The Austrian Doctors Set of 1937
The Famous Austrians selected for portrayal on the 1937 Christmas Charity Set were all medical men. As with the 1935 and 1936 sets the stamps were designed by Professor Wilhelm Dachauer; most were also engraved by Professor Ferdinand Lorber but the 8g, 12g, and 20g stamps were engraved by Arthur Schuricht who had engraved two of the values of the Austrian Writers set of 1931. The use of an additional engraver was probably because of the greater than usual number of stamps in the set. The set was issued on 5th December 1937 and the doctors selected were:
- 5g sepia Gerhard van Swieten
- 8g red Johann Leopold Auenbrugger
- 12g blackish brown Karl von Rokitansky
- 20g blue-green Josef Skoda
- 24g deep violet Ferdinand von Hebra
- 30g lake-red Ferdinand von Arlt
- 40g olive Josef Hyrtl
- 60g deep blue Albert Christian Theodor Billroth
- 64g purple Theodor Hermann Meynert
The stamps were printed by the recess process at the Austrian State Printing Works in Vienna and were line perforated 12½. Single proofs in unissued colours, and imperf-all-round, are known. 150,000 sets were printed and the stamps were only sold at selected post offices in complete sets at double face value. The additional surcharge thus raised was devoted to general charitable purposes. The set was valid for postage until 30th June 1938.