German Submarine Mail Of WWI - Updated!

The way you isolate your postmarks is just brilliant,
(the CDS) I am envious.

Rod,

I can't take credit for the two on the previous page. They're from the German Submarine Mail handbook.

Not that I haven't pulled a few postmarks in my day...

Yes, I know you are good, Postmaster,
but I was shaking my head there, that looked like magic.
Thanks for owning up, and putting me out of my wonderment :)

So how do you think the handbook author did it / does it?

I would imagine he used the same technique -- scanning them, then isolating the black from the background. It's pretty simple as long as the black cancel is not overlapping a black background.

The Berlin cancel would be fairly easy, since it was commonly applied to the upper right of the certificates, where there is no black. I could probably pull just as good a cancel from the certificate right above it.

The Bremen cancel is even easier, as it was usually applied somewhere in the middle of the cover, and is commonly unmolested by text, handwriting, etc.

I see, thanks PGS.

Another new one. This one's from Bavaria, which is one of the rarer origins.

I'm curious, PostmasterGS ... have you acquired any of these off ebay or similar online auction site, or strictly from auction houses?

I've probably acquired about 6-10 off ebay. IIRC, 1 from the US ebay, and the remainder from the German.

Glad to hear it. Even if the sellers knew what they had, it's nice to know that these are still available outside of the big auction houses. If ever I take my obsession with Germany stamps to that level, it's nice to know it's possible to acquire them this way.

I know I've asked the question before, but it bears repeating ... when are you going to put together a frame or two for the philatelic exhibition circuit? The unusual nature of this collection (and the early Zeppelins) would surely get high marks!

Brian

The big auction houses tend to have a much larger selection and much lower prices, so I wouldn't hesitate to go that way if I were you. The only downside is that some of them only accept wire transfers, which can add a little to the price.




I wouldn't even know where to begin. I've never even attended a stamp show, and I wouldn't have any idea how to begin building an exhibit. And even if I did, it's a moot point until I finish my tour in the remote parts of northern Japan!

A couple more new ones today.

The first is an Austrian outer envelope.



On this envelope you can see the Austrian censor mark, a red rectangle with the text "ZENSURIERT K.u.k. Zensurstelle Wien" (Censored by the K.u.K. in Vienna).

The second is a rare one -- an inner envelope from Hungary. Of the four territories known to have utilized the Tauchbootbriefe service (Germany, Bavaria, Austria, Hungary), Hungary is, by far, the rarest.



On this envelope you can see a Hungarian censor mark -- black rectangle with the text "ATVIZSGALVA Z.ST. BUDAPEST ZENSURIERT" (censored in Budapest) -- and a German "Y" censor mark.

I finally got to see a submarine mail cover this past weekend.

A collector in my club had promised to bring a couple of his books of German covers to one of our club meetings for some time. I was floored by his collection to begin with and then quite pleased with myself for recognizing his lone submarine cover without his help. I owe that to this thread, of course :)

Brian

Another new one today. This one is addressed to Hawaii, and features a few nice markings:

Star German censor mark
Zurück cancellation of service notice
Two different cachets about a refund of the cost

Hello All

I have enjoyed this topic. My only contribution is to bring to your attention an interesting book:

"Voyage of the Deutchland The First Merchant Submarine" by Capt. Paul Koenig.

Published in New York by Hearst's International Library in 1916.

I won the book on ebay many years ago. About the same time a letter addressed to Capt. Koenig while he was in Baltimore(?) also appeared on ebay but I was too slow to recognize it.

bert

I managed to find an unused copy of one of the insurance certificates at auction about a month ago, so here it is -- complete with coupons still attached.



I had to shrink the scans for the forum. If you'd like to see the full-size scans, they can be seen here.