The late 16th and 17th centuries
Links have been provided form the Table of The reign of Peter the Great and beyond
Contents as well as the postmark reference ta- References for Part One
bles to the appropriate page within the study. To
view the study, you must have Adobe's Acrobat Part Two: The period of Imperial Russian postal
Reader installed on your computer. This soft- history
ware is also provided on the CD ROM. Russian postal guides, postal lists and re-
lated sources
This study will be available on CD ROM to Other sources for the Empire as a whole
start in order to keep costs down. Publishing a European Russia
300-page document with a lot of illustrations Poland, the Baltic and Finland
can be very expensive. It will be offered in a The Caucasus, Central Asia, and Siberia
paper addition at a later date. Cost for the CD Railway routes

77 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

Part Three: The Soviet period The series consists of 29 sections. It will be pro-
"* External border changes duced unbound so the member can store the
"* Placename changes and spellings catalog as s/he sees fit. In order to keep costs
"* Cartography in the Soviet Union down, updates will be available either as a com-
"* Sources on the Soviet Union as a whole plete section or as individual pages (initially
"* European Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia and only the complete sections will be sold). This
Moldova format is truly what we collectors have been
"* The Baltic waiting for.
"* The Caucasus and Central Asia
"* Siberia Each section is divided into three parts:
"* Railway routes Introduction
"* Epilogue Detailed illustrations of varieties
Detailed catalog entries with prices
A transliteration guide and a list of Russian geo-
graphical terms is also included. The first three sections released are:

Cost: $22 for members, $30 for non-members. Section 0: Introduction (10 pages)
Free with first section ordered
Section 3: 1st issue of the RSFSR (82 pages)
The 1918 Chainbreakers of 35 and 70 kop.
The Rossica catalog of the RSFSR $10 for members, $20 for non-members
by Ged Seiflow Section 7: 1st standard issue of 1921 (58 pages)
The stamps of 1, 2, 5, 20 and 40 rub.
Thanks to the Rossica Librarian, we now have a $9 for members, $18 for non-members
new and very interesting series available to the
members. This series, which has been several Prices include surface mailing costs, dealers in-
years in the making, is special and represents terested should include about lots of 10 or more.
the fulfillment of a need that has existed for a
long time. Ged has started what we believe is Availability data is now! For more information.
the most comprehensive catalog of RSFSR please write the Treasurer (address below).
stamps available. Members can refer to issue
128/129 of this journal for a glimpse of this ef- For sales, send a check (drawn on a US bank
fort. This new catalog is ideal for the specialist and made payable to Rossica). money order, etc.
as well as for the new collector. It is profusely to the Rossica Treasurer:
illustrated (most published catalogs are sadly
lacking in this respect) and lists every known Gary A. Combs, 8241 Chalet Court. Millers-
variety. ville, MD 21108, USA.

Why such a huge undertaking? Well, which Sorry, no VISA/MC or stamps for payment.
catalog do you use when stamping around? Mi-
chel? Scott? Gibbons? Russian? French? Ital-
ian? Or do you have all of them like most of us? PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL ROSSICA
The reason for this is simple: no single catalog PUBLICATIONS CAN ALSO BE OR-
is sufficient when studying Russian philately. DERED ONLINE, ON THE ROSSICA
No catalog is complete. Additionally, no catalog WEBSITE:
is flexible enough to allow for additions and de-
letions without purchasing a new catalog-until WWW.ROSSICA.ORG
now!

Rossica Journal Number 135 78
October 2000

Reviews

Journal of Classical Russian Philately "Kislovodsk-a second cover" by Harry von
No.5, June 2000, 64+iv pages. Hofmann; "Nagorno-Karabakh: a fait accom-
pli?" by Ivo Steijn; and the "Used Abroad
This journal is bilingual (German-English) Chronicles XVII" edited by Bill Stoten.
throughout and therefore has an unprecendent-
edly large readership, and this readership is Membership of the BSRP is $20 a year. All in-
blessed with an excellent array of articles in quiries to Alan Blunt, Riber House, 13 Auden
every issue. In this issue we find: "20 kopek Close, Osbaston, Monmouth, Gwent NP25
stamp with watermark '2' on cover sent abroad" 3NW. United Kingdom or ablun@skynow.co.
by Zbigniew Mikulski; "City postcard P1 gone uk
astray" by Ortwin Greis; "A variety of the green
and black proof of Wenden Mi. no.12" by
Wedekin Eggers; "Return to sender after the
war was over" by Harry von Hofmann: Yamshchik / The Post-Rider
"Uprating of the stamps of 10 August 1921 ?" by No.47, November 2000, 120 pages
Martin Siegler: "Stamps of Imperial Russia with
Polish postmarks" by Jacek Krawczyk; In this massive issue of this excellent journal we
"Remarks on the domestic postal rates of the find, apart from the shorter items: "The postal
RSFSR" by Alexander Epstein: "Russian postal history of South Russia 1917-1920: issues and
censorship WWI / Supplement 2" by Antoine rates" (a phenomenal 47-page study!) by Alex-
Speeckaert and a large number of shorter arti- ander Epstein; "Comments about the 'Three Tri-
cles. angles' postmarks" by Alexander Epstein;
The high quality of articles, illustrations and ed- "Further on the article 'The mysterious triangles
iting make this journal a delight to read, and a on Soviet datestamps'" by Eric Jirvlepp; two
must for anyone who is interested in Russian articles on postage due mail by Alexander Ep-
pre-revolutionary philately. stein and Meer Kossoy; "The Moldavian and
Romanian posts in Southern Bessarabia 1856-
Subscriptions are $30 for USA and Canada ($50 1878" by Andrew Cronin; a follow-up on the
for airmail) to be paid to Loral stamps. P.O.Box article about the Kyzyl a, b, and c postmarks by
740 521, Rego Park, NY 11374-0521, USA. V.N. Ustinovskii; "Military censorship of rank-
and-file mail in Russian Navy during WWI" by
V. Berdichevskii and M. Kossoy; "The Russian
The British Journal of Russian Philately post on the island of Crete" by G.V. Andrieshin;
No.84, May 2000. 68 pages. "Classic Swiss letters sent to the Russian Em-
pire" by Erling Berger; "The fourth (April
Another excellent issue from the new editorial 1920) issue of Armenia on covers" by Dr
team. Apart from shorter notes, this issue con- Arkadii M. Sargsyan; "Revisiting the stamped
tains the following: "Censorship of postal corre- double letter-card of Russia" by Prof. A.S. Ilyu-
spondence in Russia" by Meer Kossoy; shin and Jean Walton; "Finnish Nationalism" by
"Shipmail: St.Petersburg-Le Havre" by A. Charles Leonard and "Postage stamps issued by
Speeckaert; "St.Petersburg police revenues" by the zemstvos" by Alex Artuchov.
Jack Moyes; "Receipts" by Noel Warr; "Tuva: a
cover form the 1927 second issue" by Gwynn Subscriptions are $20 a year, to be sent to PO
Williams; "Postal service in the Baltic under Box 5722, Station 'A', Toronto, Ontario, Can-
Soviet administrations" by Alexander Epstein; ada, M5W 1P2.

Rossica Journal Number 135 79
October 2000

USSR, Specialized catalog of postage stamps, that it gives catalog prices for all items. in US $
1923-1940 (in Russian). 280 pages with full- no less. And therein lies perhaps its only weak-
color illustrations. Published by "Standart- ness.
Kollektsiya"
The prices quoted may make perfect sense from
Catalogs and handbooks seem to be falling from a Russian point of view, but they will lead to a
the skies these days. Even before this journal few elevated eyebrows outside Russia. As an
could print a review of the Lyapin catalog example, look at the 1933 ethnographicall" set.
which covers the same period, this fine hand- The stamp of 3 kopeks features the Crimean
book comes along. Standart-Kollektsiya is plan- Tatars who were declared to be a non-entity in
ning to publish a whole series of handbooks, 1944. As a result, the stamp itself vanished from
with part 1 planned as a reworked edition of Soviet catalogs for many years, and any usage
Dobin's handbook on pre-stamp postmarks, part of it within the USSR must have been uncom-
2 to cover Imperial Russia, part 3 a multi- mon to begin with, and even more uncommon
volume catalog of zemstvo stamps, part 4 after the Crimean Tatars had been "purged." As
(already published) covering the RSFSR, part 5 a result, the value in the "stamp on cover" cate-
(in three volumes) covering the USSR and part gory is highest for this particular stamp.
6 (already published) covering post-Soviet Rus- However, here in the West we see this stamp
sia. with some regularity on printed matter sent by
Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga during the 1930s.
The books are beautifully printed on glossy pa-
per. Illustrations are in color throughout and are The reverse situation occurs with some of the
extremely clear. Simply on a visual level, the commemorative stamps of the 1930s which are
books are a joy to own. never seen on cover here, but which get fairly
modest values on cover in this catalog. I'd
However, there's more than just a pretty face to LOVE to buy some Soviet stamps on cover for
be had here. For each stamp issued during 1924- the prices noted here! ($75 for an 80k Express
1940 this handbook gives all varieties (paper, stamp on cover? Can I have 5, please?)
perforation, watermark, etc.), known errors and
plate flaws, sheet layout and marginal markings, So some judgment is needed in interpreting the
information about essays, proofs and specimens, prices. I should add that these discrepancies
the circumstances of its issue and any special only seem to pop up for stamps on cover-for
postmarks associated with its issue. For each stamps, mint or used, I really don't have enough
issue, a few mouth-watering covers are also il- of an overview to be able to judge the validity
lustrated. of the prices noted here. And, as noted else-
where in this issue, prices are hardly universal
However, this is not all. In the back we find constants of nature anyway.
equally detailed sections on postage due stamps,
stamps for foreign exchange tax, the Tambov This book illustrates so much unique material
local issue of 1931, unissued designs and essays from the archives of GoZnak and the Popov
for stamps, postal stationery, unstamped postal Museum and is so complete in all respects, it is
stationery (e.g. for official mail), military mail, clear it will remain the definitive word on So-
mail which enjoyed post-free privileges, post- viet stamps for the foreseeable future.
marks and their evolution during 1923-1940,
placename changes, the valuation of covers, A hardcover edition of this book can be ordered
postal rates, and a thematic index. Phew! for $60 from Loral stamps, P.O.Box 740 521.
Rego Park, NY 11374-0521, USA. A softcover
However, this handbook is not merely a listing edition costs $40. Contact the seller for postage
of interesting information, it is also a catalog in costs and payment methods.

80 Rossica Journal Number 135
October 2000

r -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- --- -- -- --- -^
RUSSIAN POSTAL HISTORY

What Do You Collect?

I stock Russian Postal History items from the Imperial
and Soviet periods

Including:

Airmails, Republics, Space, Zemstvos,
Semi-Postals, Inflation, Stations, TPOs,
Interventions and Offices Abroad

I also stock the Baltic Countries
Let me know what you are searching for.
Material sent on approval.
I am always searching for material to buy and
offer top dollar.
Please include references or Rossica number.

Member: Rossica Society, Canadian Society of Russian Philately.
British Society of Russian Philately, Australian & New
Zealand Society of Russian Philately, APS, NSDA, PTS
and others.
Webster F. Stickney
7590 Windlawn Way
Parker, CO 80134
.------------------------------------------------ -

	Cover
	The Rossica society of Russian...
	Table of Contents
	A word from the new editor:...
	President's message, by Gary...
	Election results
	Warning on forgeries of Russian...
	The imperial stationery - Zemstvo...
	Further notes on Romanov-Zemstvo...
	A closer look at some uncommon...
	Russian mail to the west before...
	A Russian prisoner of war's correspondence...
	The devil is in the details: The...
	Ship mail in the Far East during...
	Russia celebrates her most famous...
	Postal stationery for Russian servicemen...
	Library notes
	Auction notes
	Member-to-member adlets, dealer-member...
	Society publications for sale
	Reviews
	Advertising

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