German Maritime Day 1957 - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1957 - 15

This special stamp commemorates various anniversaries that bring the year 1957 for German maritime shipping. The two big shipping companies, the North German Lloyd in Bremen and the Hamburg-America line in Hamburg, can look back on their 100th and 110th anniversary. The Association of German Shipowners, the merger of all German shipping companies, celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding. This coincidence of shipping-historical events gave the occasion to revive the German Maritime Day, which was organized annually each year with the "Day of the German Sea Shipping 1957". For this reason, the special postage stamp appears. The invited graphic artists were given a series of photographs of German ships currently in traffic. The task was to illustrate in a factually clear form such a type of ship. Since it was to be assumed that a narrow, elongated brand format would be appropriate in this case, it was exceptionally granted. Graphic designer Hermann Bentele has come up with a solution. Von Müller and Blase and Prof. Erwin Krubek each have two designs, seven by Herbert Kern and seven by Georg Kühlborn. The call for tenders has produced a large number of very good proposals. One of the two works of Müller and Blase was preferred because it restricts itself to the essential in a reserved, simple form. The scarcity of the lines and the color scheme of the brand clearly express the reliability of marine technology and the atmosphere of the sea and the wide world.