Railway Post

The first railway opened in Estonia on 5th November (according to the old calendar on 24th October) in 1870 on the Paldiski-Tallinn-Narva-Gatchina line. In the same year, the new railway was connected with the Petersburg-Warsaw railway. 

In 1877 Tapa-Tartu railway line was opened, which extended to Valga after ten years, where it was connected with the Pskov-Riga railway.
 
In 1896, the first narrow-gauge railway (750 mm) was established on the Valga-Pärnu railway line, and next year railway brunch from Mõisaküla to Viljandi, then continuing towards Paide and Tallinn's seaport. Traffic started to run between those two cities in 1901. 
 
By 1904, there were established up to 650 km worth of broad-gauge railways and 373 km narrow-gauge railways - consequently Estonian territory transformed into one of the most densely built railway brunch areas in Tsarist Russia.

By the time of Estonian Independence, there were 92 railway stations and between 1918-1940 nearly 60 new stations were built.     
                                                                                                                        
The official post service at Baltic railway started on 7th November (26th October) 1870.

Post offices were opened in railways stations to improve the better run of postal service, at first in Tallinn (1870), Tartu and Tapa (1877), and in Valga (1889). With the year of 1915, there were 276 post offices in 80 different railway stations. 
At the end of the Tsarist, there were 10 post wagons on five lines.

In the final years of Estonian independence, there were located 720 postal offices in 128 railway stations and served by railway officials.

Railway Post operated in Estonian from 1870 to 1998.
Mail transport at the Estonian railway ended in 1998, the last mail wagon was on the Tallinn-Narva line as a part of the Petersburg train. Railway history is long. The exhibition gives a brief glimpse from 1870 to 1940, also a couple of photos from the 1960s.


The exhibition is in two parts.

* * * 
Whilst putting together the exhibition, the material was from the Estonian National Museum stamps history and private collections. Under the info button in the toolbar, you can access background information about mail history.


Enjoy!

 Railway Post 

The first railway opened in Estonia on 5th November (according to the old calendar on 24th October) in 1870 on the Paldiski-Tallinn-Narva-Gatchina line. In the same year, the new railway was connected with the Petersburg-Warsaw railway. 
 
Five years later, a determined admirer of railway Johann Voldemar Jannsen wrote: „Once demand increased over the construction of Baltic railway, many hopelessly wagged their heads over the cost of it, considering the earnings and incomes many joked about the upcoming Baltic railway, calling it „lemon aka orange railway... .  But how are things now? What wasn't believed before, now every man needs to see themselves that Baltic railway with its independent earrings stands stronger than any other railway." (Estonian Postimees, 30.04.1875)
  
In 1877 Tapa-Tartu railway line was opened, which extended to Valga after ten years, where it was connected with the Pskov-Riga railway.
 
In 1896, the first narrow-gauge railway (750 mm) was established on the Valga-Pärnu railway line, and next year railway brunch from Mõisaküla to Viljandi, then continuing towards Paide and Tallinn's seaport. Traffic started to run between those two cities in 1901. 

Railway boosted the economy, freight and industry, as a result, it provided new settlements and laid grounds for new infrastructure. Also putting postage stamps into service and transferring post service from horse transport to railway, which was a tremendous milestone in history. 
  
The official post service at Baltic railway started on 7th November (26th October) 1870. At first, the service was provided with locked or sealed bags under postman/courier surveillance. They were assigned to transport with the passenger or freight trains, give out mailbags/-bundles and also receive them. 
 
Soon to save some time, mailbags were opened and sorted during the transportation. The next steps were moving post offices and mail wagons. The first one started out in 1838 between United Kingdom's Birmingham and Liverpool. During the Tsar, the local railway post service took orders from Petrograd's district. The first Tsarist wagon postage stamps were taken into circulation at the Gatchina-Paldiski line in 1871.

Post offices were opened in railways stations to improve the better run of postal service, at first in Tallinn (1870), Tartu and Tapa (1877), and in Valga (1889). With the year of 1915, there were 276 post offices in 80 different railway stations. 

Mailwagongs as of 1915:
 
Nr 39/40 Petrograd-Tapa-Riga, Riga-Tapa-Petrograd
Nr 89/90 Tapa-Haapsalu, Haapsalu-Tapa
Nr 125/126 Pihkva-Pärnu, Pärnu-Pihkva
Nr 238/240 Tallinn-Mõisaküla, Mõisaküla-Tallinn
Nr 271/272 Valga-Stockmanshof, Stockmanshof-Valga
 
Mailwagons were different from the passenger ones. For the Chinovnik aka postal official, they were according to second class passenger wagon requirements assigned a proper room for assorting the mail, also it was necessary to have a storage availability for bigger parcels. Both mail wagon outer walls had an opening, where it was possible to push the letters into the insides boxes with covers. Over the course of the Republic of Estonia, for the safety of mail and crew, wagon doors were kept closed from inside and windows were barred. Crew possessed firearms, although it's yet to be discovered whether it was ever used. It was forbidden for passengers to enter the wagons. 
 
According to the railway tariff regulation, the postal administration paid 20 marks for each running kilometer to the railway administration for the transportation of mail wagons.
 
Republic of Estonia logistics 

Railway and police departments cooperated intensively over the course Estonian Independence era, by doing so they were remarkably able to save some money. Luggage and parcels were often carried in the same wagon, railway officials exchanged mailbags with postal officials in the stations and issued luggage shipments. In the final years of Estonian independence, there were located 720 postal offices in 128 railway stations and served by railway officials.

The overall length of the railway branch was 1156,7 km, where mail wagons operated. Mainly mail transport was mainly operated through the transportation departments, which operated near the bigger post offices. Their main task was transporting mail bags between railway stations, post offices, and brunch stations. The crew consisted of over 60 people all over Estonia, usually consisting of two officials, but with an exception of the Tallinn-Valga line having three officials.

Mail wagons differed from other wagons (since the beginning of the 20th century) with their dark cherry colour and depicting mail horns on both sides of the wagon.

Mail transportation with mail wagons was reestablished in the Republic of Estonia in the middle of 1919. By 1934 mail wagons lines were rationalised and 8 of them kept on working out of 16 mail wagons. 
Pv (mail wagon) 1/2 Tallinn-Valga, Valga-Tallinn
Pv 3/4 Tallinn-Pärnu, Pärnu-Tallinn
Pv 5/6 Tallinn-Haapsalu, Haapsalu-Tallinn
Pv 7/8 Tapa-Narva, Narva-Tapa
Pv 9/10 Pärnu-Lelle, Lelle-Pärnu
Pv 11/12 Tartu-Petseri-Valga, Valga-Petseri-Tartu
Pv 13/14 Rapla-Virtsu, Virtsu-Rapla
Pv 15/16 Sonda-Mustvee, Mustvee-Sonda
 
In 1935 Railway Government and Postal Administration signed a contract under which railway stations started to receive and send out consignments from further away located post offices. Often they smelled unpleasant and dripped - there was a layer of alive piglet, fresh fish, etc. In 1935, there were next to 29 post offices a commodity agency. Railway Government rewarded the agency's employees with free travel tickets.

Stamps 

Railway mail used various stamps. Temporarily dump stamps with occasional illustrations, dumps stamps (straight and round stamps with text), straight stamps named of postline, and handwritten stamps edits.

Later on, adapted permanent mail wagon stamps: two layered oval bridge stamps, two layered circle bridge stamps with railway lines and dates. For further information about stamps and mail transportation at the railway can be found from Estonian Philatelic nr 22/23 (1978); 24/25 (1979); nr 28 (1982) and from the Philatelic Handbook ( with V. Hurt and E. Ojaste).
 
***
The successful partnership reflects on Railway Government and Post Headquarters when during the first years of Republic Tallinn and Tartu exchanged mail bags once or twice per day and even irregularly- at the end of 1930s the numbers had six folded and everything was full on dot. 

Railway mail was used in Estonia from 1870 to 1998.
Mail transport at the Estonian railway ended in 1998, the last mail wagon was on the Tallinn-Narva line as a part of the Petersburg train. 

***
Railway history is long. The exhibition gives a brief glimpse from 1870 to 1940, also a couple of photos from the 1960s.

The exhibition is in two parts.

* * * 
Whilst putting together the exhibition, the material was from the Estonian National Museum stamps history and private collections. Under the info button in the toolbar, you can access background information about mail history.

Enjoy!

* * * 
Exhibition commitee: Eve Aab, Reigo Lokk, Oliver Hanschmidt
Photos: Arp Karm
Editor: Karin Kastehein

Literature:
Hurt, Vambola; Elmar Ojaste. Eesti. Estonia. Philately & postal history handbook. Catalogue. Stockholm, New York: Estonian Philatelic Society, 1986, lk 503–520.

Verho, Timo; Lindeblad, Jorma. Viron rautatieleimat 1870-1918, I. Raylway cancellations in Estonia (käsikiri).

Arjakas, Küllo. Eesti raudtee 140. Publisher: AS Eesti Raudtee, Tallinn, 2010. Tallinna Raamatutrükikoda.
 
Riigi Teataja nr 84/85, 1921.

Eesti Filatelist nr 22/23, 1978, New Yorgi Eesti Filatelistide Selts ja Eesti Filatelistide Ühing Rootsis, lk 3–32.

Eesti Filatelist nr 24/25, 1979, New Yorgi Eesti Filatelistide Selts ja Eesti Filatelistide Ühing Rootsis, lk 206–210.

Eesti Filatelist nr 16/17, 1975,  New Yorgi Eesti Filatelistide Selts ja Eesti Filatelistide Ühing Rootsis, lk 71-76.

Eesti Filatelist nr 28, 1982, New Yorgi Eesti Filatelistide Selts ja Eesti Filatelistide Ühing Rootsis, lk 237–244.

Mail, telegraph, phone ja radio-institutions lists: Postiajalugu.ee.

An important part of the establishment of the Estonian state in 1917–1918 has been played by the national army units, with whose support the idea of Estonian independence was realized. The national army units became the basis for the army of independent Estonia - thus the real forces necessary for our War of Independence were concentrated in the homeland and the foundation for the organization of the people's self-defense was laid.

In 2018, 100 years will pass since the beginning of the Estonian War of Independence. The museum's collection of postal history includes nearly 700 postcards sent during the war years with stamps used in various military units.

The first part of the exhibition takes us to the years 1917–1919:

• Establishment of Estonian national army units in 1917–1918
• Field post in the Estonian War of Independence in 1919

Old letters are part of our cultural and postal history. The exhibition focuses on postal history, ie stamp prints. But there is also exciting research for those interested in history and postcards.

Enjoy and watch!
 

Estonian stamp with the smallest print run

We continue to introduce the most fascinating parts of postal history with a few words on the Eesti Post overprint of a Tsarist Russian stamp and 5-pence stamp Kajakas (Seagull).

Both stamps have been discussed in detail in an article by Vambola Hurt and Elmar Ojaste in Eesti. Estonia. Philately & Postal History Handbook. Catalogue, which was published in Eesti filatelist no. 11 (1970) no. 14 (1973). A brief summary of this is given below.

Eesti Post overprint of Tsarist Russian perforated 1-kopek stamp

The stamps were overprinted on the order of the Estonian Postal Administration on 5 May 1919 in Tallinn and went on sale on 7 May.

The stamp issue included 19 values.

Perforated: 1 kopek – 7 pcs; 10 roubles – 11 pcs; 35 kopeks – 12 pcs; 10 kopeks/7 kopeks – 45 pcs; 10 kopeks (violet overprint) – 100 pcs; 1 rouble – 170 pcs; 50 kopeks – 344 pcs; 10 kopeks (black overprint) – 817 pcs; 25 kopeks – 998 pcs; 15 kopeks – 1,197 pcs; 3 kopeks – 1854 pcs; 2 kopeks – 2654 pcs; 5 kopeks – 3803 pcs.

Imperforate: 2 kopeks – 26 pcs; 5 roubles – 40 pcs; 3 roubles 50 kopeks – 56 pcs; 1 rouble – 150 pcs; 3 kopeks – 475 pcs; 1 kopeks – 1826 pcs.

A small part of the issue was sold at the stamp desk of Tallinn Post Office. Chaos ensued: philatelists bought all of the stamps in a few hours, which triggered a strongly-worded response from newspapers. On top of it all, the Estonian Postal Administration abandoned its initial idea of issuing extra overprinted issues.

The stamps became invalid in just five months, on 2 October 1919.

5-pence stamp Kajakas (Seagull)

On 1 May 1919, the printing workers of Tallinn went on strike. The 5-kopek stamps featuring a flower design were sold out. At the same time, the publishing of the 5-pence stamp Number (Number) was delayed. The stereotype of the stamp Kajakas (Seagull) by Eduard Poland, which was selected from among designs submitted to the competition announced in December 1918 (Riigi Teataja no. 7), was ready. This was the first stamp designed by an artist that featured the text ‘Eesti Vabariik’ (the Republic of Estonia). As a last resort, the Estonian Postal Administration decided to print the 5-pence seagull stamps at E. Bergmann’s printing house in Tartu. As it was out of suitable book printing ink, the stamps were printed using lithography ink. As a result, the stamps came in four colours: orange, pale pink/orange, pinkish-orange and pale orange.

The stamps went on sale in Tallinn and Tartu Post Offices on 13 May 1919 and were sold out in a few days – stamp vendors were so interested in this rare issue that they bought them in bulk. Letters bearing the stamp of 13 and 14 May are valued among philatelists.
 
* * * * *
The exhibition draws upon materials from the Estonian National Museum’s postal history collection and private collections.

Click on the information button on the toolbar to access background information on postal history.
 
Happy exploring!

 * * * * *
Exhibition team: Eve Aab, Ants Linnard and Reigo Lokk
Photography: Arp Karm
Editor: Karin Kastehein

 * * * * *
Literature:

Vambola Hurt and Elmar Ojaste Eesti. Estonia. Philately & Postal History Handbook. Catalogue. Stockholm, New York: Estonian Philatelic Society, 1986.

Eesti Filatelist no. 11, 1970. Estonian Philatelic Society in New York and Estonian Philatelic Society in Sweden, pp 14-18.

Eesti Filatelist no. 14, 1973. Estonian Philatelic Society in New York and Estonian Philatelic Society in Sweden, p 39.

Eesti Filatelist no. 22/23, 1978. Estonian Philatelic Society in New York and Estonian Philatelic Society in Sweden, pp 3-30.

Aru, Mart. Eesti postmargid ja tervikasjad. Kataloog 2015. Philately Department of the Estonian Heritage Society

After the German occupation forces pulled out of Estonia in November 1918, the Viru County Government ordered the opening of the Rakvere post office in the former tsarist Russian post office facility, which also housed the German Ober-Ost post office.

In rooms off to one side, the director of Rakvere post office, Aleksander Torn, discovered Russian-era postal band, postcards and postal stationery with pre-printed postage. The newly founded Estonian Postal Administration (Postivalitsus) had sent orders, but it was not yet possible to obtain Estonian stamps or permission for issuing local stamps. Torn thus turned to the county government for permission to overprint the Russian-era postal band, and duly received the go-ahead.

Rakvere’s Margarethe Levmann printing plant was handed the task to quickly overprint one- and two-kopeck postal band with new denominations:
10/2 kop.; quantity: 173
15/2 kop.; quantity: 402
20/2 kop.; quantity: 137
35/1 kop.; quantity: 26
The overprinting was in three rows: Eesti/ (Rakvere)/ and the new value.
They were pasted as stamps on letters, postcards and other postal shipments.

Villem Eichenthal’s special catalogue entitled “Eesti“, published in 1962, records the date of issue of the “Rakvere“ stamp as 16 November 1918 and the last day of validity as 27 November 1918. Some letters and stamps were postmarked later, however – either because a postal official was inattentive or perhaps as a personal favour.

Like most local issues, the Rakvere stamps are not free of speculation. They became sought after by philatelists and their prices rose quickly. The Estonian Postal Administration did not recognize the Rakvere stamps by official directive but rather solely made a note of their issue.
The Rakvere stamps are a local issue and they have been noted as such in major postal stamp catalogues.

Besides postal band, former Russian postal stationery was also overprinted. Eleven different types of postal stationery were printed. Of these, two postcards (10/3 kop. and 10/5 kop.) and one type of franked envelope (15/7 kop.) was overprinted with two rows of text at Nikolai Erna’s printing plant: EESTI / new value (either 10 or 15 kop.).

Similarly to the three-row overprint of the Rakvere stamps, the Margarethe Levmann printing plant overprinted two types of postcards (10/3 and 10/5 kop.) and six special types of franked envelopes (15/7, 15/15/7, 15710, 15/14, 15/20 and 15/20 kop.).

In Eesti Filatelist (Estonian Philatelist) issue no. 10 (1965), Heldur Alver writes: “The Rakvere stamps are very rare.”

 We hope you enjoy the exhibition!

Click the information button on the toolbar to access background information on postal and general history.


 
Exhibition team
Compiler: Eve Aab
Consultant: Ants Linnard, chairman of the Friends of the Postal Museum Society
Photography: Arp Karm
Editor: Ivi Tammaru
 
Works used:
Eesti Filatelist no. 11, 1970. Stockholm.
Eesti Filatelist no. 3, 1957. New York.
Eesti Filatelist no. 4, 1958. New York.
Estonian postage stamps and postal stationery. Catalogue 2008.Tallinn: philately committee of the Estonian Heritage Conservation Society, 2008.
Hurt, Vambola; Elmar Ojaste. Eesti. Estonia. Philately & postal history handbook. Catalogue. Stockholm, New York: Estonian Philatelic Society, 1986.

One hundred years ago today, 24 November 1918, the first Estonian postage stamp was issued. To mark the centenary, we’re chronicling some of the most fascinating moments in Estonian postal history.

The postal service was important for the state and many decisions affecting the system were taken at the state level, by the Constituent Assembly that preceded Parliament, and later on the orders of the Minister of Roads. Notices pertaining to the postal service were published in the State Gazette.

Although the Republic of Estonia was proclaimed on 24 February, the country’s first stamps were issued only eight months later. For several months, independence was interrupted by a German occupation.

In spring 1918, the printing plant of Bernhard Mäns received a rush order from German officials – two fiscal stamps had to be prepared. There was no time to look for an engraver, and so the design and the template were prepared by the printing plant director, Rudolf Zero. Several thousand of the olive green tax stamps, bearing a flower design, were printed. On 18 November, the same thing happened as in the spring. This time, the postmaster general Hindrek Rikand and secretary Eduard Laaban came knocking at the printing plant, with an urgent proposal that the first Estonian postage stamp be printed. With again no time to find an engraver, Zero decided to use the templates of the German tax stamps printed in spring. Thus, the design of the first four Estonian postage stamps resembles that of the two German revenue stamps.

At first, the flower-design stamps were intended to be printed using plate printing, but due to time constraints, the simpler and faster technique of lithography was chosen. First of all, special impressions on a special paper were made, and then transferred to stone by chemical means; these were the dies used to print the stamps. The 5-kopeck pink, 15-kopeck blue, 35-penn brown and 70-penn green floral pattern stamps were printed at Bölau printing plant in Nõmme, at the address Raudtee tn 10.

The 5-kopeck floral pattern stamp was printed in four different runs, and the first stamps were printed on 22 November 1918. The paper was imported from Finland. The paper, initially white, smooth and thin, took on a yellow tone from the gum on the back. The stamps were imperforate, although primitive “postmaster’s” perforations exist in the case of stamps issued to the Juuru, Keila, Keina, Narva, Nuia, Nuustaku, Paide, Paldiski, Suure-Jaani, Tartu and Võhma post offices.

The lack of stamps did not bring the sending of letters by mail to a halt. The Estonian state postal service established a system where the sender had to personally come to the post office and pay cash for the letters to be dispatched. The postal official inscribed “paid” in handwriting on the letter or parcel.

The 5-kopeck “Flower Design Stamp” was printed in four different runs:
1^st printing 22-28 November 1918. Print run 514,000.
2^nd printing 11-17 December 1918. Print run 509,000.
3^rd printing 5-6 March 1919. Print run 304,500.
4^th printing 2-4 April 1919. Print run 614,500.
In total, 1,942,400 copies of Estonia’s postage stamp no. 1 were printed.

In the period from 3 December 1928 to 3 July 1919, an additional 3,599,500 of the light-blue 15-kopeck stamps, 2,047,000 of the brown 35 (penn) stamps and 503,000 of the green 70 (penn) stamps were printed.

The pink 5-kopeck floral-design stamp was used for domestic postcards. This rate was in force until 31 December – only about five weeks – due to which this stamp is quite rare in individually cancelled form. On 1 January 1919, the postcard rate rose to 15 kopecks, while printed matter weighing 15 grams or less could be sent for a few more months at the 5-kopeck rate.

Johann Kalmus, postmaster general of Vändra in 1918, writes in his memoirs:
 “I remember clearly a December evening where I found in my mail a thick letter from the Postal Administration. I opened the latter to find the first shipment of Estonian postage stamps, 5-kopeck pink ones and 15-kopeck blue ones. The first Estonian postage stamps were now in existence! All postal employees had a high level of interest in this new feature and they had to start selling the stamps right away, as everyone wanted to take the country’s postage stamps home to show their family.“
 
This virtual exhibition was put together using the National Museum’s postal history collection and materials from the National Archives and private collections. The exhibition was produced in cooperation with the International Estonian Philatelic Society.  

We hope you enjoy the exhibition.

Click the information button on the toolbar to find background information on postal history and general history.

Exhibition team
Team leader: Eve Aab
Consultant: Ants Linnard, chairman of the Friends of the Postal Museum
Photography: Arp Karm
Editor: Tuuli Kaalep
  
Literature used
Hurt Vambola, Ojaste Elmar. Handbook of Estonian philately and postal history, catalogue. Göteborgs Grafiska Grupp AB, Gothenburg 1986
 
Eesti Filatelist, issue no. 4, New York 1958

Eesti Filatelist, issue no. 3, New York 1957

Küng Enn, Küng Aive, Türk Toomas. Eesti rahvuslik postiteenistus 90 (90^th anniversary of the Estonian national postal service), AS Eesti Post Postal Museum, Tartu 2008

Pekka Erelt. Eesti Posti lillemustriline esiklaps. (Eesti Post’s floral-patterned firstborn) Eesti Ekspress weekly, 13 November 1998

Ojaste Elmar. Eesti postmark nr. 1, mis asetas Eesti Euroopa kaardile. (Estonia’s first postage stamp, which placed the country on the map of Europe) Postisarv issue no. 5, 1998