1938: The Rheinberger Block

When it comes to stamps from Liechtenstein, one particular item stands out: the so-called Rheinberger Block from 1938. It features the portrait of composer Josef Gabriel Rheinberger – but why? Neither his birth nor death was commemorated that year. There is no official explanation as to why he was chosen as the motif for the 3rd Liechtenstein Stamp Exhibition, which took place in Vaduz from July 30 to August 8, 1938. Rheinberger himself was a musical prodigy. Born in Vaduz in 1839, he was already playing the organ at church by the age of seven. He later studied in Feldkirch and Munich, where he became Royal Court Music Director. Many of his compositions are now known only to specialists, but his influence as a teacher is undisputed — among his students were prominent figures such as Engelbert Humperdinck and Wilhelm Furtwängler. Rheinberger died in Munich in 1901. After World War II, his remains were transferred to Liechtenstein, where he was buried in Vaduz.

Strictly speaking, the Rheinberger Block wasn’t actually a block, but a miniature sheet containing four identical 50 Rappen stamps — totaling 2 francs. Due to its unusual dimensions (10 × 13.5 cm), it didn’t fit on standard envelopes. Nevertheless, it was used occasionally, though rarely for everyday mail. More often, it appeared on philatelic covers such as registered mail, express deliveries, or international correspondence. These were often significantly overfranked, as domestic postage rates were well below the sheet’s total face value. One example, provided to us by Sieghard, shows a “genuine” usage: a registered letter sent from Vaduz to Königslutter near Braunschweig in 1938. It bears a 50 Rappen stamp from the “block,” or possibly an identical single stamp — two of which were included in the official gift booklet — though this resulted in an underfranking of 10 Rappen. (Incidentally, the recipient, Otto Klages, was a well-known fossil collector.)

It wasn’t until a year later, on March 17, 1939, that Rheinberger was officially honored. For his 100th birthday, a commemorative stamp was issued bearing the same portrait, but in a different color: instead of slate-blue, a dark greenish-blue was used. This subtle but important distinction may not be visible on this website, but it is very meaningful to philatelists.

The special exhibition postmarks from 1938 are also of great interest to collectors. They offer the potential for a specialized collection, as each of the ten exhibition days had its own rubber stamp with a fixed date — 15 in total (some dates had multiple stamps). They were inscribed with “Dritte Liechtensteinische Briefmarken-Ausstellung 1938” and included “Vaduz / Ausstellungs-Postamt” along with the corresponding date. Assembling all ten postmark dates on covers today requires patience — and luck. Some can still be found on correctly franked covers (as seen on the right). All in all, the Rheinberger Block remains a fascinating piece of philatelic history: unusual in format, mysterious in origin — and a true highlight for collectors.