PROPAGANDA POSTCARDS
(1923)

This page was last updated
18-Mar-2023 02:25

13. DEUTSCHES TURNFEST
13th GERMAN GYMNASTICS FESTIVAL

BACKGROUND: The 13th Deutsches Turnfest took place in Munich from 7th to 21st Jul 1923.

There were a number of different postcards available and some of the more common are featured below. The first card (three versions) features the Munich Frauenkirche. This card featured one of two combinations of pre-printed stamps and there was another version without a pre-printed stamp.

Mahr Verlag of Munich published two cards, the first features a knight on horseback and the other an artist's impression of an athlete holding a winner's wreath.

SPECIAL CANCEL: There was a special machine cancel and a special handstamp available during the games:

Special circular cancel: inscribed "13. Deutsches Turnfest | 7.-21. Juli | München". Special machine cancel: inscribed "13 DEUTSCHES TURNFEST 1923 | MÜNCHEN 14.-21.VII".




ABOVE LEFT: CIRCULAR CANCEL
ABOVE RIGHT: MACHINE CANCEL

FRAUENKIRCHE

There were two different versions of this postcard with pre-printed stamps, as well as another without a pre-printed stamp. The first card PP68-C-1, has two pre-printed stamps, a 40 Mark sowers stamp, and a 20 Mark miners stamp. The second version PP72-C-1 has a 100 Mark number in circle stamp, and a 20 Mark miner's pre-printed stamp.

PP68-C-1
(40 Mark + 20 Mark)

Published in 1923. This version of the card has pre-printed 40 Mark 'sower', and 20 Mark 'miner' stamps. This particular example from my collection features the special machine cancel inscribed "13 DEUTSCHES TURNFEST 1923 | MÜNCHEN 14.-21.VII". In addition, this example has another circular cancel inscribed "13. Deutsches Turnfest | 7.-21. Juli | München".




ABOVE: PP68-C-1 - 40 Mark + 20 Mark

PP72-C-1
(100 Mark + 20 Mark)

Published in 1923, this example from my collection is postally unused. The pre-printed stamps are a 100 Mark 'Number in Rosette' and a 20 Mark 'Miner' stamp. Although unused this card does have the same circular stamp as the example above inscribed "13. Deutsches Turnfest | 7.-21. Juli | München".

On the front side of the postcard a poster stamp (Cinderella Stamp) has been added on the lower left-hand side.




ABOVE: PP72-C-1 - 100 Mark + 20 Mark

NO PRE-PRINTED STAMP

Published in 1923. This postcard is identical to the others that have pre-printed stamps only in this case there wasn't one. It does however have the circular stamp seen on the others which was likely applied at the festival.




ABOVE: NO PRE-PRINTED STAMP

VERLAG J.A. MAHR

This postcard features a knight on horseback and it exists in at least two variants published by Verlag J. A. Mahr. The front of the card features the event logo in blue on the left-hand pane, and the text "Offizielle | Fest-Postkarte" to the right of the vertical divider (slightly hidden in the example below).

The second version, also by Mahr-Verlag, is the same except it has the text "Offizielle Fest-Postkarte" above the logo, and "13. Deutsches | Turnfest | München 1923" to the right of it. The vertical text is also no longer present.






This next card from Verlag J.A. Mahr depicts an athlete holding a winner's wreath and waving to the crowd. The special logo on this card is the same as the one above only now in purple ink instead of blue ink.




ABOVE: MAHR-VERLAG MÜNCHEN

REFERENCES:
1. PRIVATPOSTKARTEN KATALOG BAND 1 by HANSPETER FRECH 2003 Edition