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The German post offices abroad were a network of post offices in foreign countries established by Germany to provide mail service where the local services were deemed unsafe or unreliable. They were generally set up in cities with some sort of German commercial interest. In early use only the cancellation mark can identify their postal use abroad; such stamps are known as "Vorläufer" (forerunner) stamps. Later stamps are identified by overprints even when not postally used. German abroad stamps started appearing in the late 19th century and reached their heyday at the beginning of the 20th century; they closed down during or shortly after World War I.
It was not unusual for countries to maintain such offices and Austria-Hungary, China, France, Greece, Italy, Romania, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States all did so. In the latter part of the 19th century and into the 20th century, having extraterritorial post offices was one indication of a nation's international power.
The German post offices abroad were a network of post offices in foreign countries established by Germany to provide mail service where the local services were deemed unsafe or unreliable. They were generally set up in cities with some sort of German commercial interest. In early use only the cancellation mark can identify their postal use abroad; such stamps are known as "Vorläufer" (forerunner) stamps. Later stamps are identified by overprints even when not postally used. German abroad stamps started appearing in the late 19th century and reached their heyday at the beginning of the 20th century; they closed down during or shortly after World War I.
It was not unusual for countries to maintain such offices and Austria-Hungary, China, France, Greece, Italy, Romania, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States all did so. In the latter part of the 19th century and into the 20th century, having extraterritorial post offices was one indication of a nation's international power.
Background and history
On March 1, 1870, the Norddeutscher Postbezirk (i.e. the postal service of theNorth German Confederation
The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...
) opened its first office in Constantinople (Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
) using definitive stamps without overprint. After January 1872, the Reichspost
''Reichspost'' (; "Imperial Mail") was the name of the postal service of Germany from 1866 to 1945.
''Deutsche Reichspost''
Upon the out break of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the break-up of the German Confederation in the Peace of ...
took over the management of the office and expanded it further as "Deutsche Post in der Türkei". Prior to 1884, this office used ordinary definitive German stamps without any distinctive overprint.
Starting in 1884, stamps began to be issued with overprints restating the stamp's face value in the Turkish denominations, i.e. piaster
The piastre or piaster () is any of a number of units of currency. The term originates from the Italian for "thin metal plate". The name was applied to Spanish and Hispanic American pieces of eight, or pesos, by Venetian traders in the Levant i ...
s and paras. The overprint did not include an additional country name, as was the case with stamps issued for use at the German post offices in Morocco The German post offices abroad were a network of post offices in foreign countries established by Germany to provide mail service where the local services were deemed unsafe or unreliable. They were generally set up in cities with some sort of Germa ...
and China.
As was the case with all German Offices Abroad issues, stamps issued prior to 1905 had overprints in a “Latin” font in several varieties. Starting in 1905, the overprint was changed to a “Gothic” font which continued in use until the beginning of the First World War.
Beginning in 1908, the German Post Offices in Turkey issued an additional set of stamps which it sold at the same time as the series overprinted with values in Turkish piasters. This 1908 series had diagonal overprints with new denominations in French centimes instead of horizontal overprints in Turkish piaster denominations. The Reichspost decided to issue this French currency series as exchange rates made the parcel post rates charged by the German Post Office more expensive than those of other countries also operating in Turkey. For whatever reason, accepting French francs in exchange for stamps apparently made the German Parcel Post rates more competitive once more.
With the entry of Turkey into World War I the offices were closed on 30 September 1914.
Offices
Post offices existed in these towns: ARGE2009: p. 52-54. * Constantinopel—three post offices eventually opened in the Galata, Pera, and Stamboul districts of the city. *Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
* Jaffa
*Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
*Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
See also
*German post offices abroad
The German post offices abroad were an extraterritorial network of German post offices in foreign countries with a significant German commercial interest to provide mail service where the local services were generally deemed unsafe or unreliable, ...
* German post offices in China The German Post Offices Abroad were a network of post offices in foreign countries established by Germany to provide mail service where the local services were deemed unsafe or unreliable. They were generally set up in cities with some sort of Germa ...
* German post offices in Morocco The German post offices abroad were a network of post offices in foreign countries established by Germany to provide mail service where the local services were deemed unsafe or unreliable. They were generally set up in cities with some sort of Germa ...
* German post offices in Zanzibar
The German post offices abroad were an extraterritorial network of German post offices in foreign countries with a significant German commercial interest to provide mail service where the local services were generally deemed unsafe or unreliable, ...
* List of postal services abroad In the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th century, a number of countries maintained post offices in foreign countries, arranged by treaty. Most such offices were operated by European powers in the Middle and Far East. They were part ...
Notes
References
* * {{PostalhistoryEurope Philately of Turkey Philately of Germany de:Postgeschichte und Briefmarken der Türkei#Deutsche Post in der Türkei