Since 1840, the first postage stamps called "black penny," featuring Queen Victoria, have been used in England. Ten years later, in 1850, the Austrian postal service introduced postage stamps in the Habsburg Empire. The postmark was no longer only used to mark the departure location of a letter but also to cancel the postage stamp, preventing its reuse. These stamps were also used in the regions later named Serbian Vojvodina and in the Serbian-Romanian border area until the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. During the transitional period from 1867 to 1871, identical postage stamps were used for both Austria and Hungary. Only in 1871 did Hungary issue its own postage stamps, using lithography and copperplate printing.
The oval-shaped postmark continued to be used for stamp cancellation for some time, although a circular postmark with the inscription NEU BECSE and a date, only including the day and month without the year, had already been introduced. It's worth noting that there were two different circular postmarks with NEU BECSE, both without the indication of the year, but one had months written in letters, while the other had them in Arabic numerals.
After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, place names were written in Hungarian. The circular postmark of our town first featured the inscription TÖRÖK BECSE (Turkish Bečej) with a date, including the day and month in Arabic numerals (according to historian Dr. Jene Sentklarai, after the victory over the Turks near Senta in 1697 and the expulsion of the Turks from this area in 1716–1718, our town was called Török Becse – Turkish Bečej, and less commonly Új Becse – New Bečej). However, the year was not indicated. Only from 1875 onwards did our town use a postmark with a complete date, i.e., with the indication of the day, month, and year. Initially, it was also a circular postmark, but by the end of the 19th century, a bicircular postmark with a slightly larger diameter was introduced.
The town of Vranjevo, later officially renamed Franjova, is mentioned towards the end of the 18th century. Letters from that time have not been found, but in my collection, there are several letters and receipts with a circular postmark of FRANYOVA, dated between 1886 and 1888. The FRANYOVA postmark was in use until August 1, 1888, when the town changed its name to Arač (Aracs – Vranjevo). This change of the official name of the settlement is also observed in the new circular postmark, but with a few months' delay. The bicircular postmark for Arač (Vranjevo) appears at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, although the circular postmark continues to be used in parallel with the bicircular one until the end of the second decade of the 20th century, and even in 1920.
For registered letters, a handwritten "Rekomandirt" (Rekommandiert – registered) was initially used, later replaced by a seal with "Rekomandirt" and a manually written shipment number. In Prussia, adhesive labels for registered shipments were first used in 1865. The Universal Postal Union (UPU) introduced labels with the "R" designation in 1883, and their use in our region began in 1890, with the "R" designation, shipment number, and the name of the sending place. Initially, the labels were cut, but later they were perforated.
During the First World War, Austria-Hungary introduced postal censorship in the Banat region, and the censorship of postal shipments was carried out in Timișoara. An interesting example is a postcard sent from Novi Bečej to Vranjevo on August 17, 1915. The postcard was first sent to Timișoara, as evidenced by the military censorship of Timișoara from August 19, 1915. It was only after that that it was sent to Vranjevo and delivered to the recipient on the 21st day of August of that year.
Data on employees (under contract) of the Novi Bečej post office from 1897 to 1919, from the archive of the Postal Museum in Budapest:
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1897:
- Post Office Manager: Mark Barčai (Barcsay Márk)
- Officer: Ištvan Fogel (Vogel István)
- Assistant Officer: Deneš Adamov (Adamov Dénes)
- Servants: Janoš Kiefus (Kiefusz János), Šandor Novosel (Novoszel Sándor), Peter Milič Vadt (Vadt Milics Péter)
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1901:
- Post Office Manager: Mark Barčai (Barcsay Márk)
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1902:
- Post Office Manager: Mark Barčai (Barcsay Márk)
- Officer: Jožef Domonkoš (Domonkos József), Hrvoje Radli (Rádli Győző)
- Assistant Officers: Janoš Čupić (Csupits János), Janoš Zeldi (Zöldi János)
- Subofficer: Deneš Adamov (Adamov Dénes)
- Servants: Šandor Farago (Faragó Sándor), Antal Ilija (Ilia Antal), Janoš Nojmiler (Neumüller János), Janoš Santo (Szántó János)
- Assistant Railway Inspector: Ivan Galetin (Galetin Iván)
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1903:
- Post Office Manager: Mark Barčai (Barcsay Márk)
- Officer: Hrvoje Radli (Rádli Győző)
- Assistant Officer: Janoš Zeldi (Zöldi János)
- Servants: Šandor Farago (Faragó Sándor), Antal Ilija (Ilia Antal), Janoš Nojmiler (Neumüller János), Janoš Santo (Szántó János), Ferenc Irmeš (Ürmös Ferenc)
- Assistant Railway Inspector: Ivan Galetin (Galetin Iván)
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1904:
- Post Office Manager: Mark Barčai (Barcsay Márk)
- Officer: Karolј Lelek (Lélek Károly)
- Assistant Officer: Janoš Zeldi (Zöldi János)
- Servants: Šandor Farago (Faragó Sándor), Antal Ilija (Ilia Antal), Janoš Santo (Szántó János), Ferenc Irmeš (Ürmös Ferenc)
- Assistant Railway Inspector: Ivan Galetin (Galetin Iván)
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1905:
- Post Office Manager: Mark Barčai (Barcsay Márk)
- Officer: Karolј Lelek (Lélek Károly)
- Assistant Officers: Janoš Zeldi (Zöldi János), Gergelј Pal (Pál Gergely)
- Servants: Peter Koh (Koch Péter), Antal Ilija (Ilia Antal), Đerđ Hornjak (Hornyák Győrgy), Ištvan Lukač (Lukács István), Imre Vaš (Vass Imre)
- Assistant Railway Inspector: Ivan Galetin (Galetin Iván)
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1906:
- Post Office Manager: Mark Barčai (Barcsay Márk)
- Officer: Karolј Lelek (Lélek Károly)
- Assistant Officers: Janoš Zeldi (Zöldi János), Gergelј Pal (Pál Gergely)
- Servants: Peter Koh (Koch Péter), Antal Ilija (Ilia Antal), Đerđ Hornjak (Hornyák Győrgy), Ferenc Bizonj (Bizony Ferenc)
- Railway Inspector: Ivan Galetin (Galetin Iván)
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1907:
- Post Office Manager: Mark Barčai (Barcsay Márk)
- Officers: Peter Koh (Koch Péter), Karolј Lelek (Lélek Károly)
- Assistant Officer: Mark Kramer (Krámer Márk)
- Subofficer: Janoš Đeri (Győri János)
- Servants: Lajoš Šarkezi (Sárközi Lajos), Jožef Virag (Virág József), Imre Bistrai (Bisztray Imre)
- Railway Inspector: Oliver Kemenj (Kemény Olivér)
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1908:
- Post Office Manager: Mark Barčai (Barcsay Márk)
- Officer: Šamu Laslo (László Samu), Karolј Lelek (Lélek Károly)
- Assistant Officer: G. Krezmerić (Krézmerich G.)
- Servants: Antal Ilija (Ilia Antal), Đerđ Hornjak (Hornyák Győrgy), Janoš Varadi (Váradi János), Mihalј Farkaš (Farkas Mihály)
- Assistant Railway Inspector: Ivan Galetin (Galetin Iván)
-
1909:
- Post Office Manager: Mark Barčai (Barcsay Márk)
- Officer: Šamu Laslo (László Samu), Karolј Lelek (Lélek Károly)
- Assistant Officer: G. Krezmerić (Krézmerich G.)
- Servants: Antal Ilija (Ilia Antal), Đerđ Hornjak (Hornyák Győrgy), Janoš Varadi (Váradi János), Mihalј Farkaš (Farkas Mihály)
- Assistant Railway Inspector: Ivan Galetin (Galetin Iván)
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1910:
- Manager: Unknown
- Officer: Šamu Laslo (László Samu), Karolј Lelek (Lélek Károly)
- Assistant Officer: G. Krezmerić (Krézmerich G.)
- Servants: Antal Ilija (Ilia Antal), Đerđ Hornjak (Hornyák Győrgy), Janoš Varadi (Váradi János), Mihalј Farkaš (Farkas Mihály)
- Assistant Railway Inspector: Antal Horvat (Horváth Antal)
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1911:
- Post Office Manager: Chief Officer Ervin Kraus (Krause Ervin)
- Officer: Šamu Laslo (László Samu), Karolј Lelek (Lélek Károly)
- Assistant Officer: G. Krezmerić (Krézmerich G.)
- Servants: Antal Ilija (Ilia Antal), Đerđ Hornjak (Hornyák Győrgy), Janoš Varadi (Váradi János), Mihalј Farkaš (Farkas Mihály), Imre Kiš (Kis Imre)
- Assistant Railway Inspector: Antal Horvat (Horváth Antal)
-
1912:
- Post Office Manager: Supervisor Ervin Kraus (Krause Ervin)
- Officer: Šamu Laslo (László Samu), Karolј Lelek (Lélek Károly)
- Assistant Officer: G. Krezmerić (Krézmerich G.)
- Servants: Hrvoje Dona (Donna Győző), Antal Ilija (Ilia Antal), Đerđ Hornjak (Hornyák Győrgy), Mihalј Farkaš (Farkas Mihály), Šebešćen Galetin (Galetin Sebő), Imre Kiš (Kis Imre)
- Assistant Railway Inspector: Antal Horvat (Horváth Antal)
- 1913
Postmaster – Supervisor – János Gyíkó (Gyíkó János), Officer – László Samu (Šamu Laslo), Károly Lélek (Karolј Lelek), Assistant Officer – G. Krezmerich (G. Krezmerić), Servants – Ilija Antal (Antal Ilija), Mihály Farkas (Mihalј Farkaš), Galetin Sebő (Šebešćen Galetin), Imre Kis (Imre Kiš), Railway Supervisor – Károly Matula (Karolј Matula) - 1914
Postmaster – Supervisor – János Gyíkó (Gyíkó János), Chief Officer – Károly Lélek (Karolј Lelek), Officer – László Samu (Šamu Laslo), Assistant Officer – G. Krezmerich (G. Krezmerić), Servants – Ilija Antal (Antal Ilija), Mihály Farkas (Mihalј Farkaš), Galetin Sebő (Šebešćen Galetin), Imre Kis (Imre Kiš), Railway Supervisor – Károly Matula (Karolј Matula) - 1915-1919
Postmaster – Supervisor – János Gyíkó (Gyíkó János) - Staff Data (Under Contract) at the Vranjevac Post Office from 1897 to 1919, from the Archives of the Postal Museum in Budapest
1897–1904: Elek Gabris (Gabris Elek)
1905–1907: Eden Bartha (Bartha Ödön)
1908–1914: Wife of Eden Bartha (Bartha Ödönné)
1915–1917: Eden Bartha (Bartha Ödön)
1918: Widow of József Varga's wife (Özv. Varga Józsefné)
Instructions from the Serbian Military Occupation Command
The Serbian military occupation command, on the 14th day of the current month, issued the following instructions to the post office in Turski Bečej:
1. All postal services are subject to censorship.
2. All employees remain in their positions as long as they diligently perform their duties.
3. All postal shipments are submitted to censors, and only censored letters will be forwarded.
4. It is explained to all employees that, in accordance with the armistice agreement, all instructions will be issued by military authorities, to which they must submit. Failure to comply will result in appearance before a military court.
5. Spreading and issuing printed material for propaganda purposes is prohibited.
6. All telegraph and telephone connections with unoccupied territories are suspended, while they continue without hindrance in the occupied territory after censorship. Except for local conversations, private conversations are also suspended.
7. Only official conversations are possible beyond the demarcation line, and these can only take place through Kikinda.
8. Safeguarding official secrets is binding.
9. The entire postal staff enjoys the protection of the National Council, under whose supervision it remains until the magistrate begins its work.
10. Every 10 days, a report is submitted to the National Council, and after its cessation, to the magistrate. Daily reports are presented to the censor.
11. Telegraphic traffic across the demarcation line continues only through Kikinda and Timișoara.
This instruction was read to the entire staff, its content explained, and the entire office staff confirmed the authenticity of the instructions with their signatures.
In Turski Bečej, December 14, 1918.
Galetin Sebő (Šebešćen Galetin) – Acting Officer (p. oficir), Mihály Farkas – Servant (p. sluga), Gyula Lakatos – Assistant Servant (pom. sluga), Vidor Popov – Assistant Servant (pom. sluga), Miklós Varsányi, Antal Berta, János László – Acting Officer (p. oficir), Schweitzer, Krezmerich – Director (upravnik), Ibolyka Gecs – Counter (šalter), Mrs. János Gyíkó – Counter (šalter), Karolina Horvath, Anna Madaras – Trainee (pripravnik), László Laczkó – Youth (podmladak), Margit Gassenfil, Ilona Sakač, József Dvoran, Száva Gyurisity, Dušan Šević – Acting Officer (p. oficir).
