An unusual souvenir sheet from Czechoslovakia

Stamp Market Tips by Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

If you like the unique and unusual, the Czechoslovakia souvenir sheet pictured here might be for you.

Newspaper stamps were stamps issued specifically for the prepayment of mailing rates for newspapers, periodicals and printed matter. Many countries have issued newspaper stamps, including the United States.

U.S. newspaper stamps and Latvian newspaper stamps were issued to pay for bulk shipments of newspapers by rail. Most other countries’ newspaper stamps were issued to pay postage for delivery of a single newspaper or other publication through the mail.

While many countries have issued newspaper stamps, to the best of our knowledge, Czechoslovakia is the only country to issue a newspaper stamp souvenir sheet.

On Oct. 24, 1937, Czechoslovakia issued an imperforate souvenir sheet of 25 10-haler Carrier Pigeon newspaper stamps (Scott P26). The souvenir sheet was produced to celebrate the Bratislava Philatelic Exhibition held Oct. 24-30, 1937, in Bratislava (now in Slovakia).

The souvenir sheet is inscribed “Tisteno Na Celostatni Vystave Postovnich Znamek Bratislava 1937” (Printed at the National Stamp Exhibition Bratislava 1937) across the bottom selvage.

A souvenir sheet of two postage stamps (Czechoslovakia Scott 239) was also issued for the exhibition.

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