There is a debate as to where is the center of the stamp collecting world. As an American philatelist, London and New York come to mind. That does not take into account the preponderance of stamp collecting in central Europe. Okay then Berlin but that was divided for many years and perhaps never recovered from the departure of the many Jews that were and are so prominent in the trading of stamps. This stamp makes the case for Vienna. 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.
In an era of plentiful souvenir stamp issues, this one is a pretty mundane issue for a stamp show. New Zealand did a much better souvenir sheet for this show. Vienna is of course a beautiful city but is not known for it’s skyline. The skyline view on this stamp is also out of date as Vienna’s tallest building. the DC Tower 1 completed in 2013.
Todays stamp is issue A1307, a 55 cent stamp issued by Austria on September 2nd, 2008. It was a single stamp issue celebrating the WIPA stamp convention that year in Vienna. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.60 used.
Austria was issuing stamps starting in 1850, with quickly improving quality. Vienna was also the home of several prominent philatelists. Among them was Edwin Mueller who in addition to collecting wrote a widely circulated stamp magazine called, “Die Postmarke”. In 1933 he was tasked by the Austrian government in bring back the WIPA convention to Vienna after a 50 year lapse. The show was larger than ever and Mueller was honored both by his country and made President of the International Stamp Press Assosiation. Are there still such things?
In 1938, Mueller was forced to flee to New York City after the union with Nazi era Germany. In New York, Mueller started the Mercury Stamp Company and became a stamp dealer and auctioneer. He helped handle sales from the collection of the Rothschilds. He still wrote for philatelic journals.
Austria had hosted the WIPA convention 6 times by the 2008 show. The were over 300 exibiters. Conventions are very big business in Vienna which perhaps is why the stamp on the subject is so mundane. Ove 6 million people visit Vienna each year to go to conventions. So in general they know how to play host and have an elegant old city to show off. Stamps will seem small time in comparison.
Well my drink is empty and I can look forward to a night of drinking in Vienna after a stamp convention. I wonder how one obtains a stamp press credential. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.