Heads of postmark handstamps
The Musée de La Poste celebrates the return of 216 postmark handstamps that had been displaced in Germany during World War II. Thanks to the initiative
of the Museum für Kommunikation in Berlin and with the support of the French Commission for the Restitution of Property and the Compensation of Victims of Antisemitic Spoliations (CIVS), these handstamps have been returned to the Musée de La Poste and have come to enhance its collection.
These handstamps coming from regular post offices, as well as travelling or even military post offices act as silent witnesses to the Occupation.
Heads of postmark handstamps
1 –Used in Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle
These heads of handstamps, set on wooden handles and inked, were used to cancel mail with the date of the day. Some of them still include the “dating block”, which was comprised of moveable elements changed every day. The shape of the head can help identify the type of post office it was related to. A round shape was meant for the “revenue office” where any postal operation could be performed. A hexagonal shape was usually meant for a local post office performing simple operations.
2 – For travelling post offices operating in Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle
These heads were used in “travelling” sorting offices located on train carriages. The handstamp indicates the cities of origin and of destination for the railway line of the office.
3 – Used in the department of Nord
The handstamp from Jeumont bearing the inscription “Journaux P.P.” (Newspapers Postage Prepaid) was used for mailing newspapers and prints.
4 – From the French Army postal service
At the start of the war, several military post offices did their best to maintain communications. Among them, postal sectors were managed by soldiers tasked with collecting and distributing the soldiers’ mail. The handstamp bearing the number 253 was used in Moselle during the “Phoney War” (September 1939 - May 1940).
Steel, first half of the 20th century
Collection returned by the Museum für Kommunikation in Berlin to the Musée de La Poste, in 2024
