Dürer's "Feast of the Rose Garlands"
Click on an image to see a really large version.
This page displays philatelic items related to Dürer's painting Feast of the Rose Garlands.
Part 1: Items Issued by Czechoslovakia
Part 2: Definitive stamps and booklets issued by Germany
Part 3: Postal Stationery Items Issued by Germany
Commemorative Postal Card of 1971
In 1971, Germany issued a postal card showing Dürer's self-portrait from the Feast of the Rose Garlands. Above are the front and back of the postal card. The indicium (stamp printed on the postal card) depicts Dürer's signature. Below are the front and back of the registry receipt used for mailing the above card.
Postal Card with the Dürer Indicium
The definitive Dürer stamp was also used as indicium on postal cards. Above are graphically cropped indicia of postal cards intended for Germany and Berlin. Below is a complete postal card. The back of the postal card is blank.
Shown above are two postal cards, the upper one for Berlin and the lower one for Germany. Note the differences in layout, font and text. Such differences cause a large number of varieties of these items.
The postal card was also issued in the format with a reply postal card attached. Above are shown the front and back of such a card. "POSTKARTE mit Antwortkarte" means "Postal card with reply card." "POSTKARTE (Antwortkarte)" translates as "Postal card (Reply card)."
Lottery Cards
The postal cards were also modified to be used as mail-in lottery cards organized by the radio station. As shown below, the front had a border and was pre-addressed to the "Radio Lottery". The text on the upper left indicates that they were sold for 65 Pfennig. The back of the card had a form where participants filled in their replies. All the printing was in the same color as the indicium.
From left to right:
Front of a lottery card with the Dürer indicium.
Back of the same card.
Above are shown the front and back of a used card. Note that this card is for Germany,
whereas the previous one was for Berlin.
At the top is the participant's name and address. The lower part has space for responses
to questions that were presumably announced during a radio program. At the very bottom is
a space labeled "Sonderfrage" ("special question"). Hence, it is not a pure luck-based lottery,
but it has a knowledge- or skill-testing
component. It is unclear how a wrong answer would affect the prticipant's odds of winning
the lottery. It is also unclear whether the skills-component was included because there was
a limit on lotteries or whether the creators of the lottery wanted to foster an environment
where the participants were educated while participating in the lottery.
Proceed to Part 1: Items Issued by Czechoslovakia
