A small country faced a choice in how to go forward after World War II. Stamp offerings of the Socialists celebrated the common man in a way different from what came before. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
I do like a good communist workers stamp. In fact a tobacco factory stamp from this same Albanian issue is one of my favorite articles here at The Philatelist. Here is a link. https://the-philatelist.com/2017/11/09/communism-provides-smokes-for-atheists-and-then-a-refugee-camp-for-muslims/. Another aspect of Communism was the better treatment of women. Here we have a happy peasant women selling her wool to the new textile factory in Fier, a small city in Southern Albania. No doubt she will get a fair price for her goods, not just be transporting the goods for some Pasha or crony of Zog.
Todays stamp is issue A94, a 2.50 Lek stamp issued by the republic of Albania on August 1st, 1953. It was part of a 8 stamp issue in various denominations showing industrial progress throughout Albania. According to the Scott Catalog the stamp is worth 25 cents used.
Before the war, Albania was ruled by a King, well sort of. An Italian supported President had Albania declared a Kingdom and Himself crowned King Zog I. He had been an aristocrat and legitimately held the title of Bey. He was also a fairly close relation of Egypt’s royal family. All this should not suggest that he was accepted by other royalty. He built up a large debt to Italy and then reneged on it. Now seeing himself as Royal, he broke off an engagement to a local girl to marry an American with some aristocratic Hungarian blood. Under Albanian blood feud rules, his jilted fiancé’s family had the right to kill King Zog and he surrounded himself with bodyguards and put his mother in charge of the Royal kitchen to prevent poisoning. A few days after the birth of Crown Prince Leka, Italy invaded and Zog’s family escaped with a large supply of gold. King Zog was subject of more than 500 blood feuds and survived over 50 assassination attempts. He died in 1961 in Paris after being unsuccessful in reestablishing his throne post war,
The resistance to the Germans and the Italians was divided into Royalist and Socialists. In terms of the actual fighting, it was almost entirely socialist. This was despite the British giving Zog’s forces aid. Albania eventually freed themselves of the German occupation without foreign invasion in 1944. The British advised the Royalists to not oppose the Socialists final march to Tirana and helped the leaders escape into exile. Enver Hoxha was declared the new leader of the peoples republic. It is pretty obvious he offered more hope to the people than the return of Zog.
Zog’s son Leka I returned to Albania in 1996 to reclaim his thrown. He did so on a passport issued by himself that listed his profession as King. He formed a Royalist political party that he was not a member of. He was after all above political parties, even his own. The question of a return to Monarchy was put to a vote in 1998 with two thirds voting to stay a republic. Leka was however allowed to stay in Albania and given a real passport.His own son Leka II is now head of the house of Zog. He was born in exile in South Africa in 1982. The South African government generously declared his maternity ward Albanian territory for the day to meet Albanian birth requirements.
Well my drink is empty so I will open the discussion in the below comment section. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting