album · page xxxiv · marindom (electorate)
8 pfennig · issued 1893 · printed by stein & oerlich, marindom-on-the-hill
marindom was a small electorate of three valleys and one extremely tall cathedral. the cathedral is on the eight-pfennig violet, drawn in profile from the west — the only side from which the spire and the moon can be seen together. the post commissioned this image specifically because the electors' palace was less photogenic.
violet was a difficult ink. the printer mixed it from indigo and a red lake that arrived from a neighbouring republic, and the lake did not always arrive on time. the 1894 printing is greyer; the 1896 printing is closer to mulberry. specialists list seven recognised shades.
the electorate ended quietly in 1918, in an exchange of letters between its prince and a larger neighbour. the post offices kept selling the eight-pfennig violet until the supply ran out, by which point the stamps no longer paid for postage anywhere.
field-note · the moon on the violet is closer to the spire than it ever is in life. the engraver was generous with geometry.
see also · silvertaler · 5 pf · blanket stamp · midnight · chime · the drawer