Date of use : 1941, Czechoslovakia

Vlastimil Saska – Czechoslovak Distributor of Gevaert Products

This postal envelope represents an example of commercial correspondence related to the trade of photographic materials in Central Europe during the first half of the twentieth century. The sender identified on the envelope is a photographic supply dealer operating in Prague under the representation of Vlastimil Saska. The printed text on the envelope indicates that Saska acted as a representative of the Belgian photographic manufacturer Gevaert. This information suggests that the business functioned not merely as a local retailer but as part of an international distribution network associated with a major photographic materials producer. The address Praha X, Vítkova 14 places the enterprise within one of Prague's commercial districts.

The Gevaert company had been an important producer within the European photographic industry since the late nineteenth century. The firm specialized in the production of photographic film, glass plates, and darkroom chemicals, supplying both professional photographers and photographic studios across Europe. Within this context, Saska's operation in Prague may be understood as a regional distribution point for Gevaert products within the Central European market.

The envelope is addressed to Václav Linhart, whose address line includes the phrase "obchod fotopotřebami," a Czech expression meaning a shop dealing in photographic supplies. This description indicates that the recipient operated a business selling photographic equipment and materials in the town of Turnov. Turnov, located in northern Bohemia, historically developed as a regional center for crafts and commercial activity. The correspondence therefore appears to document a commercial relationship between a distributor in Prague and a photographic supply retailer operating in a smaller provincial town.

Record Information

Title: Vlastimil Saska Business Envelope (Prague to Turnov)

Category: Photographic Industry History / International Commercial Correspondence

Subcategory: Czechoslovak Photographic Distributors / Gevaert Trade Network

Country: Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (Sender: Prague) → Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (Recipient: Turnov)

City: Prague (Sender: Vlastimil Saska) → Turnov, Bohemia (Recipient: Václav Linhart)

Date of use: 1941

Company (Sender): Vlastimil Saska, zastoupení firmy Gevaert (Gevaert representative), Praha X, Vítkova 14, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. A Czechoslovak distributor representing the Belgian photographic manufacturer Gevaert.

Object Type: Commercial envelope (business correspondence)

Postal Features: Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia postage stamps; Prague postal cancellation (1941).

Language: Czech

Material: Paper envelope

Dimensions: Standard commercial envelope format

Collection Theme: Vlastimil Saska, Prague photographic trade, Gevaert distribution, Czechoslovak photographic retailers, Václav Linhart, Turnov commerce, obchod fotopotřebami, Protectorate postal history, 1940s Central European trade.

Archival Significance: This 1941 envelope documents commercial correspondence between a Prague-based representative of the Belgian photographic manufacturer Gevaert (Vlastimil Saska) and a photographic supply retailer in Turnov, illustrating the distribution networks of European photographic materials in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia during World War II.

Research Note:

This article is based on historical research and independent analysis of the material in the author's collection. The text has been prepared as an original interpretative study and does not reproduce copyrighted material.

This item is documented as part of the Photography in Postal History research project.
For research context, see the Research Methodology.
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