Assistance with deciphering a reused German 1937 Cover

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carmel
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Assistance with deciphering a reused German 1937 Cover

Post by carmel »

.
Hi,

I've recently purchased this German cover in the local flea market.

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It is a cover posted from Ludwigshafen am Rhein in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is unfranked and has a 29.11.37 LUDWIGSHAFEN (RHEIN) 1 ae CDS.

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The cover is also stamped with a violet inscription within rectangular border ending with the word "Reich!" and a circular violet stamp with an eagle and swastika surrounded by an inscription.

Image

Image

The back of the cover is not stamped but the sender's address is listed as Leipzig-Lindenau.

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This is not all, as the cover has been reused, and when the sticker used on the front of the cover is peeled back, the previous franking and cancels are visible.

Image

The cover was originally franked with an 8pf Hindenburg stamp (Scott 420) issued in 1934 and tied to the cover with a 12.11.37 LUDWIGSHAFEN (RHEIN) am CDS and a slogan cancel.

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In all a curious cover. I am unable to decipher the inscriptions and the addressee.

It is also odd that the cover was reused, as this was 1937 and the war was in the future.
During wartime there were shortages of envelopes and I have examples of reused WWII English envelopes.

What could have the reason for this? I assume that the second sending was not franked because the sender was some kind of official.

Any information or theories are appreciated.

Cheers,

Carmel
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by kuikka »

I think the violet boxed stamp reads :
Frei durch Ablösung Reich

I take that to mean:
Free through whole country

The stamp with swastika says on the top:
Reichsarbeitsdienst

Which should mean something like
State labour service

The slogan cancel of the first use says:
Im POSTAUTO durch die PFALZ am RHEIN

Which means something like :
By mailbus through Platinate on Rhine
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by vikingeck »

Both dates are just 2 weeks apart in November 1937 .

I speculate the original was a form or a query sent from Pfalz to the Department of Labour and the Official replying was provided with sticky labels to reseal his reply using the original envelope.


Trying to read the address on the label, all I can see are the last 3 letters …. AMT = "Office" so perhaps the official at the Ludvigshafn Labour Office needed to refer and send the whole letter to another authority ?
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by jwk »

The address reads (if I read it correctly):
An das Burgermeisteramt, Daubach (Pfalz)
To the Mayor's office in Daubach (Pfalz)

I "*think"* that's Daubach (Hunsrück)

Frei durch ablösung Reich = Free by prepayment by the Reich = Post Paid

I think someone sent the Dept of Labour a letter, and at the Department they found it was not for them but for the Mayor of Daubach, so they forwarded it?
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by carmel »

Hi,

Thanks jwk, vikingeck and kuikka.

The cover was a "window" cover so that there is no way to see the original addressee.

Cheers,

Carmel
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by gavin-h »

vikingeck wrote:I speculate the original was a form or a query sent from Pfalz to the Department of Labour and the Official replying was provided with sticky labels to reseal his reply using the original envelope.
I think vikingeck has got this exactly right.

I can remember seeing similar envelopes sent by UK Government departments with a sticky label to return on the same envelope. :idea:

It used to be common practice in the days before recycling became "fashionable" :lol:
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by carmel »

Hi,

Thanks Gavin.

It seems that there are two locations in Rhineland-Palatinate with the name Daubach. One is Daubach, Westerwaldkreis (about 170 km from Ludwufshafen) which had a population of 465 in 2017 and the other is Daubach, Hunsrück (about 100 km away from Ludwigshafen) which had a population of 151 in 1939. These were both tiny villages when the letter was sent.

What is odd is that the address of the sender, on the back of the cover, is in Leipzig-Lindenau which is in the state of Saxony. I believe this to be the sender of the reused cover, so a bit of a mystery.

Perhaps the sticker was not included in the original letter and was used by the Department of Labor to transfer the letter to the appropriate bureaucrat who should deal with its contents.

Cheers,

Carmel
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by jwk »

Carmel,
is the "return address" in Leipzig-Lindenau part of the address-label, or seperately stuck on?
If it's part of the address-label maybe it's the name of the printing-firm of that label?
Seeing that it's upside down in relation to the actual address-lines.

Don't know what "D.R.P. 315911" means, but just maybe it could mean "Deutsches Reich Papier" or something, stocknumber 315911? Pure speculation on my side!

Leipzig-Lindenau's addressbook of 1904 only gives a certain Mr Heine as the owner of Schlegeterstrasse 24 (then named Gundorfer Strasse) so that's no help.
And the 1934 addressbook is still "under construction".

And did the "Postauto in Pfalz am Rhein" collect all the mail on its route, and then dumped it at the Ludwigshafen postoffice, where they entered the postal system?

Questions, questions, questions....... :D
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by muruk »

jwk wrote:The address reads (if I read it correctly):
An das Burgermeisteramt, Daubach (Pfalz)
To the Mayor's office in Daubach (Pfalz)

I "*think"* that's Daubach (Hunsrück)
I make it Maudach (a district of Ludwigshafen on Rhine).
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by gavin-h »

muruk wrote:I make it Maudach (a district of Ludwigshafen on Rhine).
I read it as ----dorf :idea:
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by PBR »

jwk wrote:Carmel,

Don't know what "D.R.P. 315911" means, but just maybe it could mean "Deutsches Reich Papier" or something, stocknumber 315911? Pure speculation on my side!
D.R.P. stand for Deutsches Reich Patent. 315911 is a patent number.

Cheers

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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by Wolfgang »

gavin-h wrote:
muruk wrote:I make it Maudach (a district of Ludwigshafen on Rhine).
I read it as ----dorf :idea:
Maudach is correct!
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by honza »

jwk wrote:
And did the "Postauto in Pfalz am Rhein" collect all the mail on its route, and then dumped it at the Ludwigshafen postoffice, where they entered the postal system?
Ahoj jdk!

"Im Postauto durch die Pfalz am Rhein" is part of a slogan cancellation urging tourists to travel by postal bus through the Palatinate along the Rhein, it is not an indication that that particular letter was carried on such a bus.

Cheers,

Honza
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by carmel »

Hi,

Thanks everyone. I've looked at Maudach in Wikipedia which says that:

"1938 On April 1, Maudach, which at the time had about 2800 inhabitants, was incorporated into the city of Ludwigshafen."

Which means that when this cover was sent (and re-sent) in November 1937 Maudach was a village with a Burgermeister. It would also explain the Ludwigshafen cancels. As the village was adjacent to the city.

As for the reverse. The return address is printed on a long narrow slip of paper (4 mm wide), the same color as the sticker and is pasted to the back of the cover on top of the end of the sticker (which extends about 8 mm on the back of the cover). The strip with the address is starting to detach from the cover.

Cheers,

Carmel
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by Ckolker »

Carmel-

May I use your cover for an article for the Third Reich Study Group Bulletin? We are at www.trsg-usa.com. We are not some kind of hate group. Instead, it is for those who seriously study the postal history of WWII. Your cover is very interesting, and I think our readers would enjoy it. A very unusual cover from the Rhineland, to be sure.
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by Number-O-Ne »

Ckolker wrote: 20 Sep 2021 13:19 Carmel-

May I use your cover for an article for the Third Reich Study Group Bulletin? We are at www.trsg-usa.com. We are not some kind of hate group. Instead, it is for those who seriously study the postal history of WWII. Your cover is very interesting, and I think our readers would enjoy it. A very unusual cover from the Rhineland, to be sure.
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by Global Admin »

Ckolker wrote: 20 Sep 2021 13:19 Carmel-

May I use your cover for an article for the Third Reich Study Group Bulletin? We are at www.trsg-usa.com. We are not some kind of hate group. Instead, it is for those who seriously study the postal history of WWII. Your cover is very interesting, and I think our readers would enjoy it. A very unusual cover from the Rhineland, to be sure.

I am sure Carmel will have no objections. :lol:

Most of the sleuthing was done by members here and our policy here is to approve any such republication or images and texts at no fee for bona fide study sites, as long as correct attribution is made to www.stampboards.com

The direct link is www.tinyurl.com/1937Cover

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Re: Assistance with deciphering a reused German 1937 Cover

Post by Ckolker »

Thank you so much for such a prompt, positive reply.
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Re: Assistance With Reused German 1937 Cover

Post by ligneN »

PBR wrote: 12 Jan 2019 03:54
jwk wrote:Carmel,

Don't know what "D.R.P. 315911" means, but just maybe it could mean "Deutsches Reich Papier" or something, stocknumber 315911? Pure speculation on my side!
D.R.P. stand for Deutsches Reich Patent. 315911 is a patent number.

Cheers

pbr
The DRP and name/address refer to the window envelope maker. So the imprinted address is not of the sender, but gives the envelope maker.
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Re: Assistance with deciphering a reused German 1937 Cover

Post by carmel »

Hi ckolker,

Sure, you can use the cover for your article.

I have high resolution scans (tiff files) of the uploaded scans if needed.

It’s our high holiday season here in Israel so it took me a while till I noticed your post.

Cheers,

Carmel
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