Sokol regional rally in Znojmo, 24 August 1919 — the earliest commemorative postmark on the Hradčany issue
Among the records of postal use of the Hradčany issue, one postcard sent from Znojmo to Štramberk in Moravia holds a special place. It carries a single cancellation — the circular commemorative postmark SOKOLSKÝ SLET VE ZNOJMĚ · C.S.P. ("Sokol regional rally in Znojmo") dated 24 August 1919, the first day of the rally. According to the records compiled so far, this is the earliest documented use of a Czechoslovak commemorative postmark on a stamp of the Hradčany issue.
The cover and its franking
The postcard is franked with a single 15 h brick red, imperforate stamp, attributed to field 73 of printing plate II. The 15 h postcard rate matches the 2nd tariff period (15 May 1919 – 14 March 1920), which covers the date 24 August 1919. The addressee was Miss Marta Kokršková in Štramberk.
A second recorded copy — field 57/II, perforation A
A second stamp with the same cancellation has also been found in the collection — this time a single copy, off cover, with perforation A (13¾:13½) and attributed to field 57 of the same printing plate II. The strike is fully legible on this copy and confirms the same text and date as the copy on the postcard.
Two different copies from the same plate — one imperforate, one perforation A — show that the postmark was available on the day of the rally for both states of the plate II sheets then concurrently in circulation.
A third recorded copy — the cover to Německý Brod, field 76/I
A third cover bearing the same postmark has also been found — a postcard likewise sent from Znojmo, addressed to Mrs E. Vodičková in Německý Brod (Vila Klementka). It is franked with a 15 h brick red, imperforate stamp, which the collector attributed, by comparison against the reference library, to field 76 of printing plate I — making it the first recorded copy of this postmark on a plate other than II. Because the strike falls heavily across the design, the attribution could not be fully confirmed by eye against the catalogued distinguishing marks; it nonetheless stands as a reliable estimate.
What makes this cover interesting is that, alongside the postage stamp, it also carries a green non-postal Sokol souvenir label, SLET ZNOJMO, showing a falcon (a nod to the Sokol movement's name) and its own pre-printed date of 8 August 1919 — and both items were tied to the postcard by the very same commemorative postmark of 24 August 1919. The cover thus shows that the postmark was also used, on occasion, on private Sokol souvenir labels, and not only on valid postage.
Why this postmark comes first
The commemorative postmark carried the text SOKOLSKÝ SLET VE ZNOJMĚ around the upper arc, the abbreviation C.S.P. ("Czecho-Slovak Post") around the lower arc, and an adjustable date bridge reading 24 August 1919 in the centre. A photograph of the postmarking device itself has also survived (mirrored, as seen on the metal/rubber type before an impression is taken):
Commemorative postmarks only became a regular feature of the post-war Czechoslovak post in the following years; the postmark for the Znojmo rally of 24 August 1919 precedes — according to the records compiled so far for the Hradčany issue — every other documented use of a commemorative postmark on this issue. With three copies recorded so far — two from printing plate II and one from plate I — it is also clear that the Znojmo post office had a stock of 15 h stamps from more than one plate on hand that day. If readers know of an earlier dated use on a Hradčany stamp, we would be glad to hear of it — the records will be updated as new finds come to light.