Latvian Stamps
First Latvian Postage Stamp issued in 1918
Printed on the Back of a German Military Map
The first definitive Latvian stamps appeared very quickly after the end of World War I. Before World War I, Latvia was part of the Russian Empire, and Russian Imperial postage stamps had been used there.
During World War I, Latvia was occupied by Germany, and German Imperial definitive postage stamps overprinted "Postgebiet / Ob Ost" had been used for postage.
After the collapse of the Russian Empire in October 1917 and the departure of the German occupation forces after the end of World War I, the Republic of Latvia was declared on November 18, 1918. Four weeks later, on December 18, 1918, the first printed postage stamps of Latvia were placed into use.
Block of Eight Latgale Relief Stamps of 1920
Printed on the Back of Unfinished German Banknotes
When the first Latvian stamps were printed in December 1918, there was a serious paper shortage. To overcome the paper shortage, the first Latvian postage stamps were printed on the backs of German military maps. Lined paper was used for printing some of the definitive stamps of 1919, and on two later occasions, some commemorative stamps were even printed on the backs of unfinished German occupation banknotes.
First Anniversary of Independence
Commemorative Stamps issued in 1919
The new Republic of Latvia would not last very long though. By the
terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939, the Republic of Latvia was
awarded to the USSR. During World War II, Latvia was occupied by the
army of the USSR (1940), the German army (1941), and then again by the army of the USSR (1944).
In 1945, the former Republic of Latvia became the Latvian Soviet
Socialist Republic. Latvia would not be free again, for another
forty-six years!
Graf Zeppelin over Riga
Charity Airmail Stamp issued in 1933
During the 1920's and 1930's, Latvia produced a
wide variety of definitive, commemorative, charity, and airmail postage
stamps. Not counting the Soviet and German occupation postage stamps,
in the years between 1918 and 1940, the Latvian postal service issued
about 375 stamps, and none of them are unreasonably expensive, at least
from a philatelic point-of-view. Even the many
imperforate-between-pairs listed in the Scott catalog are fairly
inexpensive. For the serious stamp collector, a nearly complete
collection of the major postage stamp issues of Latvia is easily attainable.
Links
to historical articles and reviews of many of the postage stamps of
Latvia will eventually appear at the top of the third column of this
page.
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