Polish stamps 1920 - 1939

Various Polish stamps have been used in the present Lithuanian territory between the year 1920 and 1939. It starts in 1920 with the issue of stamps of Litwa Środkowa (literary meaning "Middle Lithuania" in polish) known as "Central Lithuania" headed by the military government of the polish general Lucjan Żeligowski.

Central Lithuania stamp overprinted on lithuanian stamp

Various cancellations of Wilno on Central Lithuania stamps

Cancellation of Łyntupy (now Лынтупы/Lyntupy, Belarus)

After the annexation of Central Lithuania by Poland in 1922, regular polish postal service has been introduced in the region. These polish stamps were used in the present Lithuanian territory until 1939.

Cancellation of Druskieniki (now Druskininkai, Lithuania)

Panevėžys 2000

This is a commemorative cancellation of the 125th anniversary of the birth of Kazimieras(Casimir) Paltarokas, who was a bishop of Panevėžys and the only left in Lithuania in 1947 at the beginning of the Soviet rule. I personally think it is very nicely designed, representing the mitre (bishop's hat).



The stamp used is also from my favorite lithuanian stamp series depicting the decoration of crosses on the top of the various monuments across the country. According to post.lt, they have been designed by V.Jasanauskas, printed in Kaunas. This series have been printed until 2006 and the 2000 issue is the very first.

Vilnius 1916

A Feldpost card sent in 1916 from the Feldpost station 166, stationed in Wilna (now Vilnius, lithuania) to Charlottenburg in Berlin, Germany. The picture was taken from the Šnipiškės side of the Neris/Wilja river near the Žaliasis tiltas/Green bridge.




Also a Feldpost card of Wilna/Vilnius, sent in 1916 from the Feldpost station 210 by the munition depot of the 10th army stationed in Vilnius. The picture is taken in Dižioji gatvė/Wielka strasse at the old town. I have previously posted a Feldpost card sent on april 1916 from the Felpost station 210 in Švenčionėliai, therefore they should have moved from Vilnius to Švenčionėliai sometime between march and april 1916.

Joniškis 1965

This is a commemorative stationery of the 25th anniversary of Lithuania Soviet Socialist Republic, sent in 1965 from Йонишкис/Joniškis to Bruxelles/Brussels, Belgium. The regular international mail rate was 6 kopecks at that time so this letter must have been overfranked.

Šiauliai 1954

This is an example of a domestic use of a postal stationery sent in 1954 from Шяуляй/Šiauliai to Vilnius, during the Soviet rule. The early Šiauliai postmarks do not contain the name of the republic "Лит.SSR". The arrival cancellation on the back is also interesting, it is Vilnius post office #9 which is in Naujamiestis, Vilnius.

Švenčionys 1937

This is a polish 25Gr stationery cover added with a 30Gr stamp, sent in 1937 from Święciany (now Švenčionys, lithuania) to Germantown in Philadelphia PA, USA (Germantown is one of the municipal district of Philadelphia). Although the official name of the town was "Święciany", the postmark states "Święciany Wileńskie". This is because there were two "Święciany" at that time in Poland, one in Wilno/Vilnius region (Wileńskie) and the other one in Lower Silesia (Dolnośląskie). The cover is adressed from the Państwowe Gimnazjum (National Gymnasium) Józefa Piłsudskiego in Święciany, named after the honor of Józef Piłsudski who was born in the nearby village of Zułów (now Zalavas, Lithuania).

Telšiai 1941

This is the local "liberation" overprint of Telšiai, issued in 1941. According to Michel, it corresponds to #6 type II. The date in the overprint is when Telšiai has been "liberated" by the germans. They are reports of the use of this stamp in some villages outside Telšiai but it is not clear where exactly this stamp was valid. In most of the case, the postmark used to cancel this stamp is the one from the first republic as it is shown in this post. Only 9000 stamps have been printed for this #6.

Varėna 1991

This is a postally unused block of Soviet stamp with a Soviet order cancellation of Варена/Varėna of 1991. Many of the post offices in Lithuania used provisional postmarks after the restauration of independence but however, some kept using Soviet postmark for awhile because Soviet stamps were still valid. Varėna post office was one of them.
Varėna is a town in southern Lithuania with a population of little over 10000, near the boder of Belarus. During the interwar period, the town has been annexed by Poland under the name: Orany.

Kaunas 1928

This is a diplomatic correspondence cover sent in 1928 from the legation of Latvia (Lettonie in french) in Kaunas to the consulate general of Latvia in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Vilnius, the official capital of Lithuania, was occupied by Poland at the time, therefore all foreign diplomatic representatives to Lithuania were in Kaunas.

Klaipėda 1939

These stamps are the local liberation issue for the Memel (now Klaipėda, Lithuania) district, overprinted on lithuanian stamps. It has been issued in march 22nd 1939, the day of the reannexation by the Third Reich.

Klaipėda 1921

This is a business cover sent in 1921 from Memel (now Klaipėda, Lithuania) to Luebeck/Lübeck, Germany.

Marijampolė 1979

A commemorative cover of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mikalojus Akelaitis, cancelled in Kapsukas/Капсукас (now Marijampolė, Lithuania) in 1979. The stamp is also a commemorative stamp of 400th anniversary of Vilnius university issued in 1979. Marijampolė was named Kapsukas/Капсукас between 1955 and 1989 in honor of Vincas Kapsukas. The cancellation is the one of Kapsukas/Капсукас post office #3 which was closed down soon after the restauration of independence of Lithuania. Presently, only the central post office (Marijampolės centrinis paštas/Marijampolė-C), #2(2-asis paštas) and #4 are in service in Marijampolė.