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More Austrian stamps for 2022

by catpaw | Nov 1, 2022

What's here?

See Austrian stamps January to June here The article has been broken into two sections to speed up the page.

July

Mercury: 1851 – 2022 CRYPTO 4.1 – STAMP ART

This new project is a joint effort between Austria’s post office and digital designers.

1st Edition will be this standard block of stamps. An NFT version will be released July 22, 2022.

1 sheet of 4 stamps, FDC, cancel, black print
Offset + 485C + lacquer

Mercury /Hermes – messenger of the gods

Hermes messenger to the gods Greek stamp 1861

1961 Greek stamp

The choice of Mercury for the first NFT digital art collaboration is an appropriate one. Mercury (in Roman mythology and Hermes in Greek mythology) was the messenger for the gods. His image is a common theme, popping up on stamps around the globe.

Greece was the first country to use Hermes on regular issue stamps with their 1861 stamps. Not only were these the first Mercury/Hermes stamps issued in the world, they were also the first stamps issued by the Greek post office. However, Austria’s use of Mercury predates Greece by 10 years.

The first Austrian issues were the 3 unwatermarked, Imperf. newspaper stamps issued between 1851 to 1856 and designed by Josef Axmann.

1851 Austrian newspaper stamp with Mercury

Austria went on to use the winged image over the ensuing decades for both feldpost newspaper stamps and regular newspaper stamps.

1921 Newspaper stamp Designer: J. F. Renner

1917 Newspaper express stamp Designer: Alfred Cossmann

1916 Feldpost newspaper stamp

The new stamps are a modern re-working of the ancient myth, using digital technology.

A legend comes back to life
Mercury was the messenger of the world of gods. As such, he adorned the first newspaper stamps, which were issued in 1851 for the discounted dispatch of newspapers. At that time, the series appeared in four color values, whereby the vermilion Mercury is still by far the most valuable stamp in Austria due to its rarity. Now the Mercury is being reinterpreted as a physical special stamp block.
The special feature: The new edition was designed by PR1MAL CYPHER, the most renowned Austrian digital artist and NFT specialist, who works with his publisher Encode Graphics for the US comic book publisher Marvel, among others. “Mercury: 1851 – 2022” was released on July 1, 2022.
Austrian Post Newsletter July 4, 2022

On July 22, 2022, Austria Post will release, through NFT Topaki, 2,500 CSA Mystery Boxes.

In each of these digital boxes there are four Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) of Mercury, whose color values are distributed with different frequencies.
Buyers will also receive an exclusive special art stamp and also the physical brand block with the design of PR1MAL CYPHER / Encode Graphics. Austrian Post Newsletter July 4, 2022

The boxes will be sold exclusively by Tokapi.com. Buyers will be able to purchase this series using regular payment methods, so collectors don’t need to install a wallet.

Designer: PR1MAL CYPHER / Encode Graphics.
NFT Studios interviewed PR1MAL CYPHER for their July 4, 2022 podcast. You can listen here: Interview with ENCODE Graphics’ Pr1mal Cypher (nftstudio24.com). The interview is in English.

Release date: July 1, 2022

Calcite
Series: minerals

1 stamp

Designer: not listed

Release date: July 1, 2022

Flowers
4th in series

4 stamps on sheet

Aquilegia
wallflower
widow flower
achillea

Designer: not listed

Release date: July 1, 2022

100th Anniversary of the Birth of Georg Kreisler (1922-2011)

1 stamp, FDC, cancel

Satirist, songwriter, cabaret performer. playwriter, and novelist.

Kreisler’s song “Poisoning pigeons” makes an appearance on the stamp. Note the small pigeon in the lower left.

The experience of immigration and remigration is a central theme in his artistic work, as evident in many of his songs and musicals—most notably in Heute Abend: Lola Blau, one of the most widely performed works in contemporary European musical theater. Georg Franz Kreisler | Transatlantic Perspectives

Designer: Anita Kern

Release date: July 13, 2022

Lois Weinberger (1947-2020)
Series: Modern art in Austria

1 stamp, FDC, cancel

Lois Weinberger (b. 1947 in Stams, Tyrol) was an early and visionary critic of the upheavals of the Anthropocene and is considered a pioneer of a distinct, artistic ecology. From the 1990s onwards, he played a significant role in shaping the discourse surrounding the relationship between nature and culture. Lois Weinberger | Belvedere Museum Vienna

Onopordon acanthium Common Thistle 1995

“The bent plant suggests that nature has been damaged. Throughout his lifetime, the artist studied humankind’s interaction with nature and the phenomenon that humans can look at nature while being part of it.” Austria Philately News 2022 13.06.2022

… an early and visionary critic of the upheavals of the Anthropocene and is considered a pioneer of a distinct, artistic ecology. From the 1990s onwards, he played a significant role in shaping the discourse surrounding the relationship between nature and culture. Between ironic shamanism and conceptual but poetic rigor, his works show the limits of human agency and make our superiority over the environment perceptible as an illusion. Weinberger’s works challenge our ethical standards with the juxtaposition of the seemingly marginal, useless, and worthless. In doing so, they express with relish an all-encompassing, inescapable cycle of becoming and decaying. Lois Weinberger | Belvedere Museum Vienna

Artwork: Lois Weinberger – pencil on paper, common thistle Lois Weinberger
Designer: Regina Simon

Release date: July 6, 2022

150 Year Anniversary Austrian Hungarian North Polar Expedition 1872-1874

2 stamps on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel, black print, info sheet

In 1871, the Austrian government dispatched veteran Arctic explorers Julius von Payer and Karl Weyprecht to investigate this possibility. As Payer wrote, “Our ideal aim was the north-east passage, our immediate and definite object was the exploration of the seas and lands on the north-east of Novaya Zemlya.” Oficiální stránky: Komité Eduarda rytíře z Orlů – Články – The Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition of 1872-74 (estranky.cz)

Designer: Robert Höfler

Release date: July 13, 2022

August

Vending Machine Stamps – Summer Flowers

2 philatelic vending machines stamps

They are offered with 3 different overprints, depending on where they are sold.

Sunflower
Rowanberry

Release date: August 1, 2022

Birgit Jürgenssen (1948 – 2003) – I want out of here!, 1976

1 stamp, FDC, cancel, black print, info sheet

Photographer, artist, teacher

In her multi-faceted works, the artist dealt with female identity and traditional gender roles. She used her own body as a medium and projection surface to reveal stereotypical social and cultural gender roles through different processes, always adding a great deal of self-irony. The work “I want out of here!” addresses the act of breaking free from unwanted identities and roles by crossing borders and creating a self-determined space. Commemorative stamp Birgit Jürgenssen – PostAG

Birgit Jürgenssen | MoMA

Designer: Theresa Radlingmaier using photos from the Birgit Jürgenssen Estate/Wien 2022
Radlingmaier designed the 2021 stamp dedicated to artist Lisl Ponger

Release date: August 26, 2022

Fliegenpilz | Fly Mushroom

1 stamp, 2 FDCs, cancel, sheet of 10, 2 black prints

Fly agaric (amanita muscaria)

In the past, pieces of fly agaric soaked in milk were used to catch flies, which is probably how the mushroom got its name. Today, the fly agaric is a popular symbol of good luck. Commemorative stamp Fly agaric – PostAG

Amanita muscaria – Vancouver Mycological Society (vanmyco.org)

Designer: Marion Füllerer

Release date: August 26, 2022

Birdpex 2022 – mute swan

1 stamp, FDC, cancel, black print, info sheet

The 2022 Birdpex 9 takes place in Austria. It is a special exhibition dedicated to collecting birds on stamps. This year’s stamp is dedicated to Austria’s largest water bird (and one of the largest in the world), the mute swan (Cygnus olor).

Mute Swan – Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio

Gmunden, Upper Austria,
August 26 to 28, 2022

Designer: Marion Füllerer

Release date: August 27, 2022

September

Nostalgic Views
postcard booklet

6 postcards, 6 stamps

Salzkammergut lake region
Tyrolean mountains
cities of Graz, Salzburg, and Vienna
Wachau region

Release date: September 1, 2022

Back in the day

20 stamps on a sheet

Nostalgic items from previous eras

Release date: September 1, 2022

Historical Animal Painting

8 stamps

Artist: Josef Wolf (1820-1899), a 19th century animal painter Joseph Wolf – Artvee

Release date: September 1, 2022

Teddy bears
postcards

4 postcards, 4 stamps

Release date: September 1, 2022

150 Years of railway line Feldkirch – Schaan – Buchs
Tri country joint release: Austria – Liechtenstein & Switzerland

1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel, black print, info sheet
Other issues include a 3-stamp souvenir sheet,2 more 1 stamp souvenir sheets, 3 FDCs, 3 cancels, 1 postcard.

The trains are:

Austria: 1927 class 77 steam locomotive
Liechtenstein: 2004 class 4024 TALENT railcar of ÖBB
Switzerland: 1964-1985 class Re 4/4II (Re 420) electric locomotive

You can read more about this set and the route here Celebrating 150 Yrs of the Feldkirch–Schaan–Buchs Railway | Bitter Grounds Magazine.

A special release event will be held in Switzerland – Levis rectory, Mutterstrasse 73, A-6800 Feldkirch, for 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. The joint issues will be officially released at a 1 pm ceremony. The event will run Friday, 9 September 2022, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to Saturday, 10 September 2022, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. And they have snacks! If you manage to attend, send photos of the event! I’d love to add them to this page.

Designer: David Gruber / Marion Füllerer

Release date: September 9, 2022

100th Anniversary of the Schönbrunn Carriage Museum

1 stamp, FDC, cancel, info sheet, black print

Carriage Museum (schoenbrunn.at)

Designer: Theresa Radlingmaier

Release date: September 13, 2022

Stamp Day 2022

1 stamp, 2 FDCs, cancel, sheet of 6 (apologies for the small size, trying to find a full-size version), 2 black prints

The stamp within this stamp is a 1908 stamp bearing an 1848 portrait of Emperor Franz Joseph. Designed by Koloman Moser for Franz Joseph’s 60th anniversary.
Moser was a renowned 20th century graphic artist. He was an integral part of the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Succession) movement and later the Klimt Group. You can read a pretty decent, brief bio of Moser here Koloman Moser – Wallpaper to postage stamps, Kolo does it all (arthistoryproject.com).

The vehicle is a Post-Elektroauto Daimler 1913. By June of 1913, Austria post had 29 electric vehicles on the road.

Designer: Anita Kern

Release date: September 14, 2022

90th Anniversary of LEGO®

1 stamp, FDC, cancel, sheet of 10 (apologies for the small size, trying to find a full size version), 2 black prints

The Legos in the stamp depict the Vienna Ferris wheel.

Creative building is something that is also associated with the Vienna Ferris wheel. This prompted Österreichische Post and LEGO Group to honour the Viennese landmark with a commemorative stamp in LEGO design – especially since the Ferris wheel is also celebrating its birthday this year (its 125th!).

To celebrate both the Ferris wheel and the Lego anniversary, Österreichische Post will setup a special post office next to the Ferris wheel. If you happen to be near the event, take a photo of the booth and send it to me. I’d love to post the post office on this page. If you are purchasing this stamp there, and would like to post your photo of you with this stamp and cover (soon to be released), send it long and I’ll post it as well.

Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel – Since 1897 (wienerriesenrad.com)Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel – Since 1897 (wienerriesenrad.com)

Designer: Chris Booth (The LEGO Agency)

Release date: September 16, 2022

Paul’s Initial Codex 26 f. 170r – Heiligenkreuz Abbey

1 stamp, FDC, cancel, black print, info sheet

The Abbey was founded 1133 by Leopold III.

Image in the stamp is from Codex 26 on folio 170r. The manuscript was produced at the Heiligenkreuz Abbey in the 12th century.

Stift Heiligenkreuz – Seit 1133 eine Oase der Kraft (stift-heiligenkreuz.org)
The Abbey is on the tentative UNESCO World Heritage list.

Designer: Kirsten Lubach

Release date: September 17, 2022

Crypto 4.1 – Bull

1 stamp

Release date: September 22, 2022

150th Anniversary of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

1 stamp, FDC, cancel, black print, info sheet

Designer: Theresa Radlingmaier

Release date: September 29, 2022

October

Traditional Costumes – Accessories and Ornaments 2022
info sheet

Special info sheet that covers the entire series that started in 2020

Release date: October 1, 2022

Vending Machine Stamps – Winter 2021 (horse-drawn sleigh / Christmas wreath)

2 stamps

Release date: October 1, 2022

First Austrian Art Exhibition 1947
Series: Treasures from the Postal Archive