HUNGARY
It seems likely that telegraph seals were common to Hungary and Austria up to the break-up of Austro-Hungary in 1918.
The only specifically Hungarian seal I have seen is from 1942.
| Updates. The above was written by Steve Hiscocks. As with Austria, I have included items that date from Austro-Hungarian times but intended for use in the Hungarian half. I have had to re-number them. For this I have used 'RH' (Revised Hiscocks) numbers. No pricing as yet. |
In practice, within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Austrian and Hungarian administrations appear to have acted independently in regards their telegram seals.
Each produced seals for territories with which they were traditionally associated with, though some areas may have used seals from both.
I have not as yet come across any that were intended to be used across the whole Empire.
It has therefore been expedient to continue with Steve Hiscocks' process of listing them separately.
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| Until 1918 Empire. 2 crowns. |
1918-19 Republic Crowns removed. |
1919-38 Kingdom. |
1939-44 Vienna Award. |
1944-45 Fascist. The green arrows are a symbol of the Arrow Cross Party. |
1946-49 1 crown. |
1949-56 Stalinist. |
1956-57 Revolution - Crushed by Soviet Union. |
1957-89 New arms. Intended to be more popular. |
1990 onwards |
From 1868 to 1918 there existed an independent Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia as an autonomous region within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Capital was Zagreb and principal language was Croatian. For these, see below.
General
TAVIRDA (Telegraph)
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| #1 1876-9, 30.9mm | #2 1891-1895, 19.6mm (20 scallops) | #2 1904, 19.7mm (24 scallops) |
POSTA (Post)
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| #3 1913, 19.9mm, 19 scallops. | #4 1914-16, 19.8mm, 18 scallops. | #4a 1915-16, 19.85mm, 23 scallops. |
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| #5 1916, 19.9mm, 20 scallops. | #5a 1918, 19.8mm, ~20 scallops. |
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| #6 1931-35, 18.4mm, 18 scallops. | #7 1940-44, 18.5mm, 18 scallops. |
| RH # | Type. | was | Description | Mint | Used | On telegram |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RH1 | 1 | - | 1876-9 Scalloped(26). Black on lavender. | - | - | - |
| RH2 | 2 | - | 1891-1895 Scalloped(20). Black on red. | - | - | - |
| RH2a | - | 1902-7 Scalloped (21). Black on red. | - | - | - | |
| RH2b | - | 1904 Scalloped (24). Black on red. | - | - | - | |
| RH3 | 3 | - | 1913 Scalloped(19). Black on red. | - | - | - |
| RH4 | 4 | - | 1914-6 Scalloped(18). Black on red. | - | - | - |
| RH4a | 4a | - | 1915 Scalloped (23). Black on red. | - | - | - |
| RH5 | 5 | - | 1916 Scalloped(20). Black on carmine. | - | - | - |
| RH5a | 5a | - | 1918 Scalloped (~20). Black on purplish-red. | - | - | - |
| RH6 | 6 | - | 1931-35 Scalloped(18). Red on white granite paper. | - | - | - |
| RH7 | 7 | #1 | 1940-44 Scalloped(18). Red on white granite | - | - | - |
Though these have lost the 'Tavirda', I have seen all of these used on telegrams.
BI-LINGUAL
BRZOJAV is Serbo-Croatian for Telegram.
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| #8 1905 21mm. (with stars) | #9 1910-11, 21mm | #10 1918 21mm. (no stars) |
| RH # | Type. | was | Description | Mint | Used | On telegram |
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| RH8 | 8 | - | 1905 Scalloped. Black on purple (Posta). | - | - | - |
| RH9 | 9 | - | 1910-11 Scalloped (19). Black on purple (Tavirda). | - | - | - |
| RH10 | 10 | - | 1918 Scalloped. Black on purple (Posta, no stars). | - | - | - |
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| #11 1961-63, 21.5mm | #12 1993, 34mm (sealing envelope with telephone bill) |
I am unsure of the usage of these, but will include them for now at least.
| RH # | Type. | was | Description | Mint | Used | On telegram |
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| RH11 | 11 | - | 1961-3 Imperf. Red on white. | - | - | - |
| RH12 | 12 | - | 1993 Imperf. Yellow-brown on white. | - | - | - |
A third size Telegram of December 1916 to Szolnok written in German.
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia 1868-1918 (see above)
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| #1 1878-9, 31.2mm - Hungarian arms. | #2 1881, 29.9mm - different shield. | #3 1896? 20.3mm |
These simply say 'BRZOJAVNA POSTAJA' or 'telegraph Station' in Croatian. They are the only ones I have seen
from the Austro-Hungarian Empire with nothing in German or Hungarian.
#1 was used in Osijek (the seat of the Virovitica County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia) on a bi-lingual form of 1878.
#2 was used on a form with pre-printed year 188_ (in Hungarian and Slovenian), and used in Ilok (then in Croatia-Slavonia).
#3 was used on a form printed in 1896 (in Hungarian and Serbo-Croat I think), and used in Zagreb (then Capital of Croatia-Slavonia).
| RH # | Type. | was | Description | Mint | Used | On telegram |
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| RH1 | 1 | - | 1878-9 Scalloped(28). Black on blue. | - | - | - |
| RH2 | 2 | - | 1881 Scalloped(38). Black on blue. | - | - | - |
| RH3 | 3 | - | 1896? Scalloped(22). Black on purple. | - | - | - |
ICELAND
The label shown below as #1 [now #2] has been found in unused condition. Whether this really was a telegraph seal or an etiquette is not known.
#2 [now #4] has been found sealing telegrams from 1945 to 1954 and its status is not in doubt.
| Updates. The above was written by Steve Hiscocks. I have added a few and re-numbered. No pricing either. |
From 1814 to 1918 Iceland was a Danish dependency, though gaining a limited degree of independence from 1874.
From 1918 to 1944 Iceland was a fully sovereign Kingdom ruled by the King of Denmark, and from 17 June 1944 Iceland became a Republic.
World War II : Germany invaded and occupied neutral Denmark from 9 April 1940 until 1945.
Britain invaded neutral Iceland with a small force on 10 May 1940. This force later being increased to 25,000 troops of the British and Canadian armies.
These troops began to be replaced by US marines on 7 July 1941, but maintained a presence until 1947 though most had left by April 1942.
Iceland had a Telegraph system from 1906.
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| 1814-1903 Danish dependency. |
1903-19 Danish dependency. |
1919-44 Kingdom of Iceland. |
1944 onwards Republic of Iceland. |
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| #1 1927 (43 scallops, 94 pearls) LANDSSÍMINN (Company name) |
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| #2 1940s? 39.8mm Large centre without accents on TELEGRAPHES. (92 pearls, 64 scallops [p92s64]) with Crown. |
#3 1940s? 40.2mm Smaller centre with accents on TÉLÉGRAPHES. (86 pearls, 61 scallops [p86s61]) with Crown. |
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| #4 1944? 45mm (75 pearls, 52 scallops [p75s52]) Crown removed. |
#5 1944? 43.5mm (75 pearls, 53 scallops [p75s53]) letters align differently to pearls (e.g. 'A' of "TÉLÉGRAPHES"). |
My note: I find it odd that #2-5 should be written in French !
At the moment, my best guess is that the telegraph station was set up by Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, CASF of the Canadian "Z" Force in 1940.
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| #6 1945-54, 38.8mm (86 pearls, 43 scallops [p86s43]) | #7 Date? 38.8mm (86 pearls, 44 scallops [p86s44]) Thinner lettering, star changed. |
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| #8 35.8mm (76 circular perforations) |
| RH # | Type. | was | Description | Mint | Used | On telegram |
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| RH1 | 1 | - | 1927 Scalloped (43, 94 pearls). Red on white. Danish style. | - | - | - |
| RH2 | 2 | - | 1940s? Scalloped (64). Blue on white. Arms with Crown. | - | - | - |
| RH3 | 3 | - | 1940s? Scalloped (61). Blue on white. Arms with Crown. | - | - | - |
| RH4 | 4 | #1 | 1944? Scalloped (52). Dark blue on white. Crown removed. | - | - | - |
| RH5 | 5 | - | 1944? Scalloped (53). Dark blue on white (different alignment). | - | - | - |
| RH6 | 6 | #2 | 1945-54, Scalloped (43). Dark blue on white. | - | - | - |
| RH7 | 7 | - | Date? Scalloped (44). Dark blue on white. | - | - | - |
| RH8 | 8 | - | Perf.14. Multicoloured. Design changed. | - | - | - |
If anyone can provide scans to help with this, I am happy to give appropriate credit.
