Classical Stamps

A country with a difficult history is Schleswig-Holstein.Each of them
a duchy,Holstein included a third duchy: Lauenburg.
Holstein was member of the Deutscher Bund (German Confederation),while Schleswig was not.The Duke of Schleswig and Holstein was in personal union also King of Denmark.
Nationalists in Denmark wanted to integrate both duchies into the
Danish state.
Schleswig´s population was partly Danish (in the north) and German and Friesian in the south.Holstein had a german population.
Around 1850 the Germans and Friesians in Schleswig started an
uprise against the danish government.Prussian forces first came to
help.But later,under british moderation,kind of peace was reached.
Local forces in Schleswig did not accept the peace-accord,but without prussian aid,they succumbed to the Danish.
The first stamp issue of Schleswig-Holstein,what I do not have,was used a short time in Holstein only,before the Danish
took over again.
Genuinely used the two stamps are rare and pricy.
From 1851 till 1863 danish stamps were used in Schleswig-
Holstein.
A nationalistic government in Denmark decided in 1863 to
annex Schleswig-Holstein.The king,the Duke of Schlewig and
Holstein protested,but when threatened with deposition,gave in.
The German Confederation declared war on Denmark.
Austrian and prussian troops at its core,but contingents from
most other german states as well,moved into Schleswig-Holstein.
The Danish had overestimated their military forces grostesquely
and were beaten completely.Nearly all of mainland Denmark
was occupied by the Confederation Forces in a short time.
The king dismissed the government and Denmark capitulated.
Schleswig-Holstein became a con-dominion of Austria and Prussia.
However the danish King nominally remained as duke.

issued on March 10th,1864 this stamp was in danish currency,
while all following stamps were in Schleswig-Holstein Mark-
Courant currency.

 

issued April 5th,1864 the stamp has the same postage value
as the previous (#101) stamp. 1 1/4 Schilling in Mark-Courant
currency were equivalent to 4 Schillinge Danish money.

 

1 1/4 Schilling Crt.,issued Middle of March 1864.
At the bottom: 4 S.R.M. = 4 Skilling Rigs Mint = danish currency
Cancel: typical danish 3-ring cancel.
There is another similar stamp,what I do not have,issued on March 1st,1864.This exists in two different types.

 

issued May 15th,1864
At the bottom 1 1/2 S.L.M. = 1 1/2 Schilling Lauenburgischer
Landesmünze (Lauenburg Mint).The Lauenburg currency was
the same as that of Mecklenburg.

 

issued 1865 Feb.15th 1/2 Sch.,April 18th 1 1/4 Sch.
There three more stamps in this set: 1 1/2 Sch.,2 Sch. and 4 Sch.

 

issued Nov.1st,1865
Two more stamps in this set: 2 Sch.,4 Sch.

 

issued June 13th,1867: a) (brightly red-lilac)
July 19th,1867: b) grey-lilac, c) grey, d) turquois-grey
Oct,1867: e) dull lilac

 

Issued Nov.1st,1865,white inscriptions
In this set there are also 1/2 Sch.and 1 1/4 Sch. values.

 

The last issue of Schleswig-Holstein,issued 1865 (1 1/3 Sch. &
4 Sch.),1866 (1 1/4 Sch. & 2 Sch.,what I do not have).

Michel has listed Schleswig-Holstein in the order I did show.
But this is not a chronological order.

In June 1866 differences over the administration of Schleswig-
Holstein became the pretext of the German War (sometimes
called German-German War.) Prussia occupied Holstein and
later annexed both duchees.
However the real reason for the war,was the question how the
future Germany should look like.Austria and her allies (mainly
the southern german states,plus Saxony and Hannover)
wanted maintain the status quo.While Bismark (Prussia) wanted
a united german national state,without Austria.Prussia had few
allies: Hamburg,Bremen,Lübeck,the Mecklenburgs,Oldenburg
and Braunschweig,but also Italy. Italy wanted to annex
Venezia.The italian forces were beaten badly on land and sea,
but as Prussia was victorious the war lasted just ten weeks.
A fair peace was made,what laid the foundations of the later
alliance between Austria-Hungary and the German Impire.
Hannover was annexed and became a province of Prussia.

Prussian stamps became valid in Schleswig-Holstein.
The stamps of Schleswig-Holstein and Prussia remained
valid till December 31st,1867 and were replaced by the
stamps of the Norddeutscher Postbezirk (North-German
Confederation) next day.

 

One of my favourite countries,not only as far as stamps are
concerned is Ceylon,renamed in 1972 to Sri Lanka.
Ceylon has some beautiful classical stamps.Unfortunately
I own just only three of them.

1/2 P. issued Oct.1857
1Sh.9 P. issued April 23rd,1859
1 P. issued 1868
With the introduction of the new Rupee = 100 Cents currency
in 1872 the classical periode ended.

 

Prussia became the biggest and most important state of Germany
from the 18th century onwards.
Football followers will know Borussia Dortmund and Borussia
Mönchengladbach.Borussia is the latin word for Prussia.
The most important monarch of Prussia was Friederich II,
later called Friederich der Große (Frederic the Great),1712 -1786.
He ruled from 1740 onwards.
issued April 12th,1933
He soon started a war against Austria,the then most important
state of Germany and could conquer Silesia,the richest province
of Maria Theresia´s Austria.This took him three wars.
In the last of those,the Seven Years War (1756-63) Prussia,
allied with Britain,was on war with Austria,France and Russia.
Britain was of not much help.Prussia was on the brink of collaps,
when the Tsarina Elisabeth died and her son Peter III,an ardent
admirer of Friederich,came to the throne.Peter III immediately
changed sides and allied Russia with Prussia.This ended the
war,because Austria and France saw no longer a chance to win.

Friederich was an extraordinary personality.Probably gay,he
inherited from his father,the Soldaten-König (soldier-king),the
most modern army of that time.
He was highly educated,interested in philosophy (Voltaire stayed
a while at his court) and a good flute-player and composer.

issued Aug.14th,1986
Still his flute-concerts are played today,but the most important
piece of music connected with Friederich is "Das musikalische
Opfer" by J.S.Bach.Bach wrote parts of it,when visiting Friederich.
The king wrote a theme and asked Bach to vary it in different
formes of Fuges.The easy parts Bach did at once,winning the
kings admiration,the very demanding parts he finished later.

In his later years Friederich worked for rebuilding and modernizing
his state.As what he considered him self as "Der erste Diener des
Staates" (the first servant of the state).
Friederich was an Agnostic,possibly an Atheist,but for state reasons
remained officially a Protestant.
His last wish to be burried alongside his favourite dogs was denied
after his death. 200 years later the newly united Germany
finally oblidged the last wish of the most important ruler in her
history.

 

Coats of arms of Prussia on the 1925 welfare-issue from Dec.1st.
After the war of 1866 Prussia had a size,what was slightly bigger than that of New York state and Pennsylvania combined.
The population was a little bit smaller than that of the United
States at the time.

The "other" great man of Prussia was Otto von Bismarck.
After a distinguished political and diplomatic career,he became
chancellor (prime minister) of Prussia in 1862.A post he hold,
with short interruptions,till 1890.

150th birthday anniversary,issued April 1st,1965

Bismarck achieved his life´s aim,the unification of Germany (without Austria !),with the help of three wars:
I. 1864 the Danish-German War (Schleswig-Holstein)
II. 1866 the German-German War (Prussia against Austria and
most other german states)
III. 1870/71 the Franco-Prussian War.
In this war all german states,with the exception of Austria and
Liechtenstein were allied with Prussia.
On January 18th,1871 Wilhelm I. of Prussia was declared
Emperor of Germany in a celebration in the palace of Versailles.

Bismarck was no champion of democracy,quite to the opposite.
Like Platon he believed,that democracy prepares the road to
tyranny.And to some extend he was right,if one remembers,that
Hitler was elected in clean democratic elections !
Or in our times the elections of populists demagogues in different
countries like Hungary,Pilippines or the USA.
Bismark,who was also chancellor (prime minister) of the new German Empire ruled most of the time against an opposition majority in the Reichstag (parliament).But because the Emperor Wilhelm I. totally backed him,he could stay in power that long.
When Wilhelm II. in 1888 became emperor,his relationship to
Bismarck soured,and the chancellor was dismissed in 1890.

 

After that lengthy introduction,to the stamps of Prussia:

issued Nov.15th,1850,the stamps show King Friedrich Wilhelm IV.
The sechs (six) Pfennige (1/2 Silbergroschen)- value was reissued
in 1859 on paper without watermark.

 

issued June 13th,1856

 

The previously shown stamps were engraved,all further issues
were typographed.

issued April 1st,1857 : background solid

 

issued Sept.15th,1861,background crossed lines
All stamps exist in different shades and tones.

 

For comparison:
left solid background,right crossed lines background

 

issued Oct.1st,1861