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The “Journey of Ingenuity” Collection

by John F. Dunn
(From Mekeel’s & Stamps, January-March 2009)

On November 11, 2008, Harmers of London conducted a public auction of the fascinating “Journey of Ingenuity Collection.” Assembled by Paul M. Zatulove, it presented postal history in the form of 4,000 years of written communication and mail delivery. Although the auction consisted of only 122 lots, I selected 40 as meriting viewing, including 12 of the first 13 lots.

All prices quoted here are converted from Euros to Dollars as of the November 11, 2008, sale date and do not include the VAT that was added on to each lot. Regarding the prices realized, I can only think that the Journey of Ingenuity sale was affected by the fact that it was held during the depths of the 2008 worldwide credit crunch and resultant economic crash; thus the lots that did not sell and those that …

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Poland’s Postal Service in Danzig

by Edward Nowak, Sr.
(From Mekeel's & Stamps Magazine, June 26, 2009 - original article from Stamps Magazine, Feb. 21, 1959)

According to registered philatelic facts, the Polish postal service at Gdansk (Danzig) was inaugurated in 1654 by John Casimir, King of Poland. The mail service, from its inception, waged constant battle with postal services of Prussia, due to the insistence of that country on maintaining service through Poland, especially between the two Prussias.

The second partition of Poland in 1793, and the resultant Prussian absorption of Gdansk, was the cause of liquidation of Poland’s postal service in that region of Europe. The last Polish postmaster to serve was A. Stanislawski.

On the strength of the Versailles Treaty (January 10, 1920) Poland again began to organize its own postal department in the newly created “Free City of Danzig” and the Polish corridor …

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