The Szekula Family of Stamp Dealers

EN / DE
Béla Sekula is not only responsible for all his brothers and several next generation family members entering the stamp trade. During his time in Lucerne, he founded four companies: his wholesale and retail business Béla Sekula, Cosmophilatelist AG, Globus AG, and Stamps Import and Export AG. Some of his employees later opened up their own stamp shops, or continued companies originally founded by Béla independently after his departure. Some of them are listed below.

© 2018–2025            Contributors: Max Brack — Albert Little — David Rossall — Bob Medland — Ed Pieklo

Antonia Koch

 
Announcement
Oberländer Tagblatt November 22, 1956

Antonia (Sacher) Koch, born 1899 in Lucerne, ran her stamp business from November 1933 until March 1959, but old address book entries show that she was already dealing with stamps as early as 1925 (as Antonia Sacher). At first at Winkelriedstr. 58 she moved to Löwenstr. 3 in July 1936. When she sold her business to Sonja Müller after more than 25 years, it had existed longer than any of the Sekula brothers’ stamp businesses in Lucerne. The Koch company also remained active in the stamp wholesale trade under the name of her husband Hans Koch until at least 1965, with the business address Hünenbergstr. 14. Antonia Koch died on April 14, 1986, in Luzern.

She is included here because of the great similarity of her envelopes with those of Eugen Sekula as well as the similarity of the reminder postcards which suggests a closer relationship – possibly in the form of a commercial apprenticeship she completed with him.



Cover — January 6, 1931

Registered mail sent on January 6, 1931, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Târgu Mureș, Romania. Arrived on January 9, 1931.

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Cover — April 20, 1931

Registered airmail sent on April 20, 1931, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Erlbach (today part of Markneukirchen, Saxony), Germany. Arrived on April 22, 1931.

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Cover — May 1, 1931

Registered airmail sent on May 1, 1931, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Lingen (Ems), Germany. Arrived on May 3, 1931.

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Cover — June 1931

Registered mail sent in June 1931 from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Marseille, France. Arrived on June 23, 1931.

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Postcard — May 23, 1932

Registered mail sent on May 23, 1932, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Racine, Wisconsin, United States. Arrived on June 4, 1932.

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Cover — August 10, 1932

Registered mail sent on August 10, 1932, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Devon, Pennsylvania, United States. Arrived on August 19, 1932.

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Cover — September 2, 1932

Registered mail sent on September 2, 1932, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to West Haven, Connecticut, United States. Arrived on September 10, 1932.

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Cover — February 18, 1933

Registered mail sent on February 18, 1933, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Bayonne, New York, United States. Arrived on March 1, 1933.

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Cover — April 11, 1933

Registered mail sent on April 11, 1933, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to West Haven, Connecticut, United States. Arrived on April 20, 1933.

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Cover — October 4, 1933

Registered mail sent on October 4, 1933, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Portland, Maine, United States.

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Scans provided by Max Brack.


Postcard — December 10, 1933

Printed matter sent on December 10, 1933, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Jackson, Michigan, United States.

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Cover — January 3, 1934

Registered mail sent on January 3, 1934, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. Arrived on January 18, 1934.

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Postcards — January 9, 1934 – October 16, 1934

Two payment reminders sent in 1934 to Northampton, Massachusetts, USA.

First reminder sent on January 9.
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Third reminder sent on October 26.
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Cover — July 7, 1934

Registered mail sent on July 7, 1934, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Winnipeg, Canada. Arrived on July 19, 1934.

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Cover — October 15, 1934

Sent registered on October 15, 1934 from Lucerne to Moonsocket = Woonsocket, Rhode Island, USA.

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Cover — November 5, 1934

Registered mail sent on November 5, 1934, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Aussig (=Ústí nad Labem), Czechoslovakia (today Czech Republic).

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Scan provided by Max Brack.


Cover — January 18, 1935

Registered mail sent on January 18, 1935, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. Arrived on January 25, 1935.

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Cover — February 25, 1935

Sent registered on February 25, 1935 from Lucerne to Moonsocket = Woonsocket, Rhode Island, USA.

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Cover — March 26, 1935

Registered mail sent on March 26, 1935, from Turan, Tannu Tuva (today part of Russia), to Lucerne, Switzerland. Arrived on April 12, 1935.

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Cover — April 4, 1935

Registered mail sent on April 4, 1935, from Los Angeles, California, United States, to Lucerne, Switzerland. Arrived on April 19, 1935.

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Cover — December 27, 1935

Registered mail sent on December 27, 1935, from Brussels, Belgium, to Lucerne, Switzerland. Arrived on December 28, 1935.

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Cover — May 16, 1936

Registered mail sent on May 16, 1936, from Remscheid, Germany, to Lucerne, Switzerland. Arrived on May 18, 1936.

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Cover — June 18, 1936

Registered mail sent on June 18, 1936, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Santa Barbara, California, United States. Arrived on July 1, 1936.

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REM
Luzerner Tagblatt
September 24, 1936


Cover — January 18, 1937

Registered mail sent on January 18, 1937, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Ettiswil. Arrived on January 19, 1937.

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Cover — January 13, 1938

Registered mail sent on January 13, 1938, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Stockton, California, United States. Arrived on January 26, 1938.

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Cover — November 22, 1938

Registered mail sent on November 22, 1938, from Teplitz-Schönau (=Teplice), Germany (today Czech Republic), to Lucerne, Switzerland. Arrived on November 24, 1938.

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Cover — November 13, 1939

Registered mail sent on November 13, 1939, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Vitznau. Arrived on November 14, 1939.

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REM
Luzerner Tagblatt
December 16, 1939


Field Post Cover — January 29, 1940

Registered field post sent on January 29, 1940, from Border Brigade 6, Switzerland, to Lucerne. Arrived on January 29, 1940.

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Cover — September 12, 1940

Registered mail sent on September 12, 1940, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Ettiswil. Arrived on September 12, 1940.

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Cover — October 14, 1940

Registered mail sent on October 14, 1940, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Vitznau. Arrived on October 15, 1940.

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Cover — November 8, 1940

Registered mail sent on November 8, 1940, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Sursee. Arrived on November 8, 1940.

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Cover — May 23, 1946

Sent on May 23, 1946, from Locarno, Switzerland, to Lucerne. Arrived on May 23, 1946.

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Postcard — May 24, 1947

Sent on May 24, 1947, from São Paulo, Brazil, to Lucerne, Switzerland.

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Cover — January 30, 1948

Registered mail sent on January 30, 1948, from St. Moritz, Switzerland, to Lucerne. Arrived on January 31, 1948.

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Cover — April 5, 1949

Philatelic cover sent registered on April 5, 1949 from Vaduz, Liechtenstein, to Antonia Koch’s private address Hünenbergstr. 13 in Lucerne.

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Cover — October 12, 1950

Registered mail sent on October 12, 1950, from Lucerne, Switzerland, to Akron, Ohio, United States. Arrived on October 25, 1950.

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