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Germany - Markenheftchen

(Stamp Booklets) - FAQ



Markenheftchen - Reklamen Question

Do you know anything about the German Markenheftchen (booklets) and Zusammendruck (combinations). I am interested in the private advertising labels. For example; Michel numbers W2-R5 or S1-R4, etc.


In understanding the terminology in the Michel Catalog, the following German words may be helpful.

  • Markenheftchen (MH) – Stamp booklets.
  • Heftchen-Blattern (H-Blattern or H-Blatt) – Booklet panes.
  • Zusammendrucke (Z) – Together Printings (Se-Tenant)
  • Waagerecht (W) – Horzontal (combinations)
  • Senkrecht (S) – Vertical (combinations)
  • Reklamen (R) – Advertising Labels
  • Andreaskreuz (X in table listings) – St. Andrews Cross Label

The Europeans are avid stamp booklet collectors. They collect booklets, booklet panes, and all the possible se-tenant stamp combinations from the panes. If one REALLY wants to get specialized, the listings also include combinations from the sheets the booklet stamps were printed in, which would also include Tête-bêche stamp combinations. The Scott catalog listings for German booklet panes are very inadequate. Where Scott may list one particular booklet pane, there may actually be dozens of different varieties of that pane. In specializing in Germany markenheftchen, one must become familiar with the listings in the Michel catalog.

The booklet, booklet pane, and se-tenant variety tables in the Michel catalog can be very intimidating, but when learns what all the numbers mean, it’s not bad at all.The two images below show the first two pages of the Michel Catalog booklet panes for the German Empire.


In this example, at the beginning of the category is shown the advertising labels that were used with all the Germania booklets. These are referred to as R1 – R27.

The first group on listings is of un-exploded booklets - markenheftchen. For example, MH #1 contains two panes of H-Blatt #1, two panes of H-Blatt #2, and one pane of H-Blatt #3, and the booklet covers come in either red or green.

The next section prices the H-Blattern (panes) .... H-Blatt #1 I (peacetime printing) contains 6 examples of Mi. catalog number 86. Notice H-Blatt #4 in this listing .... It contains one R1 (label), one R2 (label), and four examples of Mi. catalog number 85 I (peacetime printing).

The next section prices all the Zusammendrucke (combinations), with the “W” (horizontal combinations) listed first and the “S” horizontal combinations listed in the next section. Note W1.1 is a horzontal pair of the St. Andrews Cross label, combined with Mi. catalog number 85 I. The others are all the different horizontal pair combinations of the 27 different advertising labels

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Markenheftchen - Reklamen Question

I do not understand German and my mentor that was a German has passed away. The people at the German Philatelic Society in the USA say they have no one who specializes in in the Zusammendruk, Reklame

In trying to read the Michel Cat, I see is the following.

For the combination example; W2-R5. The "W" means the pair are horizontal. The "2" means it is the 5 phennig green. The "R" means it is an advertising label. The number after the "R" tells me which item this combination is and then I can see the catalog value in Euros. A "W3" instead of "W2" means a horizontal pair with a 10 phennig (red).

.....

Is it possible to have a W2-R24? The way I read the Michel, this is not possible. I have one. Should I consider it a fake? I am very confused on this. Any help you can give me would be most appreciated.

The Germania booklet panes with advertising labels are so rare that no one has any. I have searched the Germany eBay site and Google for a combo booklet pain or pair, and I have not been able to locate any. Possibly explains why no one collects them. Having one as a collateral item for your Germany collection would be great, but specializing in them may be a lost cause. The Reclamen labels appear to only have been used during 1910-11 and not after that.

The R, S, and W numbers have nothing to do with the catalog number of the stamp. They are cumulative numbers, beginning with 1, which describe different variations of the basic stamp. The green labels were used with the 5 PF. stamps and the red labels were used with 10 PF. stamps.

The two stamps used for these booklets (markenheftchen), Michel H-Blatt 4 – 6, were as follows.

- 85 I 5 Pf. Green, Watermarked Lozenges

- 86 I 10 Pf. Red, Watermarked Lozenges

If you say you have R27, that is a red label with the word “Tinte”. The same label in green is R9.

If you have a pair with a green label of this type and the 5 Pf. Green, it is # 85I – (from booklet pane) HB 5.9 – (combination pair) W2.9 and it catalogs 750 Euros for a hinged pair.

If you have a pair with a red label of this type and the 10 Pf. Red, it is # 86I – HB 6.27 – W3.27 and it also catalogs 750 Euros for a hinged pair.

If you could send me a scan of the pair, I’ll give you the exact numbers.



Markenheftchen - Reklamen Question

I collect these combinations.  Yes, there are hard to find and expensive.  Do you know anywhere I can write to get more history on them?  I have the Michel catalog but it is of limited use to me as I do not read German.

I seems like the companies that the advertising refers to are all small companies? No big names one could recognize.  How were these companies chosen by the postal authorities?


At this point I have about as much information as you do.  My main source for the Reklamen page was the Michel catalog, with some additional bits of information I picked up by searching Wikipedia and other internet sites through the use of Google Search.  Many of the Reklamen labels were for stamp companies or stamp album manufacturers, as well as German companies offering products for home use.  Early American booklets had the same thing, though the advertisements were printed on interleaving between the stamp panes instead of on the stamp paper itself.  Other European countries also used advertising stamps in their stamp booklets, but they are not as popular worldwide as the German booklets are. 

The German material is very expensive.  Myself .... I have a postcard and three horizontal pairs in my own collection, that I’ve acquired from European eBay sellers.  Full panes are horrendously expensive.  The scans of the full panes shown in my article come from other sources on the internet.

I don’t know, at this time, what the arrangements with the German postal service were, but I would speculate that the companies probably paid an advertising fee to the postal service for having their ads printed on the booklet panes.




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