Postmarks of former German States

The postmarks of the former German States were often continued to be used after loss of sovereignty of the previous states. The variety of their  shape and design is of special philatelic interest and forms a specific field for collectors. Well-experienced collectors can recognize the (German) State of origín by the postmark's form.
Here, we depict some types of these postmarks:

Bade

Brunswick

Hamburg

Hannover

Hannover

Lübeck

Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Oldenburg

Prussia

Prussia

Saxony

Schleswig-Holstein

Thurn and Taxis

The classic reference for these postmarks Peter Feuser "Nachvervendete Altdeutschland-Stempel Spezialkatalog und Handbuch", 2. Auflage Stuttgart 1995 ISBN 3-927483-03-6 contains illustrated images and market ratings of all known former German State postmarks.
Additional information can be found in our Circular Letters.