Austria in transition: 1918 - 1921

Auxiliary Post of Meran, 1918.

As the Austrian Empire disintegrated at the end of WWI, the Italians occupied the Süd-Tirol town of Meran/Merano in November 1918; the postal service was suspended. The Chamber of Commerce in Meran was authorised to establish a local post in Vinschgau, the main valley running westwards from Meran. Normally-franked mail arriving in Meran received an additional stamp to cover the cost of the local delivery. Correctly-used specimens are rare.

This example is the black-on-red 2h local newspaper postage stamp, issued on 25 November 1918 and replaced by a different design soon afterwards. The 2h 1916-issue Austrian newspaper stamp covered the carriage to Meran. The newspaper is addressed to Naturns, about 15 km west of Meran; both stamps are cancelled with a straight-line NATURNS cancel on arrival, following normal Austrian practice.

Second issue, November 30, 1918 (?). The 2h, 5h and 10h values were, nominally, for newspapers, postcards and letters respectively.

Known used examples of the second issue are cancelled by the Algund cds, as in the example above which appears to pre-date the published (but uncertain) issue date by 2 days. The 10 Heller adhesive is tied by the faint oval hand-stamp of the Meran Chamber of Commerce "Gremium der Kaufmannschaft des Kurbezirkes Meran".