Introduction

While Bisects are well known for Ponape in the Carolines (see left), used at a time when much of the stamp stock had been destroyed following the typhoon of 20 April 1905, bisects of Marshall Islands stamps are unusual, and most likely creations by conniving post masters, such as the items shown below.

Bi-sected stamps were manufactured by exploiting a real shortage of stamps, or by arteficially creating a shortage of specific stamps and then creating postal items that required these stamps.
They were first reported in June 1900, when a post card franked with a vertically bi-sected 10Pfg stamp, postmarked Jaluit 3 22 February 1900 and received Haldersleben 6 May 1900 was described in the philatelic press.[1] A second example, postmarked Jaluit 3 March 1900 and received 6 May 1900 in Hamburg was also mentioned. This item was sent by Carl Domnick, postmaster, to a friend of his in Germany, with the comment "I am sending this card as a postal curiosity." [2]

It was recognised early on that these items were of purely philatelic manufacture. Accounting of the available number of stamps showed that the claimed demand for the 5 Pfg stamps was fraudulent. The same applied to the used of bisected 50Pfg stamps. The philatelic press wondered why a 'sleepy hollow' such as Jaluit, 'populated by a handful of Europeans' should have such a demand for registered postcards. The press implies that one of the movers in the business was a Mr B., most likely Felix Becker.[3]

In an article in the Germania-Berichte the author speculates that the Jaluit vertical bisects of 1900 stem from the same source as many of the famous Pohnpei Typhoon bisects of 1905. He suspects the trader Gustav Farun, who worked in Jaluit for the Jaluit Gesellschaft, and who in 1905 worked for the same company in Pohnpei. He would have had the necessary contacts in Pohnpei to direct Marshall Islands philatelic creations there.[4]

Later studies reconfirmed the suspicions that Felix Becker, father-in-law of Carl Domnick, was the driving force behind these items, cetainly those produced in December 1900. It appears that Becker had sent a large number of these to his friends in Jaluit and Carl Domnick had done the same to friends in Pohnpei. It was also alleged that the, in particular Becker, send letters and cards to already deceased persons. Both later collected the envelopes. The philatelic press is certain that machinations occurred which arteficially induced a stamp shortage. The fact that these are items are manufactured may also be gleaned from the fact that some items were postmarked 2 December 1900. Yet, that date was a Sunday, when the post office would have been closed.[7]

While Domnick may have exploited or created the stamp shortage to generate income from philatelic sources, some of the shortage could have been genuine. Contemporary sources assert that in May 1900, for example, 3600 philatelic letters were posted through the Jaluit Post Office--to satify the demand by the German stamp collectors. [8] Likewise, thousands of stamps were ordered by the German stamp collecting clubs. (see Philatelic Correspondence 1899 between the Imperial Post Office Jaluit and the Jaluit Gesellschaft)[9] However, as responsible bodies, these stamps clubs informed the German Ministry of Postal Affairs well in advance of their anticipated purchases, so that sufficient supplies of stamps could be sent to Jaluit and the post office there would not be caught short. [11]

Domnick was known to have offered these items for sale. In official correspondence to the German Postal Service, Domnick asserted on 2 March 1900 that he had made up 240 post cards with bisected 10Pf stamps, and 48 registered postcards, for which he had used bisected 50Pg stamps. (see correspondence). Studies by the Germania-Ring showed that these figures were a gross underrreporting as Domnick himself offered quantities for sale which exceeded the reported numbers (he offered 150 covers with bisected 50 Pfennig stamps and 750 cards with bisected 10 Pfenning stamps. The Germania-Ring estimated that the total 'production run' of these items was about 1000 cards with bisected 10 Pfennig stamps and about 200-300 cards with bisected 50 Pfennig stamps.[12]

Based on the serial numbers of the registration labels available at the time of writing (797N, 799N and 867N) we can document a continuous run of at least 70 items.

The bulk of the postcards and coves with bisects was offered by Felix Becker, with substantial financial returns. The of Germania-Berichte 1901 quotes that bisected 10Pf of the first issue (Marschall-Inseln) as printed matter, and bisected 10Pf of the second issue (Marshall-Inseln) on picture view cards each cost Mk 10.00, while bisected 50Pfg of the second issue (Marshall-Inseln) on registered picture view cards cast 15 Marks.[13]

Known are vertical bisects of the 10Pf Marschhall-Inseln, as well as oblique bisects of the 10Pf and 50Pf Marshhall-Inseln.[14]

Even though a plethora of covers had been made, forgeries have been made (see here).

This list is a first attempt to compile information on the topic.[16]