A commemmorative stamp (ANK1837) showing a registration label of this first design was issued in 1985.
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Registered Post itself is more than 300 years old. The first mention of registered shipments is in a Postal Directive of the elector Johann Georg II of Saxony for 24 September 1677. In Austria they were first mentioned in a Postal Directive of Leopold I for 16 April 1695. The labelling of registered shipments was originally done with a (mostly very ornate) 'Nb' sign (meaning 'Nota Bene'). From 1824 special registration cancellers were gradually introduced (see for example 'Combined Town & Registration Cancels of Vienna', Austria 129 pp27-33).
The Paris UPU treaty made the use of a large Latin R obligatory for all member countries, and starting from 23 Jan 1883 the majority of the post offices were issued with suitable registration cancellers. By this time, however, registration labels had long been in use in the German empire, from 1870 for Alsace. So on 15 March 1885 Registration Labels were experimentally introduced for 34 Viennese post offices within the Gurtel, ie today's districts 1 to 9 and 20 plus Favoriten, which had all been incorporated into the city in 1874. All other post offices including Vienna's suburbs continued to use Registration Cancels.
Thus, the k. k. Department of Commerce issued an ordinance in the 'Post- und Telegraphen-Verordnungsblatt für das Verwaltungsgebiet des k. k. Handels-ministeriums' of 12 March 1885: Introduction of Klebezettel for registered letters. The k. k. Department of Commerce has decided to allow the application of Klebezettel for registered letters, only at the Viennese post offices, as an experiment. These Klebezettel, which are to be affixed upon issue on the address side of the registered letter, are manufactured from yellow paper, are perforated, and contain besides the designation R the name of the issuing post office, then the number of the registered letter in black. Vienna, 2 March 1885. Although the ordinance itself is dated 2 March, it was only published on the 12th, which might be the reason why the earliest known registered letters with Registration Labels are dated 21st March 1885. Presumably the post offices had not been issued with Registration Labels on the 15th when the ordinance took effect.
A commemmorative stamp (ANK1837) showing a registration label of this first design was issued in 1985.
The new Registration Labels were printed in oblong format 39x14 mm on harsh, thick, yellow paper, which shows on examination a light gridded appearance (maschige struktur), with on the left in a box an elongated high and thin R. The remainder is divided horizontally with a line into two parts; in the lower the sign 'No' and the item number are displayed. The slips of paper were printed in two half sheets (1-50 and 51-100), whereby the outside edges remained imperforated. The upper box contained the post office name, usually with 'Wien' in somewhat larger type in the first line and in the second line the designation (for example Alsergrund, Landskrongasse, Minoritenplatz) in a very narrow, high font. Various perforations are found.
The example above was posted from Vienna to Berlin on 2nd August 1889.
This was posted from Vienna to Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland.
On the reverse is a delivery mark and a resplendent seal.
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©Andy Taylor. Last updated 27 August 2000