But the bacl thing is t1l1~t the agencies are exhibitiou but would give :.\11 help needed to llot satisfied with acting solei)' as cUstribut· one held in 1966. 'fhe Association for Stump ing >agents, the)- more or less also influence ExllibitiollS, which tnlc1itiollall~- organizes the issuing polic~}' of the small couutries they the international shows in this country, there­ represent. As an example, a. small country fore could not do otherwise tlmn to l'et3in lIlay be eite<l Wl1ich has been issuillg st~ml}S the tell~Jear c.ycle :lnd to s~hcdulc the next for about 55 Jears, in which period it issued big SllOW for 1966. There are still five :lnd about 40 different stllmps. 'rhis year, it f('11 a li:.t1f :'ears left UlItH it is l1uc to take illto the bands of :1Il llgcncy, "'hieh bad the place, but it is never too c:ld~- to shut pre­ countrr immediately produce three lIew par:ltioIlS. There is eerttlinly at lel.lst a couple issues ::wd has others Oil the way; so that of .rcars' time before the actunl organizing under the agency polic} ill Olle ye:n the uf the show will ha \'e to start, but it will country will issue more differcut stamps be :lddsable to Legin without delay with the thall i.n the pn-ccdillg 55 ~'cal's of philatelit: consideration of the bllsie idel.l!! for a. big illdepelldence. Such ('umplcte commerciali. illtCl"llutional show. The illter1lntioual ex­ :l.atiun of the shimp production of a country hibitions haye £01" [t, 101lg timc been unsatis­ for the benefit of a pldlatclic agency is fa.ctory in l o egal'd to tlle ell.lssific.ation of the chnraeteristie of the policies of most of them o exllibits :Illd the methods and procedures of 'fhey seem to b(' :JW:He of tIl(' faet tktt judgillg. Recent exhibitions Iwvc made this their business ,dB not go on fore'-er----sah:s dissatisfaction rather ob,'ious, and all indio of the llew issu('s of such countries shrink Ciltions call for a new :IPI)ro:lch to these from issue to issue--nnd the)" try to make !)foblems, to cope with the present cOlHli­ :IS much money for themsehes :IS possible tions of our hobby. The exhibits at inter­ :IS long as the gOillg is good. When tllC c.ol­ national shows are displayed and judged lcctors eWllhwll'y will be fed np with buy­ in the same old-fashioned way as fifty years ing the colorful pictures whieh nre produced ago, without taking notice of the big strides only for them :1I1d not :It all for post:tl phiJately lIas taken in the decades since purjJOS~S, the COllJrtries concerned ,dll have World War I and of the much broader base a. b:'hl awakening. They will find out that on which it stands todll)'. It is imperative 0 the)' ha'-e gambled :lWtlr their !lbiJatelic good that we find a &'ltisf:lct01 )' solution to these \\'ill, and that it will take llHlIl.'· years of re­ illlp0l'tallt problems befOre actual work Oll putable St.'llllP issl1illg policies to res-tore tIle lohe interuatiollal sholl' starts. It would be good philatplic llftllle of their countries. senseless to again apply the old discredited * • * rules aud l'egulati<lllS, the alltiqu~ted methods It, ]Jow seems to have bee1l definitely de­ {ll1el procedures of judging, to a"oid conflict cided tllnt the Next Intcnwtional Philate7ic witll the "Old Guard". It will require cour­ Exhibition fn this COl/Il/I'Y \\ill be hel<l in age to discard the errors of the past, to Xew York in )fa)' 1966. Thero were too many b"cak with tradition where it is neeess3ry prominent philatelists opposed to :.til earlier ;llld to establish a satisfnetor:r basis for :"I show, planned in conjunction witli the Xew new system of axhibiting and competing York World's Fair of 1964 :llHl 1965, and which will be acceptable to all except the i~ has also been reported that the postal most stubborn diehan]s. But it is the only admillistration would not support an oorlier wa~' to insure the success of the big show. EUROPEAN CLASSICS XXIX. MECKLENBURG-SCHWERiN' StrelitzJ to the south 011 the Prussiall pro\'­ The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, itlee .of Brandenburg, to the south·west Oll one of tlle Old German Statcs, was situated llano\'er-with the Elbe Hiyer forming the in the nol'them pa.rt of tile German plain. approximate boundary-and to the west 011 It bordered to the Horth on the Baltic Se3, the duchies of LauenhUl'g .'llld RatzehuJ"g, to the cast on the Prussion pro\'ince ot belonging to Dcnmrnk and Mecklenburg­ Pomerania, to the south-cnst Oil Mecklenbul'g- StreUb rcspectivel,Y. Mceklellburg-Schwcl"ill had small enclaycs on foreign tenitodes, ·'Ve are indebted to .\11'. John Ro HokeI' of namely Ahrensberg in Mecklcnbnrg-Strelibo; Scarsdale. )0[, Yo for ,'aluable information and permission to study his collection. and Netzeband-SellOJlcberg in the PJ"ussian i72 MERCURY STAMP JOURNAL province of BnUldenburg. In 1865 Laucll­ abolished in 1819. Some liberal reforms were burg, in 1866 Hanover became Prussi.au jJltroduced in 1848, uuder tho grand-duke proYinces, so that from Ulen 011 Meeklenburg­ Pricddch J'nmz, who ruled from 1842 until Sc.hwerin was almost completely surroundC(l long after the elld of the stamp-issuing by Prussia. Its territory covered 5080 square period, but tho.,' were withdrawn a few miles, with It population of 560,000 in 1856 years later, :lllcl the coulltr)' rel'erted to and abont the same in 1867. The capit<.tl, hei.lJg an absolute mOll,nehy, In 1866, Meek­ Scll1l;crin, which lind become a citj' in 1166, lenburg-Schwerjn joined thc North Gerlllnn had 25,000 inhabit:mts in ]867. Confederation and in ]871 bcc.ame part of Not much is known about the early Ilis­ the Genn:m Bmpire. tOl'Y of the couutry. Teutonic tribes occu­ The early PQstal Hiostory saw postal serv'· pied the territory during the time of tJle ices only for the government and for the Roman };mpirc. They were dri'"Cll out in merchnnts, Courier sen'ices inside the COun­ the 6th century by Slavonic tribes which try werc orgunizcd by the former, but the cmIlO from the cast. The Shws built severa] morch,wts were more interested ill mail strongJlOlds, among them Michilcnuurg, to aHd from foreign couutries. Ill. this re­ from which tlle country got its name, and spect, the cities of Rostoc.k and Wismar Zwnrill, lIOW the C3.pital Schwerin. They were best sen-ed, as they were .on the Hanse­ wcrc subducd uy Charlemagne late in the at.ic mail route whicJl l'~lll from Antwerp to 8th century, but were able to thww off Riga. 'l'ho gO\'enlLllellt also had an:lllge­ 'thc foreign rule -amI to beeome ngmn in­ lIlellts with the 'I'hurn alld 'raxis "Reiclls­ dependent. Ouly in 1160 were tllCj" finally post" office at Lubeck for the forwardillg subjugated by Henry the Lion, Duke of Sax­ of lU:l.il. SOl"eral attempts were made to ony, The son of tue last Slavonic ruler, Pri.­ establish .a. domestic mail sel'vice-- the first bisl:l\-, submitted to the forcign rule and was as e:lrly as 1534:--but they dhl not succeed, permitted to retaul his office. In 1170, he was maullJ' bee:wse se"eral foreign postal serv­ made a prince of the Germau Empire bj' ices rall their mail routes thr.ough the ter­ Emperor l"j'ieddch I. His desceJlda.1.ts be­ ritory allcl competed for the customerS. came tho dukes and grand·dukes of both :8velltuaUy, agreement was reached with tho }.Iccklenburgs, ns the only ruling Gel1U3n foreign mail serdeesJ and in 1644, the first princes of Sltn'Ollie origin. In 1348, the Jllail route from Schwerin to Rostock was country W:lS elevated to n. duchy by ]~nl­ opened, which marked the establishment perOl" Karl IV. In 1611, it was divjc1ed into of rcgu1:ll" maH sen-icc in Meck1cnburg· two duchies, :Meeklenbllrg·Schwerin ulld Schwerin, Mccklcnburg-Giistl'ow followed a Mcc.klenburg-Gustrow, with a joint diet and numbel' ()f Jears later, in 16,61. The postal with the town of Rostock as eommon pro­ sen'iee wag a go\"ernment monopoly, but it perty. In 1695, the last duke of Mecklenburg­ was first leased to -pri\':lte enterprise :md Gustrow <lied without IB<'l.ving heb's, In l.I. only l:lter t.aken o\'er by the goverulllent. 'I'he trentj' signed nt IIambUl"g in 1701, a new foreign mail routes were abolished one after division took place. The duke of Mecklen­ the other or taken o\"cr bj- the domestic In:lil IJurg-Schwcrin obtaiued the duchies of sen-icc. During the Napoleonic period, the Schwerin alld Gustrow, while the duJ,a of postnl service WflS reorganized. From 1847 Mirow-Strelitz became tbe ruler of Strelitz, 011, the railroads were llsed for transporting also comprising the duchj' of Ratzeburg and mail, and ill 1853 the first tm"elling post the district of StMgard. }TOlll then on, both offices on railroad trains were introduced. duchies had a separ.:.\te history, although Mecklenburg·Schwerin became a member of they still retained a joint diet. Mec.klellburg­ the Ge1"mau-Austdan Postal Union 011 Ju,lI­ Schwerin was 3.ll absolute monarclly in which uar)" 1, 1851. On December 31, 1867, Meck­ the upper classes ruled.