Mass Produced Philatelic Covers? Yes. Yes They Are.

I have a soft spot for the Vienna Printings of Indonesia, primarily due to the art style, most notable the art deco style of the blockade souvenir sheets (a complete set of 12 sheets catalogues roughly $5K in Scott). I have been collecting "covers" of the Vienna Printings for several years now. I put the word in quotes, because it is universally believed that these are philatelically contrived covers, many if not all, created by J. H. Stolow.

Despite their being philatelic, they are still in demand, typically ranging from US$10 to $75 per cover, depending on venue and competition. Covers showing evidence of having passed through the mail stream can go much higher.

This cover made me smirk, as the address printing offset on the back corroborates the contention that these covers were mass produced. If you look at enough covers in any particular subject area, you find all sorts of interesting things.

For anyone interested in these issues, the best reference IMO is the 2003 Dai Nippon "Catalogue Vienna & Philadelphia Printings and Sub Areas of the Republic of Indonesia" which has English text.

Henry Stolow was brother of Julius Stolow of "J. H. Stolow", the stamp dealer in question.

My blockade souvenir sheet set is shown here:

https://goscf.com/t/69851