OPUS 21

Summary :

OPUS is AEP's flagship publication. This 2021 edition is devoted to Germany and its colonies with 18 articles, summaries of which can be seen below.

1) 1866-1867, from Bavaria to Verona, first Austrian then Italian
Lorenzo Carra

Once again the author presents a new subject and in line with the theme of this issue. And, as usual, highlights the postal relations between a foreign country, in this case Bavaria, and his own country, Italy. This is done for a period, 1866/1867, and for an area, the Venetia, well known to him and about which he has written fundamental works.

2) Tuscany - German States 1851-1862. From the Grand Duchy to the Kingdom of Italy
Vittorio Morani

The author will shortly examine the mail exchanged between Tuscany and the old German States, taking into account the employed routes and the applied conventions in the period, remembering also that Tuscany was a Grand Duchy until April 27, 1859, then was held by a provisional government and became part of the Kingdom of Italy on March 17, 1861.

3) German Stamp Dealers’ Machinations in Morocco in the 1890s
Richard J.M. Garcia

The author describes the ingenuity some German postage stamp dealers displayed in the 1890s, who created philatelic items by sending envelopes and post cards with bisected stamps from Gibraltar to Germany with the collusion of the post office in Tangier. He highlights the efforts of Miss Creswell, the Postmaster in Gibraltar, to put an end to this practice, which she rightly considered an intolerable abuse.

4) Le Maroc et l’Allemagne : Le service postal allemand du Maroc (1899-1919)
Maurice Hadida

The author provides a comprehensive overview of the German postal service in Morocco between 1899 and 1919. First there is the postal service provided by the German shipping companies between 1890 and 1899. Then there is the official German postal service, which is distinguished by its efficiency and quality, and which is in competition with the French service. Then there is the decline, during the First World War, when only four German offices remained open in the Spanish protectorate area. The final closure took place on June 12, 1919. Each period is illustrated by numerous examples, often extremely rare and sometimes even unique.

5) Exploration et histoire postale du Ruanda-Urundi pendant la période coloniale allemande / Exploration and postal history of Ruanda-Urundi during the German colonial period
Patrick Maselis, RDP

After a historical overview of the foundation of German East Africa and the first expeditions in this territory, the author analyses the routing of mail from Ruanda-Urundi, first via Dar-es-Salaam, Bukoba or Ujiji, then via the postal offices opened in Ruanda and Urundi. All this is illustrated by extremely rare and sometimes even unique pieces.

6) Courrier des membres de la commission mixte belgo-allemande chargée de la délimitation de la frontière RuziziKivu / Mail posted by members of the joint Belgian-German commission appointed to delimit the Ruzizi-Kivu border.
Luc Vander Marcken

The region around Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River was largely uncharted territory. The author describes the border dispute between Germany and Belgium (through the intermediary of Congo Free State) over the delimitation of borders. The German and Belgian officers in the region signed an agreement in 1899, which lasted until 1910, which the joint commission that was set up to deal with border issues was unable to improve upon. This episode of the Belgian-German colonial period is splendidly illustrated with extremely rare and even unique documents written by the local officers and by the members of the joint commission.

7) Le courrier de l’enclave de Sangha-Ngoko au sud du Cameroun / Mail from the Sangha-Ngoko enclave in Southern Cameroon
Luc Vander Marcken

The author highlights the Germany’s efforts to exploit the resources of south-eastern Cameroon, from 1894 until 1908, to the detriment of other colonial powers. He shows spectacular and extremely rare items sent to Europe by the Germans who lived there, which arrived at Leopoldville by way of the Sangha, Ngoko and Congo Rivers.

8) Les premières présences allemandes en Afrique orientale
Paolo Bianchi, RDP

The author, whose interest in the history and philately of East Africa is well known, follows in the footsteps of the German pioneers who tried to establish a German colony in this part of Africa. From their correspondence - mainly extremely rare and valuable items - he describes their travels and adventures, as well as the help they received from the ships of the German Imperial Navy.

9) The operations of the Prussian Second Army during the Franco-German War, July 1870 to September 1873
Steven C. Walske, RDP

In order to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Franco-Prussian War, this article traces the movements of the Prussian II Army from July 1870 to September 1873, as illustrated by mail posted at the mobile field post offices. All the movements of this army are listed chronologically and are supported by one or more letters that were sent as it moved from one place to another. Each letter is fully described and explained. This detailed analysis, both from a historical and philatelic point of view, makes this article an unparalleled piece of work.

10) Taxes complémentaires dans les doubles affranchissements franco-allemands à partir du 1er septembre 1871 (4e et 5e périodes du Double Port), suite
Francis Carcenac

This second part follows on from an article devoted to this subject, which was published by the author in OPUS VII back in 2007. It concerns letters charged with an additional tax due to changes to the French postage rate introduced on September 1, 1871. In this second part, the author analyses items that have not yet been documented, either due to their rarity or because they were only recently discovered.

11) Portuguese Prisoners of War in Germany during WW I
Bento Grossinho Dias

During the First World War, 6,778 prisoners of war were captured from the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps, which fought alongside the Allies in France in 1917-1918, with the vast majority being taken after the Battle of the Lys on April 9, 1918. The author provides us with a comprehensive overview of all the prisoner of war camps in Germany, where Portuguese soldiers and officers were held. Each camp is described and illustrated with letters and documents. The letters are analysed in detail and the various cachets affixed to them are described and explained.

12) Money, money, money
Henk Buitenkamp

The author has already contributed to OPUS several times, by providing articles on the philately of Yugoslavia after the First World War, a subject on which he is an eminent specialist. Once again, his article focuses on money transfers in the Balkans during this period. He conducts an extremely detailed analysis of financial activities, both inside Yugoslavia and with other countries. All the different ways of transferring money are illustrated by letters and documents, often extremely rare, which serve to explain the different methods used.

13) Timbres fiscaux en Alsace-Lorraine désannexée (1915-1921)
Yves Maxime Danan

The author presents a detailed study of the use of fiscal stamps between 1915 and 1921, in the deannexed Alsace-Lorraine region. He first examines the small area of Thann-Massevaux, which was deannexed at the end of 1914, and then the whole of Alsace-Lorraine, which was again attached to France in 1918. The article is illustrated with numerous examples, and the author rightly concludes that his work demonstrates that the fiscal stamp is in no way inferior to the postage stamp.

14) La Sarre, Histoire et Philatélie
Guy Coutant

The author provides us with an overview of the eventful history of the Saarland, from the First World War up to its current status. Each stage of this development is explained and is accompanied by stamps, letters and documents illustrating all the key moments in the history of Saarland. This article proves, once again, that history and philately go hand in hand.

15) Deutsche Tiefsee Expedition 1898-1899
Serge Kahn

The author describes in great detail the German scientific research expedition, named the Deutsche Tiefsee Expedition (1898-1899). The aim of this expedition, led by the biologist Carl Friedrich Chun, was to explore the deepest zones of the oceans. The author follows the SS Valdivia as she makes her way around the world, tracing its itinerary with some superb cards that expedition members sent home during their many stopovers.

16) German astronauts and Space Mail as well as Space Mail from Germany
Igor Rodin

The author provides us with a chronological overview of the role played by German astronauts in the many space programmes that took place between 1976 and 2012. He shows us some interesting documents from the successive flights in which Germans participated and, even more interestingly, a wide variety of letters sent to or from these astronauts. Several of these documents have travelled into space and are therefore extremely interesting for the astrophilatelist.

17) Transatlantic Contract Mail Routes between the United States and Germany 1840-1875
Carol Bommarito

The author provides us with a study of communications between the USA and the German states from 1840 until 1875. Due to the very large number of Germans that emigrated to the USA in the 19th century, it is only normal that vast amounts of correspondence should exist. The author describes all the routes used by steamers carrying mail to and from the German states. Each line is accompanied with a map showing the route and a fine example of mail that travelled along it.

18) Prussian Closed Mail beyond the Participants 1852-1867
James Van der Linden, RDP

The aim of the 1852 postal convention with Prussia was to facilitate the exchange of closed mail across the oceans to and from Prussia. The author mainly analyses the consequences of Article IV of this convention, which fixed the rates, with their international credits and debits. This led to a multitude of postmarks, which are shown on a wide range of examples. The author manages to decipher them clearly despite their incredible complexity.

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