General Czechoslovakia issues period 07.03.1920 – 14.03.1939

Since 1920, the Czechoslovak stamp production had, in principle, a standard character, as we know it elsewhere. Until 1939, tens of issues of postage stamps appeared, printed from the beginning by a printing press – letter press, through the intaglio and copper-printing experiments, gradually passing on the steel plate technique – line-engraved recess printing, either from a rotary or flat plate. The complete list of Czechoslovak stamps complements also several issues of special purpose stamps as airmail, special delivery, newspaper, stamps for business printed matters or postage due stamps.

Basically, in each of the issues, it would be possible to find different types of artworks, image dimensions, colour deviations, plate flaws, gutters, tabs, exceptional perforations or watermarks, possibly other interesting features. However, this exhibit shows only some of them, which are either characteristic by elements that we can observe in other emissions, or vice versa, which are exceptional and have their own particular story. For example, when a common stamp of the Chainbreaker issue has become, due to a coincidence, a world-renowned philatelic rarity.

The examples of postal use are documented by exceptional stationeries and entire.

In some cases, original stamp designs rarely have preserved. Seldom, but so much more often, we find trial prints. Also rare are some unissued stamps, or stamps with the so-called “ministerial perforation”.

The issue of each stamp preceded the competition on its design proposal, with many proposals for various reasons never ending with the production of a final issued stamp.

Some emissions were used with overprints and thus altered purpose as postal due, or in favour of the Red Cross, etc., scarcely (even without any overprint) for the payment of fiscal charges.