Airship Expedition to New Guinea

[PostmasterGS]

Another highlight from the collection -- the 1914 Luftschiffexpedition to New Guinea.

Prior to WWI, the island of New Guinea was controlled by three European powers -- Germany, Britain, and the Netherlands. Despite their claims to the entirety of the island, very little of the territory had actually been explored. The interior is one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, and the colonial powers confined their settlements primarily to the coastal plains.


Link to Google Map of German Post Offices in Deutsch-Neuguinea

[PostmasterGS]

In 1913, the three colonial powers began planning for a joint expedition to New Guinea with the purpose of exploring and mapping the interior of the island via airship. The Dutch backed out of the project early on, but the Germans and English continued on schedule for a voyage in 1914. The airship was to be crewed by a joint crew, with scientists aboard from both countries. The man selected to lead the expedition was Lt Paul Graetz, a German officer who had famously been the first man to drive across Africa in an automobile.


Graetz crossing a wooden bridge on his drive across Africa, 1907-1909

[PostmasterGS]

In order to promote and help finance the Luftschiff Expedition, a pair of stamps was printed beginning in Jully 1913. These stamps were not valid postage, but could be purchased as collectors' items or for use with valid postage. Proofs of 2 RM and 1,000 RM values exist, but only the 2 Pfennig and 1 RM values were produced for sale.


Sieger I

[PostmasterGS]

Sieger II

[PostmasterGS]

The Luftschiff Expedition was scheduled for 1914, but was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I. The stamps therefore never made it into widespread circulation, and are considered extremely rare. Used copies are even more rare. Only three used copies of the 2 Pfennig value are known to exist.

[PostmasterGS]

One of the other two known used copies of Si I is on cover with the only known used copy of Si II. It's the Holy Grail of these issues, and it was last seen at auction in September 2013, when it sold for €13,500.


Si I and II on cover (not from my collection)

[PostmasterGS]

Additionally, the Verlag der Hilfsstelle für vaterländische Arbeit (Publisher of the Aid Agency for Patriotic Work) in Berlin produced postcards advertising the Expedition.

[PostmasterGS]

And as an added curiosity, here's a piece of German postal stationery (Frech 106B-16/02) produced in 1934 as an advertisement for Heinrich Keimel, a stamp dealer in Munich. On the front, a photo of the 2 Pfennig issue and the statement "Diese Marke such ich zu kaufen" (I'm looking to buy this stamp).

[kacyds]

Great information, thanks for sharing!!!!!

[Craig]

Well now, that was interesting!

[Perfs14]

Very interesting stuff!

[zepherusbane]

Thanks for sharing that, very great information. Do you have any of the issues in your collection?

[Admin Bear]

[PostmasterGS]

Dec 16, 2013 22:24:31 GMT -5 zepherusbane said:

Thanks for sharing that, very great information. Do you have any of the issues in your collection?

With the exception of the €13,500 cover, all items shown are from my collection.

[MikeC99]

PostmasterGS, I really enjoyed your article on the New Guinea expedition. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Mike

[samb]

I always enjoy reading your threads. Always some interesting stuff!!

[PostmasterGS]

Here are a couple recent additions to my Luftschiffexpedition collection.



This is a really nice corner copy of the 2 Pfennig value.

And this bad boy...



This is a rare one. Prior to the issue of the stamps in 1914, postcards were printed allowing collectors or users to order copies of the 2 Pfennig, 1 Mark, and (eventually never-issued) 20 Mark values.

The details of this postcard are truly unknown -- no idea how many were printed or whether they were ever widely available. This copy was not used for its intended purpose, but appears to have been sent through the mail for philatelic purposes. Perhaps this is why it survived.

There's a possibility that other copies were available and used for their intended purpose, but as cards used for ordering purposes would have all been to the same destination (the Luftschiffexpedition Office in Berlin), they could have been destroyed en masse upon the cancellation of the program.

The end result -- this is the only copy of the order card known to exist.

[PostmasterGS]

When I acquired the used copy of Sieger #I shown above several years ago, I was told by the German auctionhouse that there were three known used copies, and given the cancellation details for all three.

These were as follows:

• One copy with K1 “STU (TTGART) A1 … Feb 14” cancel (my copy shown above)
• One copy with cancel “KLOSTER ZINNA 18 FEB 1914”
• One on cover with additional 1 M. and 5 Pfg. Germania franking, canceled “STUTTGART 10.1.14"

I saw the copy on cover at auction once, but the cover also contains the only known used copy of Sieger #II, so it went for a price far higher than I was prepared to pay.

Flash forward to a couple months ago -- I was browsing German auctions, and lo and behold, a fourth used copy of Sieger #I! It wasn't easy to get, but it now joins its sister in my collection.

[PostmasterGS]

I finally got around to mounting these in my album, so here they are.





Also, I decided to mount the Keimel postcards with the Luftschiff labels instead of in my postcard album. Even though they're not technically affiliated, I just think they make a nice addition.

[PostmasterGS]

A new addition to this area of my collection today!

As I mentioned in the initial post, proofs of 20 M and 1,000 M values were also produced. I had never actually seen one of these poofs before last month, when I acquired this proof of the 1,000 M value at auction. It arrived in the mail today!


(click to enlarge)

This brown proof was last offered at auction in 2005. At the same auction where I won this lot, they also offered a previously undocumented red proof of the 1,000 M stamp, but I was unsuccessful in bidding on it. Maybe next time.