Latvia SC 1 MI 1 Map Stamp Blocks

Hello,
This might be far fetched, but just won an auction for the top-left piece, sadly lost on the top-right piece because my power decided to go out.

At first I thought they are nice pieces that I could add to my collection and didn't really study the pictures. Then noticed they are from the same sheet. After winning that one piece I looked at other sold listings from the seller and found that he had sold 2 other pieces and like a puzzle I started to piece the sheet together.
I'm making this topic in hopes that maybe collectors who browse this forum own other blocks and I can piece together a bigger picture.
Thank you!

Found the area depicted on Google Maps.

Well; you have a lot of these stamps? Nice link too these map stamps.
http://www.apsit.com/mapintro.htm

Yes B. Apsit's website is a great place to learn more about map stamps, but I could not find the maps themselves in full there.
I have some singles with different type maps. This is my first block. I managed to identify the map it is:
U17. Puscha. [Lat. Puša]


I guess this will be good enough too to show the rest of the map, sorry if I spammed.

I downloaded a map of latvia with degrees showing the position as you did; U17 coordinates.. that was fun!
a link too the map,clearer than google maps..
https://www.mapsofworld.com/lat_lon...lat-long.jpg

I heard at one time that the British Museum supposedly had copies of the German military maps from WW 1. Back before computers became prevalent I had this wild idea of being able to get copies of the maps and enter the various names into a list that could be searched to give you the map number from which your single stamp was cut. I imagine with scanning and being able to generate a data base on the computer that it would be easier now. Now and then over the years I have been able to identify single stamps by a well known town name or geographical feature or a longtitude or latitude coordinate. I have a reprint of an old Mantnieka wall map of Latvia that still sees use when it comes to searches.

I hate to think that someone cut up a full sheet or a really large block into smaller pieces figuring they would be easier to sell.

That is an interesting idea about being able to write a town name or select geographical features and get the map number or atleast possible maps. I can try to create something web based since I learned basic web dev in school. It just would take some time typing in each name on the map, I dont think OCR would recognize the font very well and it would also depend on the scan quality.
I dont want to accuse the seller but at some point someone probably cut it up with the intention to sell each piece individually hoping to max out the profit.

These are fascinating stamps.

There's a very useful booklet on these stamps and the various maps that were used that was published by John Barefoot back in 1983.

At least 65 different maps were used. Full (or almost complete) maps with stamps are known using 61 different maps and blocks are known from another four maps.

Each map was used to print 228 stamps in 12 horizontal rows of 19.

Most of the maps used were inscribed in Polish with others in Latvian (even though most locations were in Latvia or Lithuania) and there are marginal inscriptions in German.

Your right it's a nice map.It would be great putting in all the maps
on this.I think this is the small format.

White we're on the topic of map stamps. Here is something from my reference library. I apologize for the quality since I sold the original copy and kept it as a scan on the computer for my own personal use not figuring on sharing. It was printed in 1977 in Latvian Collector which during that period was an English addition to Krajejs a periodical published in Canada in Latvian.

Here are the same pages in better quality. http://www.latvianstamps.com/Refere...tor%2019.htm

From my collection .