Johann Sebastian Bach Stamp of 1926

This article features the Johann Sebastian Bach Stamp of 1926 from the country of Germany. Bach is a popular subject on stamps and may well be the classical composer to appear the most on stamps from around the world. You can see other articles featuring Bach stamps on this blog including this article about the Bach crest, the German composer set from 1935, and Bach stamps on a zeppelin cover from the same year. Though the first composer series of stamps came from Austria in 1922, Bach was not included (he is not Austrian). Therefore, the first Bach stamp came later, from 1926, and is the subject of this blog post.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Since the nineteenth century, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) has been valued as one of the greatest of all composers. He was from a long line of musicians was a great organist. In addition, he wrote for both instrumental and vocal ensembles. Some of his best known works include the Brandenburg Concertos, his St. Matthew Passion, and solo works for cello and keyboard.

Following a revival of interest in his works in the nineteenth century, Bach became celebrated as a monumental figure within western music, and by extension, western civilization. He is one of the “great men” of history. Bach became not just one of the genius composers, but was celebrated alongside other titans of philosophy, art, literature, and politics. This is now an outdated way of viewing history. However, Bach’s music still holds an elevated position within the western canon of classical music. Millions of people across the globe still love his music.

The Stamp

In the 1920s, much of the western world still subscribed to a “great men” view of history. Indeed, countries used postage stamps as a way of celebrating these great figures (mostly men) as part of their propaganda. Music certainly is often a part of this kind of nationalist thinking. Indeed, in 1926 Germany’s Weimar Republic, in desperate need of stabilizing and unifying a fractured German populace, created the Famous Germans stamp set. The set includes thirteen stamps of various values depicting nine different German men. It ranges from the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, to Immanuel Kant, to Albrecht Dürer. It includes two composers, Bach, and Ludwig van Beethoven (who appears on two stamps).

Each of the stamps in the series features a close up portrait of the subject. They appear in monochromatic colors. The Bach stamp bases the composer on the famous 1747 painting of the composer by Elias Gottlob Haussmann. The color of the stamp is a medium siena and it has a value of 50 German reichspfennigs. The stamp became available on November 1, 1926.

A Rare Cover

Perhaps even more exciting than own the 1926 Bach stamp, was adding a rare cover that also features the stamp. The cover dates from November 9, 1927 and bears the cancellation of Miesbach (a town in Bavaria). In addition to the Bach stamp, the cover also has the 25 Reichspfenning stamp of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (who was on three stamps in the set). The cover was sent to a recipient in The Hague in the Netherlands (Holland).