AVAILABILITY:
THE FIRST EDITION (all 9 volumes) IS NOW SOLD OUT.
All volumes are also available in electronic format,
on a memory stick, as pdf files (protected).
The electronic edition may be ordered immediately
(please inquire with the Author using the CONTACT
button at the top of the page).
PLEASE NOTE: The order will be mailed via The Romanian
Post Office, stick plus the PP costs to be added to the cost
of the catalogue, unless all 9 volumes are ordered, in which
case the supplementary costs will be into my account.
DHL delivery is also possible but that may cost more.
Thank you for your interest.
The
"K.u.K. FELDPOST" MAIL 1914-1918 CATALOGUE
Please see and maybe download the pages illustrated by accessing the link PICTURES
(see at the top of this page)
there, you can find other 80 buttons with over 200 pages of the catalogue
which you can also save / download.
9 volumes, total 3,564 pages, bi-lingual, richly illustrated, in full colours
issued as follows:
- Volume 1, 2: KuK FIELDPOST CARDS (2013) / 1008 pages
- Volume 3: OTHER POSTAL OBJECTS (2017) / 292 pages
- Volumes 4, 5, 6: FIELDPOST OFFICE CANCELS (2016) / 998 pages
- Volumes 7, 8, 9: KuK KRIEGSMARINE (2019) / 1268 pages
-Awarded LARGE GOLD medal
plus
the SPECIAL PRIZE FOR PHILATELIC LITERATURE
at the 2014 International Philatelic Exhibition in Debrecen
(April 2014).
***
-Awarded the LARGE VERMEIL medal at
EUROPHILEX - LONDON 2015 (FIS, FEPA)
(6-13 May, 2015).
Also awarded Large Vermeil medals
in several other International exhibitions
and Gold medals in several national exhibitions.
...................................................................................................
A few details may be due as follows:
K.u.K. FELDPOST MAIL 1914-1918
VOLUME 1 - The Fieldpost Cards (Titles in German)
VOLUME 2 - The Fieldpost Cards (Titles in Hungarian, Czech, Croat,
Polish, Ukrainian; // Double, reply-paid cards; Semi-illustrated cards;
Lettercards; Stationery fieldpost cards; Fieldpost picture postcards;
Improvised Fieldpost cards;
The use of the Fieldpost cards in the successor states;)
Volumes 1-2 comprise 1008 pages in full colours, format B5 (25 x 18 cm)
PRINTED in 2013.
VOLUME 3 - Other Postal objects
Volume 3 comprises 292 pages in full colours, format B5 (25 x 18 cm)
PRINTED in 2017.
VOLUMES 4, 5, 6 - The Fieldpost Office cancels (The Army)
VOLUMES 7, 8, 9 - The K.u.K. KRIEGSMARINE (The Navy)
for more details on volumes 4 - 9, please visit the following address:
kukfelpost2.yolasite.com
______________________________________________________
If you want, you may contact me for details using the button at top,
or directly at the following e-mail address:
octavian500198@yahoo.co.uk
______________________________________________________
Notes about Volumes 1-2-3:
VOLUMES 1-2:
Issued
on 23.11.2013, this is the first
catalogue on the K.u.k. Fieldpost cards of the Austro-Hungarian army in WW1 (28.07.1914 -11.11.1918).
For 100 years, the K.u.k. Fieldpost cards
had remained uncharted or very superficially studied in which concerns the
cards themselves, the usual studies referring generally to the FPO cancels or
Army Unit cachets. The table provided in the catalogue (source: the Wien archives) speaks of billions of cards used. Inevitably, there had to be a large number of types, though limited after all.
This catalogue details on the fieldpost card types (simple cards, reply-paid double cards, lettercards, postal stationery, semi-illustrated cards, illustrated regimental cards, improvised mail, the use in the succesor states, other cards) including errors and varieties, and offers ca. 1750 catalogue positions.
Valuations are provided in Value Points
(4 pts = 1 USD / 5 pts = 1 Euro / 6 pts = 1 GBP).
. NOTE: This is a limited, Author's edition, offered with autograph.
VOLUME 3:
292 pages in full colours, format B5 (25 x 18 cm)
Issued on 28.05.2017, Volume 3 (richly illustrated, full colours) is the continuation of Volumes 1-2 and comprises the other postal items, including the fieldpost stamps used for the K.u.k. fieldpost (apart of the fieldpost cards), i.e, NOTIFICATIONS, MAIL ENVELOPES, DECLARED-VALUE MAIL, MONEY ORDER FORMS, PARCEL FORMS AND LABELS, NEWSPAPER (and other printed matter) WRAPPERS, TELEGRAMS, POW MAIL FORMS (incl. Red Cross), MAIL FORWARDING NOTES, POSTAL SERVICE LABELS AND WAFER SEALS, RECEIPTS, COMPLAINT FORMS, POSTAGE STAMPS (Fieldpost, Occupation in the 8 areas, etc), CINDERELLA, MILITARY DOCUMENTS, OTHER MATERIALS.
We may also note the two SUPPLEMENTS comprising: a) - the special overprinted fieldpost stamps issued in ITALY, in the Friuli occupation area, after the Caporetto battle of 1918 and which were only in use for ca. 60 hours! All overprints are described and illustrated, including the scarce, double prints and other varieties! b) - The BUKOWINA SPECIAL TAX STAMPS FOR WAR INVALIDS: Vol.3 is the only catalogue published so far that is listing these stamps and offering full illustrations of documents applied with these. An inventory of offices of use, colour varieties, prices for single stamps or combinations on documents are also provided.
All three volumes = 1300 pages in full colours, richly illustrated, format B5 (25 x 18 cm) .
Format: B5 (25 x 17 cm) extended A3 format (48 x 33 cm)
The CATALOGUE is softback, the covers being made of cardboard with a pleasant gloss; the binding is resistant, the pages would not fall apart as sometimes may happen in some "modern" books. It will be delivered in a protective air-bubble package.
Please
note that Volumes 1-2 weigh almost 2 kilos (i.e. ca. 4 pounds)
and are printed on good quality paper (min. 80 grams/ sq.m.) in full colours that would not let the printing on one side be visible on the other side. The lot also comprises book signs for each volume and the above illustrated
map which is the reprint of an original map issued in 1894 by the Kuk Army, where I have added the tables detailing on the conventional signs and the location of each Army Corps and Regiments throughout the empire.
The map offers the Army Corps and Regiment (recruitment) coverage of the imperial territory, enabling the scholar or the collector with supplementary information required for collectors of home/local/interest topics. An army unit cachet may usually identify or offer clues on the Regiment or Army Corps of provenance, thus establishing a territorial interest. A table filled in on the map will offer a synthesis of the data with the locations for each Regiment headquarter, per provinces and the pertaining Army Corps indications.
In this respect, more information and www. addresses are provided in Chapter I of the Catalogue and in the Bibliography, where the structure of the Army can be studied in deep, by means of books which can be consulted on-line.
For instance, a Romanian collector may be interested in the mail of Rgt. 41 providing from the soldiers or personnel recruited in the province of Bukowina (its Northern part being now in Ukraine), Regiments 2, 5, 31, 50, 51, 62, 63, 64, 82, (Transylvania), 5, 85 (Maramures), 29, 33, 43, 61 (Banat), 37 (Crisana / Partium) since all these cover - partially - the territory of the Romanian nation that were occupied and administered for 218 years by the Habsburg empire (1699 to 1918).
For some time, other parts of the Romanian territory had also been occupied by the Russian and the Ottoman empires, (but that is another matter and is not covered in the Catalogue).
Summary
___________________________________
The Summary can be inferred from the Covers 4 and 8,
illustrated on the Pictures page, and from the inside Summary, given in full in the PICTURES section.
But the catalog comprises far more than the cards: it offers a reliable classification system, for the first time, and the basis for
enlarged studies in the field. Each item is illustrated in colours and many
cards have varieties and errors illustrated with the basic card type. It gives
valuations, while some statistical data plus a bibliography are provided at the
end of Volume II.
On the first ca. 120 pages, the problem of the
fieldpost cards is analyzed, theoretised, exemplified. Examples are given with
relevant illustrations of each point taken, along with maps, tables etc. A
survey of the Empire's Population in 1914 based on the 1910 census would show that
Germans (Austrians) accounted for ca. 36-37% and Hungarians for ca. 43-44% of the population
in the territories of the many nationalities they were administering... Those statistical data would not express a reality, though, as the non-Hungarian nations had been submitted
to a massive assimilation / Hungarisation process for ca 50 years prior to the WW1 soon after Hungary had become an equal partner to Austria, within the two-headed empire
- and for hundreds of years before that... The Austrians were not very fair masters either, but there was a sizable difference in the Austrian half of the empire in which concerns the rights of the governed nations. Naturally,
certain nations were concentrated in certain territories that they regarded as
their national homeland and much of the Austrian or Hungarian administration
was resented, being in many respects perceived as allogenic. Legislation was sometimes specifically targeting the non-Austrians
and especially the non-Hungarians. Hence, the tensions that had doomed the Empire's integrity for quite a time and which, in the end, incurred the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy.
A detailed table would analyze the participation in war of the Enteinte's and the Central Powers'
armies and the casualties inflicted on them.
Did you know, for instance, that ca. 50% of the French army were wounded in the
war? Or that more than 20% of ALL the Serbian population were killed by the Austro-Hungarians and Serbia lost more civilians than soldiers killed during the
occupation? Or that Rumania lost 250,000 soldiers (dead) of its 1,234,000 army on the battle field and ca.
500,000 civilians during the German occupation? That Austro-Hungary lost
almost 40% of the army as wounded or crippled? etc...
The book is not just a list of cards, nicely illustrated in colours - it is also a
display of facts and details.
Note that the book is printed in a very limited edition!
A few more details:
___________________________________
Title: THE "K.u.K. FELDPOST" MAIL 1914-1918 - PART I: FIELDPOST CARDS
- Author: Octavian
Tăbăcaru (Prof. Ing) / Brașov, Romania.
- summarizing: 40+ years of study and collector's experience, and a study carried on more than 80,000 pcs. of K.u.k. fieldpost cards mailed form all fronts, including Albania, Bosnia, Belgium, Dalmatia, France, Greece and the Balkan Front, Italy, Montenegro, Palestine, Poland, Rumania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine - used by the Army or the Kriegsmarine in the Gulf of Cattaro, on the Danube, on the Black or Adriatic sea, in the Far East missions, in the Helgoland and the Jutland battles, in Gallipoli, etc.
- issued: (Vols. 1-2) on 22 November 2013 and (Vol. 3) on 28 May 2017.
- format: B5 (25,5 x 17, 5 cm), in full colours.
- size: 1,300 pages organized in 3 volumes (606, 402, 292 pages); 12 coloured covers (inner, outer)
- language: integrally bi-lingual, Roumanian and English.
- class: Magnum Technicolor Opus.
- catalogue listed positions for the fieldpost cards only, in Volumes 1-2: 1,750
- valuations: yes - in value points.
- illustrations: each item is illustrated in the catalogue.
- details: varieties and errors included with the basic types.
- printed output (first run): 50 copies, Author's edition, ISBN.
- extra: one extended A3 map (reproduction of a 1894 military map) with
the Army Corps and Regimental recruitment areas, processed Regiment locations
table and sign translations included.
- extra: 400+ documentary illustrations on WW I throughout the
catalogue, many from original photos.
Optional: almost 4000+ images are available, comprising illustrative material:
- collection 1 comprising cca. 3000 images of the illustrated FPCs plus other cards used for documentation and not included in the catalogue;
- collection 2 comprising cca. 800 images with the documentary images illustrating the catalogue plus many other images illustrating the war, not used in the catalogue itself. Many images provide from the magazines issued during WW 1 or from genuine photos taken by the soldiers during the war.
NOTE: the order of the images does not grant any copyright to the owner, the content of the memory stick will be offered for personal documentation only and not for commercial use, in any possible or imaginable way. This limitation of right will apply on the entire duration of the physical existence of the content, even if copied on another machine or to any other support.
The price for one collection is 19 EUR (all costs comprised, including postage and packing plus PayPal fees).
The price for both collections is 32 EUR (all costs comprised, including postage and packing plus PayPal fees)
ORDERS:
Prices (for printed copies. Note: postage costs and Paypal fees not included):
1- CATALOGUE (Vols 1-2 only) - 112,00 EUR (2 volumes, map and book signs included).
THE PRINTED EDITION IS NOW SOLD OUT
BUT: An electronic edition can be ordered, and it is immediately available on a flash-pen / memory stick.
2- CATALOGUE (Vol 3 only) - 40.00 EUR (1 volume, map and book signs included).
3- CATALOGUE (Vols 1-2-3) - 144.99 EUR (3 volumes, map and book signs included).
All volumes are also available on a memory stick of 16 GB, in pdf format, easy to use with a computer, a tablet or maybe a mobile telephone)
SPECIAL OFFER 1 : Volumes 1-2 , printed edition + memory stick edition = 132,00 EUR (instead of 142 EUR) plus delivery costs and PayPal fees, see below.
Delivery costs:
a) Printed edition: Volumes 1-2 only- Europe: 30 EUR; World: 40 EUR;
Volume 3 only- Europe: 18 EUR; World: 22 EUR;
Volumes 1-2-3 Europe: 46 EUR; World: 58 EUR;
b) Memory stick only, Registered air mail (prioritaire): Europe plus Israel: 8 EUR; World: 10 EUR;
SPECIAL OFFER 2: Volumes 1-2 , printed edition + memory stick edition + 2 image collections, world delivery: = 244,99 EUR, all expenses comprised, including the Paypal fees (instead of 274,99 EUR).
SPECIAL OFFER 3: Volumes 1-2-3 , printed edition + memory stick edition + 2 image collections, world delivery: = 264,99 EUR, all expenses comprised, including the Paypal fees (instead of 294,99 EUR).
Payment will be due as:
- direct transfer into my Euro bank account: payment possible in any major currency, please ask for my IBAN account
details).
- electronic transfer: WesternUnion, MoneyGram, EuroGiro (please ask for my postal address).
OR
- PayPal (extra: 5 % will be due for PayPal fees coverage, on the buyer's account,
whereas the Interbanking and ATM charges will be on my account.)
- NOTE: larger orders of more than 5 copies may command a discount, please contact the Author.
- DEALERS, CLUB LIBRARIES: please inquire with the Author, deductions and installments possible.
- AFR MEMBERS: special discounts applicable if ordered through the AFR Club channels;
- NOTE: if delivered in Romania, the POSTAGE costs will be much lower (the local inland mail fees apply).
History
___________________________________
In 2014, on 28 June, an assassination was commemorated: The SARAJEVO assassination that would lead one month later to the outbreak of the First World War. An army of near 10 million soldiers recruited throughout the territories of the nations occupied and administered by the Austrians (and, from 1867, also by the Hungarians) or the Habsburg Empire as it was known, allied with Germany and Turkey in the so-called CENTRAL POWERS alliance (Bulgaria would also join the Centrals in 1915) would fight against the armies of the Entente, an alliance comprising mainly The BRITISH, FRENCH and the RUSSIAN empires. The bone of contention was presumably Serbia, a victim of the Austro-Hungarian aggression that had been worriedly looked at with suspicion by the latter ever since the national state of the Serbs had been created soon after 1800 and became autonomous in 1830. (A national state near the Austrian empire was a definite threat to the integrity of an empire occupying the territory of 12 nations! A legitimacy crisis had always been looming above the late two-headed empire - as any other empire actually...) It could give ideas to the so many Serbs living in the occupied - and, from 1908, annexed - Bosnia-Herzegovina, to other Slavs who were amassed both in the Southern and Northern provinces of the Empire, it could give hopes to the Italians or Rumanians whose territories were also partly occupied by the Austrians and the Hungarians, it could make Poles or Ukrainians raise their heads, Jews ask for more consideration, gypsies ask for freedom from serfdom, etc...). Belgium and Greece were other combatants in that war plus a most symbolic participation by Japan. Italy would join in 1915, Rumania would join in August 1916 and the United Stated would join War in April 1917, following the sinking of the Cunard paquebot Lusitania when ca. 1200 persons were killed among whom ca. 120 American citizens, including some famous celebrities of the time. A German submarine had done a very poor - or very thorough - job... In October 1917, the Russian defection would leave a 1200 km-large front defended only by Rumania, which was thus forced into a desperate fight - that actually halted the German impetus on the Carpathians- and then into a forced peace and submission into a partial and temporary German / Austro-Hungarian / Bulgarian occupation. Yet a smaller part of Rumania remained unoccupied and proved impenetrable for the German attacks - a small nut hard to crack where the German teeth finally broke in the famous MARASESTI battle. That was the point where the German advance in the East was stopped.
The principles emphasized by President Wilson of USA in the 14-point plan for Peace would form the basis for the birth of new national states on the ruins of the defunct empires (Austro-Hungary, Germany, Ottoman Empire, Russia). Austrians would have an almost exclusively German Austrian state, the Hungarians would, for the first time in their history, represent a majority in their own country, France would regain the lost provinces occupied by Germany in 1870-1, Serbia would be the nucleus of a larger South-Slavic country S.H.S. (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929), a free Poland will be reborn, the Baltic states would regain a short-lived independence before being re-invaded by the greedy Russian empire, dissimulated under the name of USSR... New nations would appear (Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, etc) while other nationalities would reunite with their national states (Serbs, Italians, Poles, Rumanians, Ukrainians...). A few local wars would continue after WW1 in Europe while in Turkey, a terrible genocide that had witnessed the assassination of more than 1,2 million Armenians would be denied - and still is ... (not much of news as Turks started systematically assassinating Christians and most of all Armenians since 1894 - ca. 200,000 being killed in Constantinople for instance in one killing spree. The Young Turks - opposing the sultan and the obsolete Imperial system but not rejecting the idea of enslaving or exterminating other nations - were led by rather nationalistic ideas...). The Kurds would remain without their country, their national territory being split among Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. Blame the Great Powers for that... Then, the Turks will continue with another massacre in Smyrne - this time, against the Greeks who had lived in Anatolia for more than one or two thousand years before the Turks migrated in... In Russia, the traditional Imperialism expressed by the new scourge of Communism would deface human values and reassert the typical Russian leaders' disregard for the freedom of their own people and that of other nations. Nowadays, we can see its roots are running deep are still kicking well... In Germany, the seeds of Nazism were being planted by the burden of a terrible peace treaty, while Italy was reborn with Fascism in mind... In short, WW1 meant the end of old trouble and in the same time the beginning of new trouble.The Fieldpost cards used by the KuK Army during the war were in the range of billions but remained uncharted as such for the 100 years that passed from the end of the war until today.... Now, not very many have survived the passing of one century but there are still many hundreds of thousands or maybe millions available out there - although really worth collecting items are not that many as they may seem...