[Hugh]

Here are two interesting stamps issued during the Soviet Occupation of the Province of Saxony in 1946.

Why interesting? They were printed on very thin paper ... Michel refers to it as "so-called 'cigarette paper'" So thin it is almost transparent.

Stamps:
Province of Saxony under Soviet Occupation
Series: Land Reform in the Province of Saxony - Farmer Plowing
Issued on February 21, 1946

6Pf, dark opal green, "cigarette paper"
Mi.Nr. 90
12Pf, red, "cigarette paper"
Mi.Nr. 91

Here are the stamps scanned against a white background.

   

   

And, here are the same stamps as they appear on a light table. I photographed the 12pf stamp from the back just to illustrate how transparent they are. The image is as clear from the back as it is from the front. (The item on top of the 6pf stamp is just the end of my stamp tongs. The stamps have a tendency to curl so it is holding it down).

   

As Michel says "The watermark is barely visible". Very true ... I've just about given up. There's something there but none of my devices are able to resolve it into a clear image.

The perfs look good ... K 13x13.25.

[Hugh]

Between the Michel catalogue listings for German Local issues and the listings for Allied Occupation Issues, is a small section called "Unofficial Issues / Private Creations (Not Local Issues)."

Michel takes pains to point out that "According to prevailing German commercial law, Unofficial Issues and private creations may not be designated as 'local issues'." They further note that these unofficial issues and private creations will not be expertized.

An example, in April 1946, in the city of Dessau within the Soviet Occupation Zone, three 'official' occupation stamps (Mi.Nr. 87-89) that had been issued in January of that year, in the Province of Saxony, were  overprinted with the name of the city and sold as charity stamps. Or, more accurately, as charity 'labels' as they could not be used for postage.

In other words, they were private creations.

Michel notes that permission for these three labels "was denied by the Halle PD!" At the time, Halle was the capital of the administrative region of Saxony-Anhait.

Labels:
Charity Labels without Porto Value
Reconstruction of the Province of Saxony
Issued: April 1946
Overprint DESSAU in black on Saxony, Mi.Nr. 87-89

6+4Pf
Mi.Nr. I

12+8Pf
Mi.Nr. II

42+28Pf
Mi.Nr. III

   
   
   

[Hugh]

A few album pages I created recently for some of my German local issues:

   

'A' is the perforated set and 'I' refers to Type 1 of the following four types:

   

The 'x', 'y' and 'z' refers to the combination of paper and gum type. 

   
   

[Hugh]

Arrived from a dealer in Lithuania ... a German Local Issue, Storkow, Soviet Zone, Mi.Nr. 9.

It's always nice to finish a series, even a short one. Lots of perforation errors in this set. 

   

   

[Hugh]

Another Local Issue ... this one from Strausberg. Issued to support reconstruction efforts after the war. 

Issued on January 30, 1946 and valid until September 31, 1846.

Souvenir Sheets [Number printed of each block 50,000]

Type 1: The ornamental frame on the lower bar has 43 vertical lines, five lines in the right corner
Type II: The ornamental frame on the lower bar has 44 vertical lines, six in the right corner

Block 1:
Mi.Nr. 38-41, 5+45Pf, 6+44Pf, 8+42Pf, 12+38Pf, Dark Blue Violet, Type 1

Courtesy CDS:
STRAUSBERG 1 / 22.5.46 - 10

   

Block 2:
Mi.Nr. 38-41, 5+45Pf, 6+44Pf, 8+42Pf, 12+38Pf, Black, Type 1

Courtesy CDS:
STRAUSBERG 1 / ?.11.46 - 17

   

[Hugh]

There is something I find arresting about these three stamps. Their simplicity, I suppose? Or, the Naïve Art style of the designer? As semi-postals in Soviet Occupied Meckenburg / Vorpommen in 1945 raising money for child welfare the images would seem very appropriate to the task and very reflective of the state of the economy.

Stamps:
Mecklenburg / Vorpommen under Allied Occupation / Soviet Zone
Series: Semi-postal / Child Assistance
Issued on December 31, 1945

Baby
6+14Pf, Orange
Mi.Nr. 26
Notice the shift to the left resulting in a misperforation. The word, VORPOMMERN usually on the right of the stamp is completely missing.
Michel notes that due to difficult technical considerations of the time "standardized quality ranges cannot be made for separations, perforations and centering."

   

Girl
8+22Pf, Blue
Mi.Nr. 27

   

Boy
12+28PF. Pink Red
Mi.Nr. 28

   

[Carmen]

Wow Hugh, that "cigarette paper" - man, you weren't kidding when you talked about transparency!

By the way, would you recommend a particular light table? I see them available on Amazon for not very expensive. Anything I should look out for?

[Hugh]

In my opinion, for philatelic purposes, there is really very little to choose from when it comes to light-tables. They're much the same. I bought mine from Amazon.ca. 

My advice, therefore, is:

1 - Don't spend a lot of money. It's not necessary if you only plan to use it for examining stamps or revealing the watermark on old letter paper. Mine cost about C$50.

2 - Decide on the size you want. You can get small ones (good enough for stamps and they take less room). Mine's a bit bigger, about 20x30 cm ... because I work with old folded letters and documents. I also use it to help with reading cross-writing. It also helps with photographing some watermarks on stamps. 

3 - They're LED and don't need much power ... so, consider buying one that has a USB cord to your laptop or computer. I have one that has a micro-USB to USB cable. I leave the cable permanently attached to my iMac and then, when I need to use the table, I put it on the desk and just plug it in. That's one reason why they don't cost much. They don't need an electrical outlet. 

Here's my light-table (to the right of the scanner) and a close up.. It works fine for me. 

   

   

Cheers, Hugh

[Carmen]

Hey Hugh! Some great advice there, thanks so much... I'll go looking around.

And THREE computer screens... oooooooooh! #Envy