Postal History is more than just "Stamp Collecting"

First Day Cover
June 5, 1938
Celebrating the construction of the Escuela Normal de Santiago.  In English that is The Normal School of Santiago.  "Normal" was an appellation to indicate schools that taught people (mostly women at this time) to teach children in schools.

This school was built to surround students with the very best atmosphere.  The main building is all marble inside.  The entrance is molded in beautiful gesso design.  The coup de grace though are the paintings in the gymnasium, painted by Panama's premier artist whose name escapes me at the moment.





Follow this link for a close-up of the entrance.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Fachada_Principal_Escuela_Normal_Juan_Dem%C3%B3stenes_Arosemena_en_Santiago.jpg

As someone interested on Postal History, I watch for something related to the covid19 to arrive on the post. But nothing. For about 3 months I haven't got anything but bills. Not a single letter from abroad. I, even, mailed two covers to a friend in Canada (about 1.5 months ago) to see if there were anything on the outcoming mail. But, nothing so far.

Ok as best as I can explain it, in the 19th century failure to pay a debt or being bankrupt could result in a person being put in Jail ( "GAOL" is the old fashioned way of spelling Jail).

Charles Dickens writes about it in his Novel David Copperfield as Mr Micawber wrestles with his money problems. Dicken's own Father spent some in jail for debt. You could remain there for years with family bringing food and stuff if they could manage, and only released when enough money was raised to bail you out or pay the debt.

In this case John Gould Irwin is to be released "on Regognisance of Sureites", someone has put up a bond guarantee. It looks like this might be a temporary release as his case will be heard in court on 1st August in about 5 months time

The address is the "KEEPER OF THE GAOL OF THE CASTLE OF CHESTER"

1842 is just the second year of the Penny red so the stamp is an early plate (it might even be from one of the plates 1-11 used for printing the Penny Black) only a good enlarged scan will tell what plate it is. It is cancelled with a "Maltese Cross" this one can be identified as CHESTER only by the Date stamp on the fold over flap.

At this time envelopes were not common.

In spite of the obvious faults to the folds of the letter , the stamp looks in fine condition

The following covers may be considered part of the postal history of the Republic of South Africa in that they were from the Apartheid era.  Especially the cover depicting Re-affirmation of the Vow franked with the Andries Pretorius stamps.  Too, no Non-Afrikaaner were permitted to attend the prestigious Akademie Vir Wetenskap En Kuns.  

Looks to me like someone's idea of a souvenir cover from that stamp show in Toronto.

An interesting curiosity at best. Obviously, Israel did not send a postal delegation to the show, else there'd be an Israeli cancel as well!

Time for another one folks. A cover dated 9 October 1944 this time from Vienna to LATVIA, actually to German Army Fieldpost 01370, and it doesn't even have a stamp !


OberLt Mayrhofer was with the 405 Grenadier regiment, part of the 121st Infantry Division, XXXVIII Corps of German army Group North. Located in Auce KURLAND,Latvia




by the 10th October,   the Army Group North was cut off in Kurland by the encircling Red Army and mail could not get through. 

So,  Feldpost number deleted , handstruck  "Zuruck an Absender"  (return to sender) and  manuscript message 'nicht Zustellbar 3.11'   (Undeliverable) 

These things happen in wartime.
 

Well Jim jimwentzell I guess it is the postage rate that is definitely a bit unusual to say the least!

11Marks airmail stamps of 1922 used on June 16 1923 .

Germany underwent rapid inflation from 1919 through 1921 and then absolutely galloping hyperinflation million times by the summer of 1923 . To pay for postage needed a barrow load of cash, stamps denominated first in millions then in Millarden were issued.

I don’t have tables for postage rates but by July the cheapest stamp was already 1,000,000,000 Marks.

I have to say that “NURNBERG FLUGPOST “ or not, this confection never flew anywhere !

not just philatelic , it is a bit of fakery !

Though the Mainland of Norway was occupied by Germany 1940-45 , the Norwegian Merchant Navy operating from Britain and America, was one of the main shipping fleets transporting materiel across the Atlantic in convoys dodging the U-boat wolf packs.   


Many were sunk with huge loss of life.  Stamps were issued in London for Norwegian use and a special  cancel for the Merchant Fleet was used in London.

  

September already , reminds my of the years I spent in the southern Hemisphere with Spring on its way!! Now already our days are shortening after long summer daylight .


My postal history this time is Samoa again in the 1890s, what is termed a "MIXED FRANKING" ie the stamps of two different countries on the same letter where each stamp performed a proper individual function.

Samoa was not yet accepted by the UPU as a member so it had to negotiate acceptance with individual countries for reciprocal mail payment. Only New Zealand and Australia accepted Samoan Stamps and the USA accepted them as far as Sam Francisco. Onward transmission needed extra postage . An agent in San Francisco applied US stamps and charged the Samoan office on a regular basis

APIA 28 FEB 1894 to Berlin



This was a double weight letter so  2x 2½-d  for postage to San Francisco plus 2x5c for onward transmission and 3c for US Registration

The endorsement on the back is  "F M  Apia  Samoa " which is the usual way that Carl Marquardt's brother  Fritz sent his mail.

Fritz had been Chief of Police  in Samoa for a time and had connections  with Samoan Chiefs.


The 1890s decade was a time of great world Expositions and as Impresarios , the Marquardt Brothers exhibited a Samoan village troupe , A kind of  touring human circus for Germans to see representatives of their colonial empire !
  

/

 Postcard  c 1910  " Gebruder Marquardt's Volkerschafliche Schaustellung " Die Samoaner". Dorfansicht . In der Mitte Furst Tamasese

"The Brothers  Marquardt's National display " The Samoans"   Village view . In the middle  Prince Tamasese"

Thanks Jeff , I just added. Postcard and some more info to the story.  

Well thanks bcuddy for your interest and comments.

Where do I start ? I go back to 1948 when as a small boy I got my first stamps and an album for my 7th birthday. The album had notes under each country title, which taught me there was more to this hobby than just gathering stamps. I got hooked on the story or the reason behind the stamp. Fast forward to 1970 when my growing serious special collection of Denmark got a few covers added and I started hearing some senior members of the local stamp club talking "postal History", where the rates and the routes taken by the letter were more important to them than the stamp on the cover! My 5 frame exhibit of classic Denmark eventually had about 60-70% stamps +30-40% covers showing usage.

Move on to 1990 and my attempts at topical collecting involved researching background,to create a story. Encyclopaedias, catalogues, magazines, specialist books and contact with other collectors whose work in the same areas may have been published, now much easier to get info through forums like this where some one out there knows the answer to the puzzle bothering you.

By 2000 Open class or Social Philately exhibiting started in Europe where information about the people writing or receiving the letter was now important and ephemera could be added which would not fit in a topical exhibit. So now "Google is your friend" as they say, or at least it can be a springboard into further enquiries.

I guess I have spent a lifetime raking and rummaging in dealers boxes for anything that strikes me as unusual or interesting, and if after 70 years collecting I find something I have not seen before, that is a challenge to find out more!

I look at the stamp, I check the postmark , are there any etiquettes? check the address , is the rate correct? are there any manuscript marks from a Post office? Is there an arrival datestamp on the back? has the sender or the recipient an unusual name which might pop up in Wikipedia? all of this adds up to a bit of a story

I can't believe it is 8 months since I last posted in this thread. Have I not seen any interesting Postal History since March






Well of course I have,       

The Stamp collector  looks at the stamp  and sometimes tears it off for soaking

The Postmark collector looks at the cancel 

The postal Historian looks at the  rate, the usage and the datestamps to trace the route

The Social historian looks at the name and address


Here is something for all of these collectors. 
 
1.First, the stamps are GB 1d red Die 1 , Reserve plate 2 SG 17   but poorly centred  not terribly interesting.

2.The cancel   is barred oval   " "O*O".  now that is interesting. It was used by the British Army Post Office in the Crimea war 1853-56. and the writer has put the date   August 9th 1855 at the top
3.Now the rate  At that time 6d was the foreign letter rate in Europe, but Serving Soldiers got a half price concession rate of 3d so that pays to GB . Unfortunately the letter had to be re addressed, so and extra 1d    "/ "has to be added. and we have a datestamp of Windsor AU 24 when that happened

4.The Address is to " the Viscount Hinchingbrook,  Eton" . This is the title of the eldest sons of the Earl of Sandwich. This Gentleman was a 16 year old pupil at Eton College in 1855, in later life on the death of his father he became the 8th Earl of Sandwich.

5 Originally the route was written "Via Marseilles" because the quickest route from the Crimea was French steamer across the Mediterranean and train through France to  Britain. When it was readdressed the postal clerk in Windsor scored out the Marseilles as it was no longer relevant.

When we look at the back the real fun with routing begins as there are 6  postmarks to add to the two on the front   8 postal officials involved handling this precious letter  delivered from a war Zone in 2 weeks !


BRITISH ARMY POST OFFICE   AU13

 CX AU23  (Faint London arrival)

WINDSOR  AU23

ETON AU 24

The WINDSOR mark from the front    AU24  for readdressed

E  CROWN U   25 AU   ( London  inspection )

HUNTINGDON arrival  AU25