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You are here: Home / Provisional Postmarks / Tverai 1921

Tverai 1921

April 30, 2016 By Vytautas Doniela

Tverai is a historic township in Žemaitija, aprox. half-way between Telšiai and Šilalė. In earlier years the locality was also known as Tveriai. It had no resident postal facility either during the czarist period or the German occupation in World War One.

In WWI, during the German push into Žemaitija and Courland, Tverai (in Russian Tveri, in German Twery) was reached by 7 pm on April 28, 1915 by German units of 12. Kavallerie-Brigade of 6. Kavallerie-Division). During the German retreat from Russia in late 1918, Red troops were halted some distance east of Tverai.

A Lithuanian postal agency (agentūra) was most likely opened in early 1921, possibly with the assistance of the local municipality, but so far no further details are available, as the facility is not recorded by the Pašto Valdyba in 1919 and 1920.

For stamps, Tverai had some values of the Berlin IV Issue. Cancelling at first was done by means of a rubber one-liner which contains the letter W and therefore seems to be a make-over of some Stempel from the German occupation.

LT-1921-Tverai provisional one-liner

Within a few months the agency was provided with a regular canceller where the letters “P.A.” indicated its status as an agentūra. As Kazys Milvydas in his early cancellations catalogue had noted, eventually the canceller lost the two lines above and below the date and so turned into a new type (see below).

LT-1921 Tverai PA a reconstructed
Tverai PA a Fug-1385

According to Ričardas Vainora, in spring 1927 the Tverai status was raised to Post Office category VII. So far, no other provisional postal markings (such as registration etc.) have come to light.

Known provisional markings

Rubber one-liner:

[early 1921 ?] single, Berlin IV 30 [colln. Brazdeikis]

Filed Under: Provisional Postmarks

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