Since its release in late 2024, Western Ukraine 1918-1919: A Specialized Philatelic Catalog has been a hit in the philatelic world, winning top honors in national and international literature competitions. Authored by long-time collector and philatelic expert, Dr. Ingert Kuzych, the tome has been reviewed in a variety of publications, invariably receiving glowing accolades. The first printing is sold out; a second, enhanced edition is now available.
Why such enthusiastic assessments? The answer is quite simple: Nothing quite like it has appeared before! It represents the complete chronicling of the postal artifacts of Western Ukraine, an Austro-Hungarian Empire successor state, many of whose rare stamps have been described as “The Crown Jewels of Ukrainian Philately.”
The book is beautiful, useful, handy, and most importantly, comprehensive – compiling and illustrating every item known to have been produced by the postal system operating in Western Ukraine during its nine-month (1 November 1918-18 July 1919) existence.
CATALOG DETAILS
The enhanced second edition of Western Ukraine 1918-1919: A Specialized Philatelic Catalog leads off with a concise six-page History of Western Ukraine (newly composed) tied to no less than seven detailed maps.
Then, Part I lists all the 122 stamps issued along with hundreds of carefully labeled varieties. Every stamp and every variety description contains a valuation based on market prices determined by the author from major auction sales’ results, dealer offerings, eBay sales, and expertizer feedback over the past two decades.
Most Western Ukraine stamps were created 25-at-a-time by overprinting remaining Austrian stamps with Ukrainian inscriptions. A total of 20 new pages show the overprint-plate layouts (5 x 5) for various stamp issues, as well as print plate position enlargements highlighting helpful overprint traits that establish stamp authenticity. Additionally, certain Western Ukraine stamp issues ended up being reprinted. Details and illustrations have now been added on how to distinguish these second printings.
In addition, this section includes descriptions of:
• All Austrian stamps still available and in use in Western Ukraine – regular, postage due, and expedited mail stamps – that still provided the bulk of the applied postage on Western Ukrainian mails,
• All local provisional stamps and local privately ukrainianized stamps, and the
• Romanian occupational stamps (the Kolomyia “C.M.T.” Issue).
Part II is the first-ever catalog compilation of scarce Western Ukrainian postal stationery. Here too the author expands the listing by providing accounts of:
• Austrian postal stationery is still obtainable in Western Ukrainian post offices,
• Local provisional stationery,
• Postal stationery produced for soldiers in the Ukrainian Galician Army, and
• Occupational stationery – the Kolomyia “C.M.T.” postal card.
Once more, valuations are offered for every stationery type.
Part III is a series of four appendices that provide a wealth of additional valuable information.
Appendix A compares the numbering system used in this catalog with eight other major philatelic publications listing Western Ukrainian postage stamps.
Appendix B catalogs and illustrates all known Western Ukrainian Mail Markings including: post office cancellations, field post marks, censor marks, military unit markings, and civil-authority cachets. This is by far the most thorough compilation of Western Ukraine postal markings ever assembled. One reviewer assessed just this appendix worth the entire cost of the catalog.
Appendix C describes the postal rates that were in effect in Western Ukraine and that were adjusted on two occasions during its short-lived existence. These include rates not only for letters, cards, newspapers, printed matter, packages, registration, and express delivery, but also for services such as money orders, money letters, and postal inquiry.
Appendix D is new to the second edition and presents marks that appear on the backs of many Western Ukraine stamps. Applied by prominent collectors, dealers, and/or expertizers, these markings can be valuable indicators of genuineness.
Sprinkled throughout the Catalog are 34 full-color images – a dozen of them new – showing some of Western Ukraine’s rarest and most interesting surviving letters and postal cards that demonstrate various stamp usages and postal rates.
What else is novel in this enhanced second edition? Updated valuations for selected stamps and stationery items and a new, wide-ranging Index of all major topics covered in this catalog.
In summary, the Western Ukraine 1918 – 1919: A Specialized Philatelic Catalog is the most comprehensive and most useful publication ever produced for Western Ukraine collectors. It will be of interest to a variety of Eastern European philatelists, including those specializing in Ukraine, Austria, Poland, and Romania.
The 204 glossy-page volume features colored dividers that enable quick and easy access to each of the book’s three main Parts. The spiral binding allows the book to be laid flat or propped up – an attribute especially praised by collectors as helpful when sitting at a crowded dealer table examining stamps. Additionally, the volume features a special wrap-around cover that hides the coils, provides a book-like spine, and allows the 8.5”x 11” tome to be stored upright on any bookshelf.
Ordering. Even if one does not diligently collect Western Ukraine because of the difficulty in obtaining certain stamps or stationery items, this Catalog is definitely worth acquiring. All of Western Ukraine’s postal issues are gathered and brilliantly shown in this sumptuous volume, thus allowing one to enjoy a “complete” collection – even if only in an illustrated format.
Copies of Western Ukraine 1918 – 1919: A Specialized Philatelic Catalog may be ordered from:
Ingert Kuzych
P.O. Box 3
Springfield, Virginia 22150
