General Notes on the 1930s/1940s definitives.
Paper & Gum : Paper: Two basic papers were used for the issues described below, Granite Paper and standard non-Granite paper. None of the stamps exist on more than one paper but some of the stamps on non-Granite paper are found both with and without grilling of the gum.
Note: Whilst it is not necessary for these issues to identify the paper employed, Granite Paper displays small flecks of thread embedded in the paper when viewed under a magnifying glass.
Gum: The grill is a criss-cross of tiny dots applied to the back of the stamps. The pressure applied to the gum was sufficient for the paper beneath it to become 'grilled' also, leaving the grilling visible even on used stamps. For those familiar with grills in the centre of early American stamps, the grill on Swiss stamps is not generally as heavy nor as immediately obvious, but can be observed when the back of the stamp is held almost parallel to the light. The grill covers all of the stamp, not just the central portion.
Catalogue Numbering : SG numbers were changed in the early part of this century for the 1936-42 definitives, but both old and new numbers are a complex mixture incorporating small and large sub-letters. Furthermore, to avoid re-numbering a whole section of the catalogue, very similar numbers were inevitably used for re-numbering, leading at times to confusion over whether a listing follows the old or new numbering. We have therefore used Michel numbers in this article. Note that Michel uses the suffix 'y' to denote stamps with smooth gum and 'z' for stamps with grilled gum.
Tête-bêche pairs : In the case of the stamps covered by this article, all tête-bêche pairs are horizontal. Michel numbers tête-bêche pairs with the prefix 'K' (German: Kehrdruck), this prefix applying both to two stamps joined directly tête-bêche and also to those arranged tête-bêche across interpanneau margins. Note, though, that the 1934 issue inter-panneau pairs, as with the 20c pair shown above, are NOT arranged tête-bêche. The 1936-48 small landscapes and 1949/50 large landscapes, however, are arranged tête-bêche across the gutter.
Interpanneau Pairs (Gutter Pairs) : These come in two main styles:
. . . . Double Gutters, with three lines of perforation, and hence two gutter margins, between the stamps
. . . . Single Gutter, with only a single 'field' between the stamps.
For the railway issues in question, all the double gutters have blank fields, whilst all the single gutters have two or three rows of crosses down the gutter.
OFFICIAL STAMPS: These come in three forms :
Perforated with a cross in this shape (+) made of nine holes (5x5, with the central hole common to the horizontal and vertical line of holes). Some issues have smaller holes, others larger holes, but this is not a distinguishing feature for the railway issues, each of which only exists in one format
Overprinted with a cross
Overprinted diagonally ' Officiel '
Note: Michel prefixes Official Stamps with the letter 'D' (Dienstmarken)
Coil Stamps: These are sometimes identifiable from the front, due to clipped perforations, but this is an uncertain test. Unique to the coil stamps, however, is that there is a control number on top of the gum of every fifth stamp, which is often partially visible on used examples. Controls that we have seen consist of one letter followed by four numerals.
Booklets : Whilst some of the stamps listed in this article are found in booklets, there are no railway-related booklet panes which combine two different values se-tenant. However, the 1934 NABA miniature sheet (illustrated later in this article) does have se-tenant combinations, but, due to the high value of these miniature sheets, it would be unusual to encounter any se-tenant examples extracted from one. A typical booklet pane and an outer cover of its booklet are shown above; note the two small staple holes in the margin.
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The 1934 Definitives : All the stamps are on Granite Paper with Grilled Gum.
10c Violet (Mi. 272) [ . ]
- ditto - Booklet Pane/6 [ . ]
- ditto - pair with 'double' gutter (Mi. WZ 32) [ . ]
- ditto - tete-beche pair (Mi. K.29) [ . ]
20c Red (Mi. 274)
- ditto - Booklet Pane/6 [ . ]
- ditto - pair with 'double' gutter (Mi. WZ 34) [ . ]
- ditto - tete-beche pair (Mi. K.31) [ . ]
30c Blue (Mi. 276) [ . ]
Official Stamps : Perforated with a nine-hole 'Swiss' cross:
10c Violet perforated with a cross ( + ) (Mi. D.3) [ . ]
20c Red perforated with a cross ( + ) (Mi. D.5) [ . ]
30c Blue perforated with a cross ( + ) (Mi. D.7) [ . ]
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1934 Naba Miniature Sheet (four values 5c, 10c, 15c, 20c) (Mi. Block 1) [ . ]
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Above: Private overprints on 1934 designs for the 50th Anniversary of the Bern(e) Philatelic Club, without postal validity.
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Coil Stamps : As mentioned in the introduction, these are found on several of the lower values of definitives from 1936 and a typical example is shown above.
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The 1936 Definitives (and later issues to 1948 - in the 1936 designs):
The 1936 stamps show the same geographical features as the 1934 set, but they are completely new designs. The most obvious difference is in the positioning of the figures of value but many other details have been altered. Both 1936 10c and 20c values were also reissued in a slightly redrawn state, known as Type II, and this coincided with their ebing printed in new sheet formats.
Further down, we have provided a table for the 1936-1948 definitives by Michel specialized numbers and this table may be used as an alternative check-list. In our standard 'green' listings, for stamps issued between 1936 and 1939, we have provided check-boxes as follows:
[ sm ] for stamps with smooth gum
[ gr ] for stamps with grilled gum
All the remaining stamps in this article are on normal Non-Granite Paper.
The lower scans show the two types of the 10c: The original issue (Type I) has the '0' of '10' shaded using only vertical lines. The stamp was later re-drawn with two lines of diagonal cross-hatching added within the '0' (Type II).
Note: Two later stamps in this design, a 10c in brown and a 10c in green, were both in a further redrawn state, Type III, with the inside of the '0' different again, but, as they only exist in this one state, no detailed examination is needed.
For ease of reference, we shall list the 1936-1938 issues, grouped by face value.
1936-38 10c Violet : Chillon Castle
Type I . No cross hatching in '0'
10c Violet [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Booklet Pane/6 [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Tête-Bêche Pair [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Plain double-gutter interpanneau pair [ sm ] [ gr ]
The 10c violet can be found from a worn plate in which the wall of the castle appears white.
Official:
10c Violet perforated with a cross (for official use) [ sm ] [ gr ]
Above: Additional formats only found in Type II
Type II . With cross hatching in '0'
10c Violet [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Booklet Pane/6 [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Coil Stamp numbered on the back [ sm ]
- ditto - Tête-Bêche Pair [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Single gutter interpanneau pair with patterned field (crosses) [ sm ] [ gr ]
Official:
10c Violet perforated with a cross (for official use) [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Perforated Cross DOUBLE (rare) [ ?gum? ]
10c Violet overprinted with a cross (for official use) [ sm ] [ gr ]
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1936 and 1937 issues of the 20c Gotthard Railway.
Above: Type I, Type I worn plate, Type II. Note the lack of detail on the brickwork above the tunnel entrance on the middle stamp, printed from a worn plate. This wear probably led to the decision to redraw the stamp. Below are detail scans of the first and third stamps above.
Brickwork : Spacing and angles of lines of shading in the first row of bricks above the tunnel mouth differs in the two printings.
Bollards marking the edge of the road : Small in Type I, Thicker and Higher in Type II.
1936-38 20c Red : Gotthard Railway
Type I . Small bollards at road edge
20c Red [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Worn Plate (scarce) [ gr ]
Official:
20c Red perforated with a cross (for official use) [ gr ]
Type II . Larger bollards at road edge
20c Red [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Booklet Pane/6 [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Tête-Bêche Pair [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Plain double-gutter interpanneau pair [ sm ] [ gr ]
Official:
20c Red perforated with a cross (for official use) [ sm ]
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The 30c of 1936 depicts Rheinfall and, in the background, a railway bridge. The 1936 issue is in a slightly pale ultramarine, but the stamp came out again in 1948, this time in turquoise-green. There is also an intermediate colour of greenish-blue which we consider to be a colour shade of the 1936 issue. The first three stamps in the scan above show the 1936 30c in ultramarine, the greenish-blue shade of this stamp and the 1948 turquoise-green 30c respectively, but the scanner has failed to reproduce accurately what are quite significantly different colours.
1936 and later : 30c 'Blue' : Rheinfall
1936 30c. Ultramarine.
30c Ultramarine : Rheinfall [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Coil Stamp numbered on the back [ sm ]
30c Greenish-Blue [ . ]
The 1948 30c turquoise-green is listed further down.
Official:
30c Ultramarine : Perforated with a cross (for official use) [ sm ] [ gr ]
30c Ultramarine : Overprinted with a cross (for official use) [ sm ] [ gr ]
30c Ultramarine : Overprinted 'Officiel' diagonally [ sm ]
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1939 : 10c Chillon Castle in Chocolate-Brown
10c Chocolate-Brown : Chillon Castle [ sm ] [ gr ]
- ditto - Coil Stamp numbered on the back [ sm ]
- ditto - Tête-Bêche Pair [ sm ]
- ditto - Single gutter interpanneau pair with patterned field (crosses) [ sm ]
Official:
10c Chocolate-Brown : Chillon Castle overprinted 'Officiel' [ sm ]
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1942 : 10c Chillon Castle in Orange-Brown. Smooth Gum only.
10c Orange-Brown : Chillon Castle [ . ]
- ditto - Coil Stamp numbered on the back [ . ]
- ditto - Tête-Bêche Pair [ . ]
- ditto - Single gutter interpanneau pair with patterned field (crosses) [ . ]
Official:
10c Orange-Brown : Chillon Castle overprinted 'Officiel' [ . ]
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1948 : 10c Chillon Castle in Green. Smooth Gum only.
10c Green : Chillon Castle [ . ]
- ditto - Coil Stamp numbered on the back [ . ]
- ditto - Tête-Bêche Pair [ . ]
- ditto - Single gutter interpanneau pair with patterned field (crosses) [ . ]
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This is the same stamp as the third stamp shown in the row of 1936 30c stamps higher up, now edited to what appears, on our screen at least, to be a much closer representation of the colour of the 1948 printing.
1948 : 30c Rheinfall in Turqoise-Green. Smooth Gum only.
30c Turquoise-Green : Rheinfall [ . ]
- ditto - Coil Stamp numbered on the back [ . ]
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Specialized Chart for the 1936-1948 Definitives including Gum Types.
In the table below, which is for the 1936-48 definitives only, we have given Michel numbers in all the spaces where a stamp exists. The vertical columns are as follows:
Column 1 : Stamp Description (sm = smooth gum, gr = grilled gum; for explanation of Types I and II, see higher up)
Column 2 : The normal sheet stamp
Column 3 : Double gutter interpanneau pair
Column 4 : Single gutter pair (with patterns of crosses in the intervening fields)
Column 5 : Tete-beche pair
Column 6 : Stamp perforated with a cross ( + )
Column 7 : Stamp overprinted with a cross ( + )
Column 8 : Stamp overprinted ' Officiel '
Column 9 : Stamps which exist with coil numbers on the gum are marked 'yes'
The scans above show a coil number on a 5c landscape definitive and what appears to be a tax (perhaps 'postage due' marking) on the 25c of the set. We have seen all values of this set with plain 'T' or 'T in a circle' cancellations but have no information on whether they officially served as postage dues.
Most of the basic stamps listed in this article were also overprinted for use in the
Geneva offices of either the League of Nations or, later, the United Nations and its various agencies.
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The Gotthard Railway near Giornico, from above and below:
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Rheinfall & Railway Bridge, romanticized:
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