His newly published work on DOA is equally impressive. What appears at first to be a catalogue of postal facilities in the former German colony is, on closer inspection, revealed to be a comprehensive compendium of all things related to the postal system there. In the subtitle on the inside cover, Soll provides a more detailed outline of his project: History, stamps, delivery times, routes and postal officials. Academically speaking, he refers to his book as a review, as it brings together ‘all available information from older works’ — specifically the works of Albert Friedemann, Heinrich Brönnle, Ernst Einfeld and Reinhold Siebentritt, as well as the stamp catalogues of the ARGE Kolonialpostwertzeichen (Colonial Postage Stamps Working Group) — and combines this with the many new findings of the last 10–20 years.
This book begins with a brief introduction to the history of the postal service in East Africa and Zanzibar, before providing a detailed presentation of each of the 57 post offices and postal agencies listed in alphabetical order. Each ‘portrait’ includes information on the office’s historical and geographical background, accompanied by maps. There are also notes on the facilities and services provided by the office, details of the stamps used, postal volume statistics, an introduction to identified postal officials, and delivery times and routes, including changes in the context of newly opened railway and shipping connections. Lavish illustrations in the form of old postcards and exquisite postal documents support the overall picture, with the latter separated into categories such as precursors, peacetime mail and wartime mail, as well as forms such as parcel cards. All documents are accompanied by detailed commentary providing many insights into the postal and contemporary historical and interpersonal backgrounds. The author’s passion for social philately is clear to see! Tariffs are only briefly mentioned; the author refers readers to the books by Michael Jäsche-Lantelme for more information. Soll expressly emphasises that his book cannot ‘replace the ARGE stamp catalogue, but only supplement it’ because, among other things, it does not list market prices for cancellations. To avoid exceeding the scope of his book, he has deliberately excluded railway, ship and naval mail, as well as the postal history of the post-war period when many Germans still lived there and used the British postal service until 1920. He recommends evaluating their censored correspondence as a topic for further research.
Another noteworthy point is that the scans of the documents are intended to give an idea of the material that is still available today and worth collecting. To this end, dedicated members of the ArGe provided the author with extensive information and photocopies. The author would particularly like to thank Harald Krieg, Frank Grieshaber and Markus Kreckel.
The author also considers it important to pay tribute to all those who research and preserve German colonial history with tireless zeal […] [and] critically examine this topic. It is precisely because it is a rather unpopular chapter in German history that it is important that it is not forgotten.
In his book, Soll dedicates his work to Heinrich Brönnle, one of the pioneers of colonial philately in German East Africa. Brönnle’s life and work are honoured in detail in the appendix.
The content, layout, presentation and opulent wealth of high-quality illustrations make this special edition, published by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Sammler Deutscher Kolonialpostwertzeichen e.V., a compelling advertisement for the DOA collecting area in particular and colonial philately in general. This book is set to remain an authoritative reference in the field for years to come, and is available at an unbeatable price!
Key details: soll, Hans-Joachim, Die Postämter und Postagenturen in Deutsch-Ostafrika (Post Offices and Postal Agencies in German East Africa). Format 16.5 x 24.5 cm, satin paper, 496 pages, numerous black-and-white and colour illustrations, hardcover with thread binding. Hiddenhausen 2025. Price: €39 + shipping (Germany: €7, EU: €15). Available from: Tilmann Nössig; Koppenstr. 16; D-10243 Berlin, email: Geschaeftsfuehrer@kolonialmarken.de
Translated with DeepL (www.deepl.com)
