Earlier this year, a must-have publication for any collector of Czechoslovakia, who is interested in this period, was published. Nothing even remotely similar have been published yet.

The A4-size paperback book with 261 pages of text and almost 900 colour pictures document the functioning of the postal industry during the period of the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic. The book clearly presents the postal forms of the time in terms of their integration into the operation of the post office. Also included are postal regulations for the reception of mail, its dispatch, transportation, and delivery, including many tables of tariff data, an essential aid for collecting and valuating customs and postal stationery. The purpose of postal forms is described, the forms are numbered, and names are written in blue for better overview in the book, which many readers will appreciate, as it makes it much clearer. In the appendix there is a complete list of postal forms of Austrian origin (later taken over by the Czechoslovak postal administration) and the equivalents of the forms of Hungarian origin (all compiled from contemporary documents).

For the first time in history, the connection between Hungarian and Old Austrian postal forms is published in this breadth and the Hungarian types are also presented. The book links postal theory (regulations) and practice (actual forms), which has not been published to this extent in any book dealing with this period yet. Just for the sake of completeness, let us add that in the book the authors have used the work of the Polish mathematician Prof. Manterys and published Polish tariffs in the creation of a unified Polish money market, which refers to Silesia.

The selling price of this unique book is only 600 CZK (approx. €24,-) plus postage and it can be ordered directly from the author, who will be happy to sign it for you. Email: miroslav.stefek@seznam.cz The book was published in a relatively small edition of only a few hundred copies and can be expected to be sold out soon due to its quality.

Author: Miroslav Štefek

Contributors: Jan Kypast, Vladimír Schödelbauer

#czechoslovakia #czechoslovakpost