North German postal district

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Post house sign North German Federal Post 1868–71
Postage stamp 1968
One hundredth anniversary of the founding of the North German postal district

The North German Post District was set up in Article 48 of the Constitution of the North German Confederation as a unified state transport authority for the post and telegraph system. The Postal Act, the Post Tax Act, the Regulations on the Tax Act and other administrative laws of the North German Confederation came into force on January 1, 1868. The North German Post District existed until 1871 and was the forerunner of the Reichspost .

scope

The scope of the northern German postal district was described as follows: “The federal territory consists of the states of Prussia with Lauenburg, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Saxony-Weimar, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, Braunschweig, Saxony-Meiningen, Saxony-Coburg-Gotha, Anhalt , Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Waldeck, Reuss older line, Reuss younger line, Schaumburg-Lippe, Lippe, Lübeck, Bremen, Hamburg and from the parts of the Grand Duchy of Hesse north of the Main. “Those parts of the Grand Duchy of Hesse which who did not belong to the North German Confederation were co-administered by post.

organization

Postage stamp, 7 Kreuzer, 1868
Expansion of the North German Confederation in 1868

The organizational form of the post in Prussia was transferred to all federal states. Under the direction of Federal Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , the post and telegraph system was administered by the General Post Office and the General Directorate of Telegraphs. The General Post Office were Oberpostdirektion directorates , the upper-Post Offices in Lübeck, Bremen and Hamburg subordinate to their downstream post offices. All post and telegraph services were given the status of federal agency. The income flowed into the federal budget. Heinrich von Stephan was the head of the postal service .

On January 1, 1868, new head post offices were established in Braunschweig, Leipzig, Oldenburg and Schwerin. The Stralsund Post Office was closed on June 10th. In the next year the Oberpostdirektion Minden (Westf.) Fell away on April 24th and Bromberg on September 22nd. In Strasbourg ( Alsace , October 1, 1870) and Nanzig (d. I. Nancy ) (October 6, 1870) provisional Oberpostdirectors were established. Both were relocated to Metz (Lorraine) on October 13, 1870. Shortly before the end of the northern German postal district, the Oberpostdirektion Aachen and Marienwerder received the cancellation order on December 28, 1870.

Letter post

1868, postage

There were two weight levels for letters, up to 1 inch lot at 1 silver groschen (Sgr.) And above, up to 250 g, at 2 Sgr. For unfranked letters a surcharge of 1 Sgr. unless it was a question of service letters . These official items had to have been "made recognizable by a sign to be determined by the Reich Postal Administration on the envelope prior to posting".

The introduction of the correspondence card ( postcard ) took place on July 1st, 1870. They had to be 1 Sgr. or 3 Kreuzers be franked. Forms could be obtained from the post office, they were (still) stuck with postage stamps, costs = value of the postage stamp. Registered mail and express delivery were permitted as additional charges.

Printed matter had to be delivered open, under a cruciate ligament or folded and cost ⅓ Sgr. or 1 kr. each 2½ lot. Apart from the address, nothing was allowed to be added, and from 1869 small subsequent corrections were permitted. The maximum weight was 250 g. Printed matter had to be franked. The postage for printed matter was ⅓ Sgr. or 1 Kr.

Only real samples were allowed as samples. They had to be marked “sample”. The maximum weight was 250 g. Samples had to be franked. Fee like printed matter.

Driving mail

1868, parcel postage

Postage for driving mail was charged according to the distance and weight of the shipment. The distances were determined according to geographical miles . For this purpose, the postal area was divided into square tax fields no longer than two miles on each side. A map with the tax squares replaced the many individually calculated distance tables. The distance between the diagonal crossing points of these fields indicated the mutual distance, with the locations within a tax square being regarded as being equally distant. The free accompanying letter should not be heavier than 1 lot. For a package that was lost through the fault of the post office, a maximum of 1 thaler or 1 gulden per 500 g was replaced. In addition to the calculated postage, there was a minimum fee to be observed.

In 1874 the tariff was changed. A distinction was made between packages up to 5 kg and heavier packages. A surcharge per kilogram, graduated according to 6 distance levels, was levied for this. Several parcels of the same type, i.e. only ordinary or value parcels, were allowed to belong on an accompanying letter. In the case of valuables, the value of each package was to be stated. Since February 13, 1870, "correspondence cards" could be used as an accompanying letter. On November 16, 1873, “postal parcel addresses” (parcel cards) were introduced.

1868, postage for items of value

For letters with the specified value, the postage for letters was charged according to five distance levels, regardless of weight. In the case of parcels, the usual parcel postage was offset, plus the insurance fee. For sums over 1,000 thalers (1750 guilders), half of the insurance fee was charged for the excess.

Incidental charges

The newspaper fee was 25 percent of the purchase price, regardless of the number of pages. There was a reduction of 12.5 percent for newspapers that appeared less than four times a month.

Letters, printed matter, samples and postcards could be sent under Recommendation ( registered mail ). For the registered mail an additional 2 Sgr. or 7 kr. required. A posting slip was issued. For the return of a receipt to be issued by the recipient, a return receipt ( return receipt ), for an additional 2 Sgr. or 7 kr. can be requested. 14 thalers were replaced for a lost registered mail.

"The postal administration took on the task of sending money up to an amount of fifty thalers or eighty-seven and a half guilders including, by way of postal orders". The forms had to be franked. The amount was paid in upon posting and paid out to the recipient. For 25 thalers (43¾ guilders) 2 Sgr. or 7 kr. above up to 50 thalers 4 Sgr. or 14 kr. to pay. The sentence of 2 Sgr. or 7 kr. to 50 thalers. Postal orders could also be sent by telegram upon request. A message to the recipient was permitted on the telegram.

"The postal administration takes on the task of collecting amounts up to fifty thalers or eighty-seven and a half guilders from the addressee and paying them out to the sender." In the case of transport costs, the amounts could be exceeded. These cash on delivery were permitted for letters, printed matter and samples; they were not allowed to be registered. The letter tariff applied to printed matter and samples. This regulation ceased to exist on February 13, 1871.

For express delivery in the local order district, 2½ Sgr. or 9 crosses raised. In the country delivery district of the postal service per consignment and mile 6 Sgr. / 21 cruisers, each ½ or ¼ mile accordingly less.

Letters to soldiers up to sergeants were free of postage up to a weight of 4 Lot (= 67 g), provided they were marked “Recipient's own matter”. = Peace settlement. The reduced tariff of 1 groschen / 3 kreuzer applied to postal orders up to 5 thalers or 8¾ guilders. Packages to soldiers up to 6 pounds cost 2 groschen / 7 cruisers. All other shipments were subject to normal postage accounting.

On October 1, 1869, the General Post Office imposed an ancillary charge of ½ silver groschen for “collecting mail on the country mail carriers' orders”. This fee was not charged for normal letters, printed matter and samples, as well as for postage-free items.

The postage-paid shipments had the Franchise Act contrary of 5 June 1869 which entered into force on 1 January 1870th This was urgently needed, because in the previous year the mail had lost 3,855,000 thalers. The postage exemption was limited only to service letters of the post office and to the non-payment of the surcharge for unfranked official letters as well as for letters from soldiers. Pursuant to Section 11 of the Freedom of Postage Act, the Federal Postal Administration reserved the right to conclude agreements with state authorities such that the authorities pay so-called aversion sums for fee redemption instead of postage and / or fee amounts for individual items .

The fees for shipments with a handling certificate (insinuation documents) have been redefined. For extrajudicial rulings or letters with an insinuation document (handling certificate, delivery document ), a fee of 3 Sgr. or 11 cruisers charged. Changed on January 1, 1870 in "Letter with handling certificate". Now were a) the tariff postage for the outward journey, b) an insinuation fee of 1 Sgr. or 4 Kr. as well as c) the postage according to the tariff for the return of the handling slip, and, if necessary, d) a country mail carrier order fee of ½ Sgr. or 2 cruisers to pay. If the shipment remained in place, the insinuation fee was 1 Sgr. or 4 Kreuzer, she went to the land order district got the land postman order money of ½ Sgr. or 2 Kreuzer the insinuation fee of 1 Sgr. or 4 kr.

The time of the North German Post ended on December 31st. On the same day, the constitution of the German Confederation , which came into force on January 1, 1871, was adopted. The law regarding the constitution of the German Empire followed on April 16, 1871.

Fakes

In the case of the 18-Kreuzer stamp from 1871, one should make sure that it was not perforated from a stamp with a pierced perforation from 1868. This also applies to a lesser extent to the brand zu 2-Kreuzer, here also perforated pieces made from pierced brands are known. In such cases the mark is smaller than the original. There is also a complete forgery of the perforated 18-Kreuzer stamp. It is marked with the word "FACSIMILE" on the front.

literature

    • History of the Deutsche Post, Part 2, History of the North German Federal Post. Reprinted by the Federal Printing Office 1952.
    • History of the Deutsche Post, Volume 3, History of the Deutsche Reichspost, 1871 to 1945. Frankfurt (Main) 1951.
  • Handheld dictionary of postal services .
    • Berlin 1927.
    • Frankfurt (Main), 1953, with an addendum to the 2nd edition, 1956.
  • Werner Steven:
    • Postage rates NDP until 1945. Series of articles in the DBZ, 1982
    • Compilation of postage rates for correspondence abroad, thaler currency, 1846–1875. Braunschweig 1985
    • Law on the postal tax system of November 4, 1867, regulations on the law on the postal system of the North German Confederation, overview of fees. archive Philatelic series of publications - Issue 4, Braunschweig 1993
  • Karl Zangerle: Handbook of the foreign taxes of the southern German postal areas, guilder currency, 1850-1975. Kaiserslautern 1990

supporting documents

  1. ^ Law, regarding postage exemptions in the area of ​​the North German Confederation . With General Order No. 205 of the General Post Office of December 15, 1869, the implementation of the new postage-free law was published in the Official Gazette of the North German Post Administration in 1869, there No. 79 p. 351 ff.

Web links

Wikisource: Law regarding postage exemptions in the area of ​​the North German Confederation  - sources and full texts
Commons : North German Post District  - Collection of images, videos and audio files