Marine-Schiffspost

Mail transported on vessels of the German Navy was known as Marine-Schiffspost (“MSP”), or Naval Ship Post. During the Imperial period, ships of the Imperial German Navy typically carried cancellers of an identical design, but each with a unique MSP number. A ship could carry the same canceller (and therefore the same MSP number) for years or for only a single voyage.

As the assignment of MSP numbers and movement of German naval vessels of the period are generally well-documented, it is usually possible to identify the ship and location from which an item was sent with a high degree of certainty.