ALBRECHT, RUDOLF FRANZ

Copyright 2011-2025 John N. Lupia, III

Rudolf Franz Albrecht (1852-1924), was born on January 27, 1852 at Berlin, Germany, son of Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Albrecht, and Auguste Wilhelmina Albrect. He was baptized on February 22, 1852 at Dreifaltigkeit, Berlin Stadt, Brandenburg, Prussia.

His early career was in the bookseller trade in Berlin, Germany. Learning the business and as we shall see with sufficient financial means he decided to publish.

He appears to have been a lifelong stamp collector as an avocation while pursuing his career as a publisher and bookseller.

In 1872 Rudolf Franz Albrecht, at age 20, he published an article in Deutsch Brief Marken Zeitung, Vol. 2, March 1, 1872 relates how he had purchased the Transvaal blue 1s. and in dark violet at Potchefstroom at face value. 

On April 1,1877, he founded a publishing house in Leipzig and Steglitz, specializing in childrens books and gift books. 

After he expanded Rudolf Franz Albrecht was listed in a Saxon newspaper: Börsenblatt für den deutschen Buchhandel : 22.01.1878 , as a bookseller #42 active in Leipzig, Berlin, Weimar since January 19, 1878.

By 1881 his publishing and bookselling firm has 24 books published listed in Gesammt-Verlags-Katalog des Deutschen Buchhandels, Vol. 7 (1881) : 37-40

On April 27, 1881, Rudolf Franz Albrecht married Elisabeth Auguste Clara Faenger at Berlin. It was at  Steglitz his daughter Katie was born in 1882.

Albrecht emigrated to New York on April 8, 1885, sailing aboard the S.S. Suevia, from Hamburg, Germany together with his wife Clara  Albrecht (1860-19), and daughter Katie (1882-19). He arrived in America as a successful German publisher and was financially well off and well connected with German friends and associates who had emigrated to New York and established themselves like his business partner Constantin Witt (1844-19), who steered him into the stamp business and who had arrived in America a decade earlier in 1874; and another, one, a John Oestreich later on would serve as his witness on his passport as we shall see below.

The New York philatelic community already had been well established and comprised of several German immigrants including Charles H. Bechtel, John Meyer, cf, M. Wineburgh, A. Wuesthoff, P. A. Auser, Henry Gremmel, Gus and Emil Burger, George F. Stein, Karl C. Miner, Henry Clotz, C. A. Burger, E. Toelke, Joseph Reckert, to name some of the more notable dealers in the New York.

It was through this network of German speaking dealers that Albrecht was communicating with while still in Germany  and which helped him settle in New York and establish himself in the philatelic industry.

Albrecht settled in Thompkinsville, State Island, New York and remained there lifelong.

On September 9, 1890, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States, listed as a bookkeeper, apparently working for stamp dealer Constantin Witt, 123 East 8th Street, New York.

During the late 1880's Nassau Street, and Fulton Street, New York became the hub of stamp dealers in New York City. Above is a cover of C. A. Burger with a street map showing his location at Park Row and Beekman Street, New York. That map enlarged to show the other streets loaded with stamp dealerships. This is an exhibit page by the late Steve Belasco whose collection of early stamp dealers was sold by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc., New York.

In June, 1891, Albrecht sold John W. Scott his patent for a secure approval sheet design that prevented clients from switching stamps and stealing them.

Above: part of a philatelic exhibit made by the late Steven R. Belasco for his early stamp dealers exhibit and sale at Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc., New York.

In January 1892,  Albrecht was one of 15 trustees of the National Philatelic Society, and his business partner Constantin Witt was one of the charter members. The early catalogues were assisted by John Nicholas Luff who after a brief working period with Rudolf F. Albrecht left to join Scott Stamp & Coin Co. Ltd.

Max Meyenberg, Secretary of the National Philatelic Society, postal card postmarked Hoboken, New Jersey September 27, 1892 to Hiram Edmond Deats, Flemington, New Jersey regarding the committee headed by Rudolf F. Albrecht and George H. Watson to reserve the Permanent Room for the anniversary party of the Society. $600 write john@numismaticmall.com

In the March 1892 edition of Der Philatelist (the journal of the International Philatelic Society of Dresden), Rudolf F. Albrecht and Constantin Witt published an advertisement announcing their partnership as stamp dealers. The partnership appears to have been either non-exclusive without a restrictive covenant for business, as Albrecht affixed his own return address stamp, R.F. Albrecht & Co., over their joint company postcard imprint for auction bids on one addressed to Hiram Edmond Deats dated October 31, 1892, or else Albrecht acquired a controlling interest, thereby making his name the primary one for the company. 

The bottom half of the advertisement announces Albrecht as a publisher and by August with the help of John Nicholas Luff he published Complete catalogue of all postage stamps and envelopes of the United States, including all Governmental issues and local stamps of the

Confederate States (New York, 1892), 43°. 4, in. 29 pp.

Several publications were as advertised by Albrecht & Witt:

ALBRECHT AND WITT. May, 1892, No. 1. A. & W.'s price list of United States stamps.

(New York, 1892). 24°. 5 in. 12 pp. 

—— A. & W. New York. Suchen zu den hierin aufgefuhrten Freisen Vereinigte Staaten Marken zu kaufen. (New York, 1892). 16°. 5j in. 12 pp. 

The firm was located in the Armeny Building No. 90 Nassau Street, New York City, New York. American Architect & Building News, October 6, 1889

From April 14, 1892, to November 16-17, 1898, Rudolf F. Albrecht conducted a total of 46 auctions conducted by Henry C. Merry, only the first four in 1892 jointly with Constantin Witt. By 1895, with the catalog for the 25th auction, Albrecht could already look back on 25 successfully conducted auctions.

Wilhelm Sellschopp & Co., San Francisco & Rudolf F. Albrecht were partners with Albrecht exhibiting Sellschopp's stamps in his 90 Nassau Street shop in New York City two weeks before their stamp auction for December 13-17, 1892 in San Francisco. Wilhelm Sellschopp & Co. only partnered for seven auctions with Albrecht from 1892 and May 9–10, 1894. Their partnership was revealed in the auction catalogue above announcing the stamps exhibition in Albrecht's Nassau Street shop. In 1895, they both attended the 7th Deutschen Philatelistentag (German Philatelic Congress) at Mannheim from July 13-16, 1895. Albrecht helped Sellschopp with these auctions so he could afford to return to Germany not only to attend the Philatelic Congress but to also visit his family and friends.

Top : from Patricia "Trish" A. Kaufmann's website trishkaufmann.com showing the receipt of the Confederate Provisionals of Jonestown, Tennessee sent to Hiram Edmond Deats by Rudolf F. Albrecht dated June 6, 1893. Below : Albrecht postmarked New York, registry card June 6, 1893 to send mail to H. E. Deats, Flemington, New Jersey, $400 write john@numismaticmall.com

Albrecht and Witt were among the charter members of the “New York Branch”, of the International Philatelic Society of Dresden, founded on July 15, 1893. 

In 1893, Albrecht and his sometimes partner Constantin Witt created philatelic covers for the Columbian Exposition with the entire 16 stamp series of Columbian issue.  Witt addressed his to his wife Wilhelmina Hoffmann Witt, at their residence 304 East 86th Street, New York, where they lived with their eleven year old daughter Katie. The Trow's City Directory of 1892 had their address at 341 East 86th Street, telling us they moved a few doors down the street in 1893. This sort of annual moving was typical of the period since apartment leases were for one year.

One of the seven known high value Columbian covers shown above was sold on November 27, 2025, at a Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc., sale for $37,500.

The 2013 Ludeman Columbian Dollar-Value Cover Census records complete sets on seven covers and one wrapper. Mike Ludeman updated and expanded a previous study of Columbian dollar-value stamps and covers originally published by Dr. Richard M. Searing. His census is a widely recognized and essential resource in the philatelic community, particularly for authenticating and tracking rare covers bearing the high-value stamps from the 1893 Columbian Exposition issue. 

R. F. Albrecht & Co., postmarked New York, registered, March 16, 1894 to John P. Cooper, REd Bank, New Jersey, on postal staionery #U256 uprated + #235 violet 6¢ Columbian issue  with hand stamped corner card, previous owner initials on back dated 9/5/1943. $600 write john@numismaticmall.com

These philatelic covers with high valued Columbian issues were in demand and so Albrecht and Witt each continued mailing them. The above cover with the $2 Columbian #242 was sold at a Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc., sale 952, 2008, for $1,000

Albrecht with his stamp shop at 90 Nassau Street, New York, to a client postmarked New York, registered, November 21, 1894, #237 10¢, to B. G. Tallman, Buffalo, New York. The year is a best guess based on the backstamp that has a poor impression. Howard H. Baker, who served as the Postmaster of Buffalo, NY, from 1894 to 1898, was appointed by President Cleveland to the position on June 7, 1894 and his four year commission began on June 15, 1894. Consequently 1894 is the earliest possible date and 1897. $600 write john@numismaticmall.com

On June 20, 1895 he applied for a passport to travel to Germany with his wife and daughter. From this record we learn he had a fair, i.e. light complexion, blonde hair, moustache and bear, hazel eyes and was just short of average height in stature standing 5" 5-1/2". His friend serving as a witness in the acknowledgement is John Oestreich, whose surname is German for the word Austria.

R. F. Albrecht & Co., 25th Auction February 19-20, 1895

Earlier in 1896 Albrecht had created his logo in black of a heraldic eagle. One of the earliest known is dated in March 1896.

R. F. Albrech & Co., postmarked March 27, 1896 to John W. Dye, Omaha, Nebraska. Write john@numismaticmall.com

A little later in 1896 Albrecht had created his logo in red, or else they were printed in lots of red and black from the beginning. One of the earliest known red imprints is dated in June 1896.

R. F. Albrecht postmarked New York, October 14, 1896 to Harry H. Smith, Woonsocket, Massachusetts.  $500 write john@numismaticmall.com. 

R. F. Albrecht postmarked New York, registered, February 4, 1897 to Norman N. Fowler, Springfield, Massachusetts, franked with #237 and #265 horizontal pair. $600 write john@numismaticmall.com.  

A. C. Townsend, a stamp dealer in Washington, DC, acting as a fence for Hamilton Colman, a thief in the Land Office, Washington, DC, sent Rudolf F. Albrecht sets of the revenue stamps stolen from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to sell in his Nassau Street shop. Innocently, Albrecht ran ads in stamp journals announcing the availability of these revenues from a dealer in Washington, DC. Albrecht was notified by the government that such sales were illegal resulting in him telling Townsend he couln't handle the stamps. THe government agents advised Albrecht to return the stolen stamps to Colman and once in his possession was immediately arrested. The Suffolk County News, February 5, 1897, page 2.

As a result of this sort of difficulty that a stamp dealer could innocently be entangled in legal embroilments that Wilhelm Sellschopp and Albrect invented the Stamp Dealer Protective Association.

Albrecht & Co., postmarked New York [MUTE] 1898 to John Gustavson, Rockford, Illinois. $500 write john@numismaticmall.com.  

Rudolf F. Albrecht died on May 19, 1924, in New York City. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Pennsylvania Philatelist, Vol. 3, No. 5, May (1893) : 45

Charles J. Phillips, Fifty years of philately: The history of Stanley Gibbons Ltd., Gibbons

Stamp Weekly, Issue 7, 17th February, (1906) : 99-103

The Bay State Philatelist, December 1895, Volume 1, Issue 7, pp.97 & 106-107.

Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, May 1898, Volume 8, Issue 11, p.218.

Filatelic Facts and Fallacies, April 1900, Volume 8, Issue 7, p.166.