by: Gavin Harrison

In August 1931, an international philatelic exhibition was held in Hamburg, Germany. The show was held in three halls at the Hamburg Zoo, and ran from Saturday 22 August until Sunday 30 August. An exhibition programme was sold, priced at 40 pfg (Figure 1).

Figure 1
Figure 1. Mophila Exhibition Programme.

The purpose of the exhibition was to showcase all aspects of modern philately. MOPHILA is MOderne PHILAtelie. The exhibition included classes dedicated to airmail stamps, flown mail, airship (Zeppelin) mail and many others. Also highlighted were modern developments such as rocket mail and, of course, the then-modern meter mail.

A special post office operated within the exhibition halls throughout the exhibition (Figure 2). This was a temporary office under the auspices of the Hamburg 36 office. Two special postmarks, one for general mail and one specifically for airmail were in use, in addition to the meter mark which is the main concern of this article. It is possible to find items with both postmarks and the meter mark applied (Figure 3).

Figure 2
Figure 2. Exhibition hall with post office (POSTAMT).

Figure 3
Figure 3. Mailed 13 pfg postcard with the two special postmarks and a 000 pfg MOPHILA meter stamp applied. Note that the stamp depicts a castle with three towers found, two of which are surmounted with “Marian Stars” and the centre one bearing a cross, on Hamburg’s various coat of arms1.

The meter mark used was set with a circular date stamp (cds) reading “Hamburg / 36” and with the date in the format “dd m(m) 31”. An attractive design featuring a modern stylised impression of the coat of arms of Hamburg – a castle with three towers, two of which are surmounted with “Marian Stars” and the centre one bearing a cross. Above the castle is the sequential number and below it, “MOPHILA”. At the right, the value tablet is above the words “INTERNATIONALE AUSSTELLUNG MODERNE PHILATELIE”, translated as “International Exhibition of Modern Philately”.

It is thought that the machine used to produce the franked mail was an “Anchor Type” Francotyp similar to the one advertised on the inside rear cover of the MOPHILA Brochure (Figure 4a, 4b).

The machine was advertised thus:

“Thousands of satisfied customers confirm the usefulness of the machine”
“Authorised for use in 26 different countries”
“Advantages:
Discontinuation of stamps
Saving time in the office
Expedited mail delivery
Control of postage expenses without any paperwork
Safe protection against losses of every kind
Automatic billing of the fees”

Figure 4a Figure 4b
Figure 4. (a) Cover of the MOPHILA brochure. (b) Francotyp advertisement found in the brochure.

Early usage of the MOPHILA meter mark

The earliest known usage of the MOPHILA meter mark is not a postal usage at all. Rather, it is an illustration reproduced on official publicity documents including a form used for subscriptions to the show and to sponsor the medals presented to winning exhibits! The impression is dated “4 3 31” (ie. 4 March 1931) with serial number 8545 (Figure 5).

The earliest observed postal use of the meter mark is dated “19 3 31” (19 March 1931), serial 9076, rated at 25 pfg (pfennig) (Figure 6). The addressee was "Herrn Francis J Field Ltd, Air mails". Mr Field was pre-eminent in the field of aerophilately and was heavily involved with the exhibition – we shall meet him again shortly. Given that the serial is some 500+ later in sequence than the previous example, we can surmise that this may have been part of a speculative mailing to important philatelists concerning the forthcoming exhibition.

Figure 5
Figure 5. Illustration of the MOPHILA meter found on a form for show patrons and donors.

Figure 6
Figure 6. Earliest observed postal use of the MOPHILA meter mark on a 25 pfg airmail letter to Francis J. Field in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, UK: 19 March, 1931, ie. about 5 months prior to the exhibition.

Throughout the next months, much use was made of the meter mark, mainly correspondence from the organisers to prospective stallholders and exhibitors. We can see that between May and July, the 4-digit numerator on the machine was reset, covers exist in May with serials in the 9xxx range, and by July the serials are in the 0xxx range. It is hoped that further observations will, eventually, be able to narrow the changeover point further (Figures 7 and 8).

Figure 7
Figure 7. 25 pfg meter mark on letter to Nizza, France, on 4 May, 1931. The serial is 9566.

Figure 8
Figure 8. 25 pfg meter mark on cover. The date is 2 July, 1931. The serial is 0550.

By 12 August, with just 10 days until the start of the exhibition, Paul Guttman, the organiser of the bourse and a member of the organising committee, was still looking to fill spaces at the exhibition. A mailing was sent to contacts in the trade, using pre-printed perforated address labels (Figure 9a). This kind of address label can be considered a forerunner of the computerised “multi-mailer” systems used today and would have been considered a modern innovation in 1931. It is possible that this mailing was sent to several hundred addressees based on the serial of the meter mark (4169). Various sizes of tables were on offer, all are detailed within the letter sent within the cover (Figure 9b).

Figure 9a
Figure 9a. Mailing applied with a 4 pfg meter mark was sent out by the organiser of the MOPHILA bourse.

Just three days later, and one week before the opening of the show, formal invitations to the grand opening were sent on high-quality stationery and using the meter mark. Invitees were the “great and good” of world philately and included Mr Francis J Field who we met earlier (Figures 10a, 10b, and 10c). It is interesting to reflect that in 1931 it was quite possible to send mail from Germany to destinations in other parts of Europe by surface mail just one week before the event safe in the knowledge that it would be received in good time – some 90 years later, we can only envy the efficiency of that postal service!

Figure 9b
Figure 9b. Newsletter about the MOPHILA bourse enclosed in the envelope depicted in Figure 9a.

Figure 10a
Figure 10a. 5 pfg surface-mail letter with MOPHILA meter mark sent to Francis J. Field in the UK.

Figure 10b
Figure 10b. Front of the invitation to the grand opening.

Figure 10c
Figure 10c. Inside of the invitation to the grand opening.

Until this point, the character of the mail sent using the meter mark is varied, although mainly commercial in nature and almost entirely sent by members of the organising committee. It is thought that the machine would have been situated in one of the offices used by them, probably 42 Sierichstrasse, which was the correspondence address for the exhibition, or 67 Neuer Wall, the office address of Paul Guttmann.

Use of the meter mark at the MOPHILA Exhibition

The machine was then relocated to the exhibition halls and set up, presumably within the temporary post office. The show began on Saturday 22 August with an official opening in front of invited guests and permanent festival ticket holders at 11:00 am. MOPHILA then opened to the public at 2:00 pm.

I have yet to see any evidence that the meter machine was used on the opening day. Certainly, the exhibition post office was open because mail with one or the other of the official postmarks exists dated “22 8 31” with hour marks between 16 and 20 (4 pm to 8 pm). Whether there were delays in relocating the meter machine, problems setting it up, or administrative hurdles to be overcome is not known, but hopefully further evidence will come to light at some point.

Once the exhibition was under way and the temporary post office was operating smoothly, we can see a distinct change in the character of mail processed by the meter machine. Whereas prior to the exhibition, as seen, most of the mail was of a commercial nature, once the show was in full swing, the majority of franked items we see are of a “philatelic” or souvenir nature. Frequently this involved covers bearing a 000 pfg meter mark and a current definitive stamp cancelled with one or other of the commemorative postmarks (Figure 11).

Figure 11
Figure 11. Philatelic usage of a 000 pfg meter mark on an intra-city letter mailed on 26 August, 1931.

It would have been good practice to test the machinery each morning by running a small number of blank covers through with the value set to 000 pfg (Figure 12). We can clearly see that this example from 25 August was early in the day as the serial is only 10 higher than the latest known usage on the previous day (24 August: 6066 and 25 August: 6076).

25 August saw a busy start to the day. Julius Hirsch, a Berlin-based stamp and postcard dealer produced at least 93 covers (and quite possibly 100 in total), all with the same handwriting and a metered 1 pfg along with a 3 pfg definitive stamp cancelled later in the day, all addressed “care of MOPHILA”. Seemingly Herr Hirsch decided to create a large batch of covers for later sale and “sent” them to himself at the exhibition - Modern Philately 1931-style at its finest! The earliest observed serial is 8161 and the latest is 8254. Figures 13a and 13b show a pair of such covers with sequential numbers within this range.

Figure 12
Figure 12. Early morning test of meter mark.

On the morning of 28 August, the daily test either failed or, more likely, did not take place. A number of items exist with the date of the meter mark mis-set to “38 8 31”, that is the “38th of August”! The example shown in Figure 14a shows an item from around the centre of the observed range (7596) and pays the 4 pfg Printed Matter (“Drucksache”) rate within Germany. Figure 14b shows the reverse of the same item, with a clear offset (set-off) of the previous strike (7595). Over 100 items were produced with this incorrect date before the error was realised and corrected.

By the point the show had been running for 7 days and on 28 August, over 500 strikes of the meter mark are recorded (including those with the incorrect setting). The following day, Saturday 29 August the volumes increased further with around 1000 strikes recorded. Figure 15 shows the earliest recorded usage on that day, serial 8054, used with a 10 pfg airmail stamp to send a small cover “Poste Restante” (“Postlagernd” or “general delivery”) to Cologne (Köln) Airport.

Figure 13a
Figure 13b
Figure 13. Julius Hirsch meter covers with sequential numbers: 6168 (a) and 6169 (b).

Figure 14a
Figure 14b
Figure 14. 4 pfg Printed Matter with applied meter mark (7596), dated 38 August, 1931. (a) Front. (b) Reverse with a clear offset of the previous strike (7595).

Figure 15
Figure 15. 4 pfg Printed Matter with applied meter mark (8054), dated 29 August 1931, and 10 pfg airmail stamp to send the cover to Poste Restante at Cologne (Köln) Airport.

The final day of the MOPHILA exhibition, Sunday 30 August 1931, saw a flurry of activity with over 2200 (and possibly as many as 2800) items being processed. Again, the usage passed the 9999 capacity of the counter and hence it was reset to 0000. This is illustrated with examples showing serials 9254 and 0694 which can be seen in Figure 16 and Figure 17 respectively. Sunday 30 August 1931 was most clearly not a “day of rest” for the operators of the MOPHILA meter machine!

After the exhibition

The journey taken by the meter machine in the days and weeks following MOPHILA is somewhat unclear.

A magazine article on Zeppelin mail from Der Sammler-Dienst, Coburg, Issue 26, 1957, shows illustrations of a number of covers bearing the meter mark (Figure 18). It states that metered mail from the MOPHILA exhibition intended for the 1931 South America Zeppelin flights was refused as metered mail was not permitted as payment for Zeppelin mail in 1931, only mail with stamps attached was acceptable. The items illustrated all appear to be written in the same hand, so clearly a philatelic exercise to produce “Flight Covers”, probably for later sale. Unfortunately, because of the poor-quality images, it’s not possible to discern all the details of the meter mark numbers and dates, but they appear to be dated on or around 18 September 1931 and numbered in the 1937 (or 57) to 1976 range which would fit between the latest known usage on 30 August 1931 and the next known usage in October.

Figure 16
Figure 17
Figure 16 & 17. 30 August 1931, the final day of MOPHILA. Domestically mailed postcards with serial numbers 9254 (Figure 16; sent to Poste Restante in Heligoland; addressee was councillor August Ludwig) and 0694 (Figure 17).

Figure 18
Figure 18. Article on Zeppelin mail rarities from Der Sammler-Dienst, Coburg, Issue 26, 1957, shows illustrations of a number of covers bearing the MOPHILA meter mark.

The latest observed use of the MOPHILA meter mark took place on 7 October 1931 (Figures 19a and 19b). The meter was used to mail a number of items from the management committee to chase up outstanding monies owed – in this case, the princely sum of 1.08 Reichsmarks (RM). Presumably by this time, the machine was back in the office on Sierichstrasse or that on Neuer Wall.

Figure 19a
Figure 19b
Figure 19. Latest known use of the MOPHILA meter mark: 7 October, 1931. 5 pfg postcard with applied 3 pfg meter mark mailed to Winterlingen, Germany. (a) Front. (b) Reverse.

After being used for around 14000 items of commercial and philatelic mail, the machine was probably returned to the factory to be decommissioned and repurposed, though that is beyond the scope of this article.

In the table below, I have tried to note the earliest and latest known serial of the meter mark for each date. There are, of necessity gaps in this but certain inferences can be made into the scale of use of the machine.

Appendix - TABLE OF METER MARK USAGE - MOPHILA 1931

NOTE: Dates are given in the “European” format day/month/year to match the format used on the meter.

For each date, the range of serials known is shown. This information is current at the date of publication and is subject to addition or amendment as further examples come to light.

Date Serials Comments
4/3/31 8545 (Publicity Sample, not postal usage)
19/3/31 9076  
27/3/31 9177  
     
2/4/31 9243  
     
4/5/31 9566  
5/5/31 9607  
     
2/7/31 0550 - 0565  
10/7/31 0897  
11/7/31 0954  
16/7/31 1519 - 1526  
19/7/31 1678  
20/7/31 1929  
21/7/31 2201  
22/7/31 2413  
25/7/31 2730  
27/7/31 2901 - 2916  
30/7/31 3098  
     
12/8/31 4169  
13/8/31 (4604)  
15/8/31 4920 – 5026  
MOPHILA Exhibition starts on Saturday 22/8/31    
23/8/31 (5754) - 5855  
24/8/31 6039 - 6066  
25/8/31 6076 - 6570  
26/8/31 6669 - (7091)  
27/8/31 (7216) - (7481)  
38/8/31 7544 - 7662 Note - date is mis-set to the 38th
Date is then corrected, hence…    
28/8/31 7711 - 8013  
29/8/31 8054 - (9052)  
30/8/31 (9154) - 1393  
MOPHILA Exhibition finishes on Sunday 30 August    
18/9/31 (1937?) - (1976?)  
     
7/10/31 2318 - 2327  

We can use this information to calculate minimum and maximum amount of items on a given day, for example on 25 August we can state a minimum of 494 items (earliest known 6076, latest known 6570) exist but there could be as many as 603 (latest known previous day 6066, earliest known next day 6669). In actuality the correct number is probably in between these, it is an ambition to find consecutive numbers with different dates, so far a difference of 10 is the nearest I have managed.

A number in brackets denotes an item observed by me but not in my collection.

Much more information on other aspects of MOPHILA 1931 can be found on the website Stampboards.com:

https://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=6511

Image from Der Sammler-Dienst, Coburg, Issue 28, 1957 is reproduced for research and educational purposes only and the rights of the originator are acknowledged.

Any errors in this article are mine and mine alone. I would welcome any corrections or any additional information regarding MOPHILA 1931.

I have long been a collector of German stamps and postal history. My first contact with Mophila was, I think, one of the “38th of August” meter covers, and shortly afterwards I saw the exhibition programme and a couple of covers with different day/hour postmarks. A search on eBay and Delcampe (a European collectors’ site) uncovered several other items including vintage philatelic magazines, newspaper articles and even a silver medal awarded at the exhibition, and so an “obsession” was born!

When I’m not enjoying philately, I am an elected member of two local authorities, the district council and the town council.

This year I have been lucky enough to be chosen to be the Mayor of St Anne’s-on-the-Sea, which involves representing my beautiful town at civic events and ceremonies in the area.

This year I have been lucky enough to be chosen to be the Mayor of St Anne’s-on-the-Sea, which involves representing my beautiful town at civic events and ceremonies in the area.
Gavin Harrison
Gavin Harrison

  1. Editor’s note: According to Wikipedia, Hamburg’s various coats of arms “show a castle with three towers (image on the right). The middle tower shows a cross on top. It is believed that the so-called Marian stars on top of the two side-towers and the cross recalls the fact that Hamburg used to be an archbishopric. The towers and the walls with heir pinnacles and the closed gate symbolized the determination of the town to defend itself.” (text kindly provided by Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Hamburg; accessed on 11/17/24). ↩