Seeking German (And In Gerneral) Cover Information

Hi, I have recently been thrown head first into the fascinating world of philately. Going through some old inherited boxes in the shed I have come across what I guess you could call a rather sizable cover collection of old saved business and personal correspondence of German origin. The correspondence is all in cursive old German (which I can't read), dating back to the early 1800's and contains material from old German states, German empire and material from both WW1 and WW2, allied occupation and beyond. Many of the covers are stampless as they predate the use of stamps in Germany. Of the stamped covers I have been researching the stamps online and found a great wealth of knowledge regarding many of them and as a result have been going down a fascinating historic rabbit hole. I had no idea this stuff could be so interesting!

Although there seems to be a wealth of easily accessible knowledge regarding stamps online, im finding it difficult to find information regarding covers, particularly of this origin. As all of this material is literally just sitting in stacks, in boxes, i'm trying to ascertain if there is any valuable articles in there to store differently with particular care.

So now on to my questions (sorry if these seem stupid, as im completely new to this):

In general what makes a cover valuable? Are there any blanket rules of thumb to this?

Is there value in stampless covers?

Is a cover more valuable if it still contains the contents?

How do I find out more detailed information regarding German covers?

I've read that the Michel catalogue is the best regarding german material, is this true?

Are there any English sources regarding German covers?

I have attached some random photos below as examples of some of the material - just by looking at it is there anything of particular note?

Thanks in advance!

Those are absolutely wonderful.....! You have quite a find there!!
Yes stampless covers are worth keeping.
I try to keep any inner contents with covers.....those are rare insights into daily life!
i would think a quick search online for cover associations would show any German Cover associations...and cover publications.

If you want to research pre-philatelic covers in German it is called "Vorphilatelie".
The same rules apply too German,French,Spanish,italian...ect covers.
1)The markings on the cover (town origin) are more or less rare.
2) The type of marking.Boxed,Script,Straight,long,short ..ect.
3) A identifiable date and origin of the cover.
4) letter posted during conflicts in different areas.For instance; the Napoleonic period.
5) Rare markings.Military,Nobel houses,well known persons.
6)Specialised research is indespensible for the different German states.
A web site with some examples: Check ( Deutschland -different states)

https://www.vorphilatelie.ch/

Specialized catalogues exist,like this one:
https://www.darabanth.com/en/online...e~II1714500/

It sounds like that you have a great collection philateller. If you are fascinated now with philately, then stick with it. I have been collecting for over 50 years and still finding things out that are new to me and all of it fascinating to me as well. Welcome aboard to philately. I'll contradict Betty Davis' famous movie quote and say - "It is NOT a bumpy road ahead". Challenging to say the least and can be rewarding.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Hi,

All of the above are very good. Like perf12 did mention, there are a lot of details to look for. You will have a lot of fun in searching for each item you have.

There is a lot of information online. Don't be afraid to look foreign resources or forum. French, German, name it. Google is there to translate (Not accurate but the essential is there)

I'm a member of two German forum. I write in English because my writing is horrible (Even my English is not that accurate because I'm French born). Even my German friends replying are not perfect but the essential still there and together, we do some effort to communicate. Don't be afraid to go outside the box.

Postal history is very interesting. There are a lot of people here that can help you out. Have fun with your treasure.

Hornet

Hi philateller, and welcome to our forum!

I too, collect "postal history" and as my family is mostly from Germany I am an avid fan of material from thereabouts! My grandfather and uncles in Germany got me started almost fifty years ago, and as I grew upon speaking German (as well as English) I am fairly OK at reading some German handwriting, even Sütterlin ( an older style popular around a hundred years ago). The more I practice reading the better I get. SO if you have anything needing deciphering I can try. Often the writer is not as neat or consistent as I would prefer; this makes some writers really hard (for me) to decipher handwriting.

My grandfather in Germany passed away around 1989 at age 87; he wrote every week to me, often sending the latest German new issues as well. Opa's handwriting got progressively worse. Sometimes it took me hours to read just a few paragraphs, but I will always appreciate his enthusiasm, help and guidance with all things related to stamps!

In his name I will honor the late great philatelist Wilhelm Denner who got me started as a wee lad in 1970!

Welcome philateller

Postal history is fascinating so I'm sure the more you get into it the more you'll enjoy it, for all its frustrations!

I'll attempt to provide some more information on some of your questions:




Condition is very important as is the clarity of any markings. Rare postal rates, routes, origins and destinations can all add to the value of a cover.




In a word, Yes! There has been a growing demand for postal history over the last 50-80 years, thanks in no small part to people like Robson Lowe.




I think so, particularly if the contents are interesting &/or historical. In the very early days the letter was folded in on itself, thus becoming the envelope.




For German stamps they'd have to be the best.

I hope this helps a bit but please feel free to ask any questions

It sounds like it is as I feared; I need to go further down the rabbit hole!

It seems like I have quite the task ahead of me and im only just starting to scratch the surface of what I know about what I don't know in this field.

Thank you all for the great reply's everyone, they are most helpful!