The Curious World of Cinderella Stamps
In philately, not everything that looks like a stamp was created to carry the post.
A Cinderella stamp is a small, usually perforated and gummed label designed to resemble a postage stamp, but with no official postal value. These labels have been produced around the world for advertising, fundraising, education, promotion and political propaganda.
On their own, many Cinderellas are relatively inexpensive. Found attached to an original letter or cover, however, they can add valuable historical context, visual interest and sometimes considerable extra value.
The group pictured includes six labels representing former Imperial German colonies and territories: Karolinen, Kamerun, Kiautschou, the Marshall Islands, Togo and German New Guinea. Each uses the same striking design, with a steamship at sea and the German imperial naval ensign in the foreground. Different colours distinguish the individual territories.
There is also a pleasing connection between their German subject and the name given to this branch of collecting. The Brothers Grimm published their version of Cinderella, Aschenputtel, in Children’s and Household Tales in 1812.
The other two labels show how Cinderellas could serve very different purposes during the First World War.
The purple St Dunstan’s label carries the appeal “Their Sight for Us, Our Help for Them”. It was produced to support the organisation’s work caring for servicemen who had lost their sight.
The far darker “Kultur Has Passed Here” label is a piece of anti-German propaganda. A mother and child lie beneath a burning town as an airship passes overhead, while a winged hourglass suggests that time is running out.
Neither label could have carried a letter. Yet both carried a powerful message, showing why Cinderella stamps can offer such a fascinating glimpse into the politics, causes and concerns of their time.
