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This attempts to include the description in the Przedbórz Biographical Dictionary, which perhaps is based on a 1961 by Marian Dunski that I don't have yet. Thanks to Roman Harmel for summarizing

• Unknown date A: stamps designed and ordered from Panski. I'll bet Abramson guaranteed or paid for the order, unless Franczak did it based on his position as postmaster and/or his position as city councilman.
• 18 Dec. 1917: 4 gr. stamps delivered; bisects used for 2 gr. rate. Franczak launches the scheme, probably with no one's approval, although some of the local important folks must have been forewarned.
• 21 Dec. 1917: 2 gr. stamps delivered, so bisects were no longer needed. As noted elsewhere, the stamps create a big sensation.
• Early January, 1918 (probably): Urbanski comes to town, reprimands Franczak, undoubtedly gives a "cease and disist order".
• 16 Jan. 1918: The City Council approves the project, according to the next day's letter.
• 17 Jan. 1918: The mayor writes a letter (in Polish? In German?) to the Austrian K.u.K. Kreiskommandatur in Konsk. The letter has been translated by Kronenberg [2000, scan V7_P66] as follows: (I've changed some of his punctuation and formatting.)

  City Council of the City of Przedbórz, County of Konsk
  
  Nr. 112          17 January 1918.
  
  To the Imperial and Royal County Command in Konsk
  
  To subsidize the local treasury, the City Council decided at a meeting held on the 16th of this month, to issue city stamps in national colors with partial views of the city of Przedbórz: e.g., the local city hall, etc. The income from these stamps is expected to total 1000 kronen.
  
  Reporting this, I am requesting that the Imperial and Royal County Command approve the above decision of the council.
  Mayor Kosmulski
  
  

  Note that now the letter (and the approval, see below) specify the stamps will have city views, no more Polish Eagles, thank you.
• Petriuk, while not quoting the letter verbatim, believes it requested the stamps be issued "for charitable purposes, to improve sanitation, or to beautify the town." This difference from Kronenberg's text somewhat increases the confusion and ambiguity which characterizes both the beginning and end of this endeavor.
• Kronenberg is either quoting Dudzinski's [1935a] version of the letter, or is using his source, because Dudzinski's version also does not mention "for charitable purposes, to improve sanitation, or to beautify the town."
• 19 Jan. 1918: Approval is granted, as follows: (Kronenberg, same scan)

  Imperial and Royal County Command
  Nr. 1072/18 Konsk 19 January 1918.
  
  
  To the Mayor of the City of Przedbórz.
  
  Considering the request of 17 January of this year, Nr. 112, the I. & R. County Command permits the sale of stamps with the views of the town, provided that the income from this enterprise collected by the city's treasury will be used for charitable purposes, to improve sanitation, or to beautify the town.
  
  Directing County Commissioner Echhardt
  
  

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• (March 15, 1918: Rada Miejska (City Council) first appears on the stamps, and possibly on the cancellations as well.)
• Notice the ambiguities in the above correspondence:
  • The mayor doesn't explicitly say the stamps will be used as local delivery postage stamps.
  • K.u.K. Kreiskommandatur Echhardt appears to be authorizing only the sale of charity labels.

    Kronenberg (scan V7_P66) agrees that the permission was only for charity labels, but he goes on to say that the fact that they were used as local delivery stamps de facto created their status as legitimate postal items.

  • Issue I, in use starting 17 December, 1917, showed Polish Eagles, rather than "views of the town," thus creating a major scandal. The latter were introduced on 26 Feb., more than a month after "approval." Issue I was probably an attempt to "push the occupation envelope", and then it took a month after 19 January to get the new stamps printed and delivered.
  • And the postal authorities don't appear to have been consulted at all. After all, Echhardt wouldn't have consulted them if he were only approving charity labels, which aren't postal items.
• These ambiguities set the stage for further developments, issues and questions:
  • One writer (I forgot who) went to the Austrian postal archives in Vienna, and says there is no trace of any approval by the Austrian postal authorities.
  • Perhaps the abrupt termination of the local delivery scheme in August 1918 resulted from
    1. the postal authorities discovering it and insisting that it be stopped,
    2. or the K.u.K. Kreiskommandatur discovering that these weren't being treated as charity labels, and stopping their postal use.
    3. or most likely, the K.u.K. Kreiskommandatur heard that the postal authorities were investing the situation, and he decided there was no "upside" to allowing the program to continue.

       Kronenberg (scan V7_P51) is the geneses of this idea, because he says that about the time the 4th issue was issued, the civilian postal administration in Vienna started investigating the Przedbórz situation, but they were so inefficient that they still investigating when the war ended and they no longer had any jurisdiction.

  • Perhaps when the non-postal 6th-8th issues were sold at the post office, they really were being treated as charity labels as the K.u.K. Kreiskommandatur had approved.
  • A local photographer, L. Helfand, provided the photos used as the basis of the three views of the town used on the three low denominations of each set of four stamps. This is according to Roman Harmel's translation of the PSB.

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  © 2008-12 Sam Ginsburg.

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  Last modified 19 Feb. 2012