Chapter V.

Russia — [War Charity Stamps] — [Portraits of the Tsars] — [War Stamps of 1914] — [Japan — War with China] — [The Empress Jingo] — [Triumphal Military and Naval Reviews] — [Kiao-chow]— [Belgium] — [King Albert] — [Bombardment of Malines] — [Private Postal Service] — [Germanised Posts] — [Red Cross Stamps] — [Bogus Stamps] — [Postmarks] — [Serbia] — ["Death Mask" Stamps] — [King Peter] — [Montenegro — King Nicholas.]

Russia. The Empire of the Tsars has provided collectors with a few stamps of philanthropic interest in connection with its wars. A set of four denominations was issued in 1905 and sold at 3 kopecs per stamp in excess of the face-value, this extra sum going to the fund organised by the Imperial Women's Patriotic Union for the benefit of orphans of soldiers and sailors who fell in the war with Japan. The following are the descriptions of the stamps which were printed by the Imperial Printing Office at St. Petersburg in the delicate colour work for which that establishment is justly celebrated; the figure in brackets denotes the price, in kopecs, charged for each, including the 3 kopecs charity contribution ([Figs. 167-170]):

3(6)kopecs,red-brown, cerise, and yellow-green.
5(8)"violet, red-lilac, and buff.
7(10)"dark blue, pale blue, and rose.
10(13)"dark blue, pale blue, and orange.

167     168     169

170

Normally the stamps are perforated 12 × 12½, but the 3 (6) kopecs exists perforated 13, 13½; 11½; and a compound of these two measures. The 7 (10) and 10 (13) kopecs also exist perforated 13, 13½. The stamps appear to have been designed

by Richard Sarring, an artist attached to the great printing works of the Russian Government. The subjects represented are—

3kopecs.Monument of Admiral Nachimoff at Sebastopol, a hero who was wounded in the Crimean War.
5"Monument to two national heroes of the Tartar dominion, Minin and Pascharski.
7"Statue of Peter the Great.
10"The Kremlin, with statue of Alexander II. in the foreground.

The small doles of 3 kopecs per stamp collected in this manner for the orphans' fund yielded about 50,000 roubles, roughly £5600.

The portraits of the Tsars never appeared on the stamps of Russia until 1913, when a very fine portrait and view series of stamps were issued ([Figs. 171-187]), and although not issued as war stamps they are full of reminiscence of the three centuries of the stirring history of the Romanofs.

The set begins with a picture of Peter the Great, after a portrait by the Dutch painter De Moor, on the 1 kopec stamp. There is another portrait of Peter on the 4 kopecs stamp, this one being copied from an engraving of the picture painted by Kneller to the order of King William III., and now at Hampton Court. Czar Alexander II. figures on the green 2 kopecs stamp, and Alexander III. is portrayed on the 3 kopecs. The present Czar, Nicholas II., appears on the 7 kopecs brown, the 10 kopecs blue, and the highest value in the set, viz., the 5 roubles (1 rouble = 2s. 1½d.). A portrait of Catherine II., after the painter Skorodoñmow, and another of Elizabeth II. after Tchemesow, add two more to the list of illustrious females in the stamp collectors' portrait gallery. These are on the 14 kopecs green and 50 kopecs brown, respectively. The other Czars depicted are Nicholas I. (15 kopecs), Alexander I. (20 kopecs), Alexei Michaelovitch (25 kopecs), Paul I. (35 kopecs), and last, but actually the first and founder of the dynasty, Michael Feodorowitch (70 kopecs).

On three of the rouble values are views which include The Kremlin at Moscow (1 rouble), the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg (2 roubles), and the Romanof House (3 roubles).

171     172     173

174     175     176

177     178     179

180     181     182

183     184     185

186     187

Early in the course of the present war the Russians invaded East Prussia, and it is reported that they were using Russian stamps in that country, but up to the time of writing, examples have not come to hand. The only special marks yet noted in this country from Russia are various censor marks and labels (Fig. 188).

188

In this war philatelic history is repeating itself, for Russia has issued a new set of war charity postage stamps ([Figs. 189-192]) for a fund organised by the Imperial Women's Patriotic Union, of the face values 1 kopec, 3, 7 and 10 kopecs, each of which sells for one kopec more than the franking value denoted. The extra kopec goes to the fund, which is to relieve distress among widows and orphans of soldiers and sailors killed in the war (see [Frontispiece]).

193     194

Japan. The rapid modern rise of our Far Eastern Ally to power is marked upon a few interesting stamps of a commemorative character. Japan's successful war against China (1894-95) was commemorated by an issue of four stamps in 1896. These are of two denominations, each of which is in two varieties, an outcome of an Eastern etiquette which at a later date was evinced in the stamps of the Republic of China. The Japanese stamps in question portray two heroes of the war; the denominations were 2 sen and 5 sen, but that there should be no suggestion of any inequality in their admiration for the two heroes, the Japanese postal authorities had two stamps of each

denomination prepared so that each warrior figured on a 2 sen and also a 5 sen stamp. Thus neither could be regarded as being valued higher than the other, and neither could be said to be given greater prominence. One of the portraits (Figs. 193, 194) is that of the late Marshall, Prince Arisugawa Taruhito, chief of the staff of the Army of the Japanese Empire, and the other (Figs. 195, 196) is the late Lieutenant General Prince Kitashirakawa, Commander of the Imperial Guards engaged in the subjugation of Formosa.

195     196

At a later date, 1901, there was a proposal to commemorate the services of the late Lieutenant General, and a 3 sen stamp was announced; its design was to comprise the imperial crest (the chrysanthemum) and a Formosan Shinto Shrine. The stamps were heralded as about to be issued in time for the festival of the Shrine celebrated at Taipeh on October 27 and 28, 1901.

In 1905, as the outcome of Japanese military successes in the East against China and Russia, full administrative control was taken over Corea, and a special stamp of the value 3 sen was issued to mark the amalgamation of the Japanese and Corean postal services.

Yet another pair of stamps commemorates somewhat ancient history; they were issued in 1908 and bear the portrait of the Empress Jingo-Kôgô (Fig. 197), who is stated to have been Regent from 201 to 269 in lieu of her son Ojin. She waged a victorious war against Corea. The legend goes that the god Sumiyoshi acting as pilot for her on the sea, caused gigantic fishes to surround the boat and keep it afloat when a great storm threatened to send the ship to the bottom.

197

198     199

The next two stamps (Figs. 198, 199) were issued on April 30, 1906, to mark, according to the inscriptions the "Campaign of the 37th and 38th years of Meiji. Memorial Postage Stamp of the Triumphal Military Review—One Sen five Rin" (or, for the higher value—Three Sen). In the centre is a trophy of arms, including a field gun, rifles, and ammunition, and the Imperial flag, the Crest or Chrysanthemum, within a wreath of rice plant and pine. In the spandrels are the five-pointed stars, badges worn by the Japanese soldiers.

200

Two years later a great naval review was held at Kobe, and although no special adhesive stamp was issued, a quaint postmark representing the bow of a battleship was used (Fig. 200).

201     202

The stamps already mentioned under Japan have only a commemorative association with war. In 1910 the 3 sen carmine stamp then current was specially overprinted with Japanese characters (Fig. 201), signifying war or field service. These were prepared for

and issued to the Japanese military and naval forces in China and Corea, and it is very probable that the Japanese forces recently co-operating with the British at Kiaochow used stamps of this kind, but with the overprint on the new 3 sen stamp illustrated (Fig. 202).

Belgium. Brave little Belgium, whose King is the outstanding hero of the present war has not hitherto had any occasion to provide collectors with war stamps since the first Belgian issue of adhesive postage stamps in 1849-50 with the portrait of Leopold I. (Figs. 203, 204). But the German invasion, and the gallant efforts to frustrate it, have left their mark imperishably in the stamp album. The last current ordinary stamps of Belgium were in four designs by M. Ed. Pellens, a professor at the Antwerp Académie des Beaux Arts, and these included a good portrait of King Albert ([Figs. 205-208]).

203     204

These stamps were manufactured at the Belgian State Stamp-printing factory at Malines, and as the factory was destroyed in the bombardment of the town late in August, it is unlikely that more of these stamps will be printed. The Belgian authorities

had been preparing a new issue of stamps before the war, and had ordered machinery in England, which at the time of writing is not delivered, but which will probably be delivered to the Government at Havre, where temporary arrangements will be made to supply Belgian stamps to the inhabitants of the small part of the country not in the hands of the enemy, and incidentally to be ready to reorganise the Belgian postal system as the Germans get driven further and further back to their own country.

205     206

207     208

Early in September, 1914, it was reported that a private postal service was working between Ostend and Blankenberghe, and Brussels, Namur and Nivelles at a charge of 1 franc per letter, but no information is yet to hand of any special stamps or postmarks being used in connection with the service.

209

The Germans have conducted the posts in Belgium with a view to the requirements of their own countrymen in the temporarily conquered land, and incidentally to make profit out of the Belgians and out of philatelists. There will no doubt be many interesting curiosities in the postmark line arising from the Germanisation of the names on the cancelling cachets, such as Lowen (Louvain), Lüttich (Liège), Kales (Ostend), etc. But the chief philatelic interest attaches to the issue of special stamps, or rather the ordinary German stamps, overprinted in Gothic type "Belgien", and with the currency surcharged in centimes (Fig. 209). Of these there are four

denominations, 3 centimes on 3 pfennig brown, 5 centimes on 5 pfennig green, 10 centimes on 10 pfennig red, and 25 centimes on 20 pfennig blue.

The Belgian Government authorised the preparation of stamps for collecting funds for the Red Cross, and these made their appearance on October 3, 1914. There are two sets of three values—5, 10 and 20 centimes. The set in the smaller size portrays King Albert (Figs. 210, 211), and the larger size stamps bear a picture of a monument commemorating the Belgian War of Independence, 1830 (Figs. 212, 213).

210     211

212     213

The Belgian Red Cross stamps were for some time rather difficult to obtain, as it appears that the stock was left behind at post offices to which the Belgian authorities have not had access since their removal to Havre. Undoubtedly vast numbers of these stamps could have been sold in England and elsewhere had they been procurable from Belgian sources.

214     215

The interest aroused in the Belgian Red Cross stamps, and the difficulty in obtaining them, has probably been responsible for the attempt to exploit collectors with a set of three labels purporting to be "new Belgian stamps, sold in Flanders only during two days. The emission was very small, only 15,000 series, which were paid the double of the nominal value, i.e., 70 centimes." The "stamps" are figured 5 (green), 10 (red) and 25 (blue), but no "c" or centimes. They bear within a fancy frame lettered BELGIQUE at top and BELGIE below portraits of King Albert and his Consort (Figs. 214, 215). Messrs. Alfred Smith & Son submitted these "stamps" to the Belgian postal administration, and were told that not only are they not official stamps, but that "they have apparently been obliterated with a stolen or forged date-stamp." The "postmark" reads ROULERS—5 OCTO—18-19—1914.

The Belgian Government moved to Havre in France on October 13, 1914, and there they have a special post office using the postmark [Fig. 216]. The headquarters of the habitations of the Belgian Government are reckoned part of Belgium, and while the Belgians may send letters to their different addresses in Havre or to Belgium, for the unit rate of 10 centimes (1d.), letters for France, even for another part of Havre, are treated as foreign letters, and require to be prepaid at the 25 centimes (2½d.) rate.

There are also Belgian military postcards at present in use by the soldiers, and a variety of military postmarks, of which Fig. 217 is an example.

216     217

An interesting trio of covers has been received from a young marine who was with the Naval Brigade at Antwerp. The first, dated October 6, 1914, has the postmark (Fig. 218).

218     220

On the 11th he was evidently interned in Leeuwarden (Fig. 220) Holland, his letter being censored ([Fig. 39]). On the 27th he wrote from Groningen, where most of the naval brigade men were interned. The letter has the Groningen machine cancellation, and Fig. 221 struck in violet:

221

Serbia. Revolutionary disturbances have assisted the changes of the stamps of Serbia. Michael Obrenovich III., who figures on the issue of 1866, was assassinated on June 10th, 1868, by the friends of the abdicated prince, Alexander Karageorgevich. Milan IV., his successor, had a troublous reign; during his period the country was recognised as a kingdom with Milan as king, but he abdicated in 1889 in favour of Alexander, his son. The portraits of Milan and Alexander figure on the stamps of their respective reigns, and in the case of Alexander we get one of those philatelic issues which must imprint on our minds the memory of notable or notorious events. It is within the memory of most of our readers that Alexander and his consort, Queen Draga, were assassinated by a number of military officers in 1903, and the house of Karageorgevich once again ruled in Serbia in King Peter, the present monarch. At the time of the assassination a new series of stamps bearing the portrait of Alexander was in readiness for issue, but before they were sent out under the new regime the effigy of the murdered king was almost completely obliterated by the overprinting of a design of the Serbian Arms (Fig. 222).

222

223     224

The year following the grimmest of all the royal tragedies of Serbia the surviving dynasty commemorated its centenary, and issued perhaps the most sensational stamp series known to collectors. These will go down to posterity as the "Death Mask" stamps, although the curiosity of artistry which led to this designation probably owes more to the excited imagination

of the Serbian and foreign public than to any gruesome intent on the part of revolutionary artists.

The Coronation stamps of King Peter, issued September 21, 1904, are of large size, and in two designs, by G. Janovic. M. Mouchon was the engraver, and the stamps were printed at the French Government Stamp Printing Factory in Paris. The names of the designer and engraver appear in microscopic letters below the design of each stamp. The first design ([Fig. 223]) shows a medal on which the profile of the new King Peter is superimposed upon the profile of the founder of the dynasty "Kara," or Black George. The names inscribed upon the medal are KARA GJORGJE at left, and PETAR I. at right. To the left and right of the medal respectively are the centennial dates 1804-1904, and below are the Serbian Arms, with the motto SPES MIHI PRIMA DEUS. Along the top of the stamp in Sclavonic characters is KRALJEVINA SRBIJA (Kingdom of Servia), the value in PARA is in the lower left corner, and the word POSHTA in the lower right corner. This design was used for all the para values.

For the higher values in dinar ([Fig. 224]), the same frame design is used, but for the medallion what may have been the reverse of a Coronation medal is shown. This is reputed to be an allegory representing the successes of the guerilla leader Kara-George, founder of the dynasty against the Turks in 1804. There is a minute inscription on the medallion below the picture signifying THE DAWN OF LIBERTY, 1804.

These stamps were at first received by collectors with disdain and some disgust; the memory of the tragedy of June 10th, 1903, was still too fresh to allow the world to join readily in any jubilation over the centenary of a dynasty which had been dragged from obscurity after many years, to occupy a throne lately emptied by the foul hands of assassins. It is even said that the early sales of the stamps were entirely disappointing. But this was all changed from the moment rumours of a cunning intrigue attached themselves to the issue.

It is probably—almost certainly—an accidental effect produced by the drawing or engraving of the two heads, one over the other, that they produce in more ways than one, other composite "faces." By masking the lower part of the profile of Kara George it is possible to distinguish a new face with an ugly gashed brow; but the alleged "Death Mask" of

Alexander is seen by turning the stamp upside down, and regarding that portion of the inverted profiles which may be marked off in triangle fashion with the chins as the base of the triangle. There is certainly a curious and hideous effect, but similar, if less ghastly, artistic curiosities occur in numbers of other stamps, and in many other forms of pictorial representation, and in the case of the Serbian Coronation issue it is probably pure accident. Fig. 225 represents the current type of Serbian stamp, with a military portrait of King Peter.

225

226     227

228     229

230     231

Montenegro. Tsar Nicholas of Montenegro has not given us any special war stamps, but the warrior King's portraits, at various stages in his career appear on the stamps issued in 1910 for his jubilee. The 1 para shows him as he was during his student days in Paris ([Fig. 226]), the 2 and 20 paras show him with his bride at the date of their marriage, 1860 ([Fig. 227]). The other values show various portraits of the King, including one of him on a charger leading his troops to battle ([Fig. 228]).