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Post by greaden on Dec 19, 2021 2:32:07 GMT
As Covid just goes on and on, laying seige to the whole world, I find a letter from 1870, written in Paris that was besieged by the Prussian army. The letter mentioned incoming cannon balls, the rising price of vegetables, and the frustration of several months of this stress with no sign of it ever ending. News had just come into Paris by pigeon that the Prussians had won a major battle at Chateaudun.
Mail could only go out by hot air balloon, a new technology that only then found a practical use. There was no way of guiding the balloons except by making sure that the wind was blowing away from Prussia.
This balloon, Ville d'Orleans, translated as the Balloon they call the City of Old Orleans, blew into deep fog and over open sea. They threw bags of mail overboard so maybe the balloon might make it to some unknown land. It did. The pilots bailed out, were greeting by wolves, and found shelter. The next morning, some farmers found them. Their unintelligible language turned out to be Norwegian. No aircraft had ever made it so far.     |
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REL1948
Member 
Posts: 583 
What I collect: 1840-Pre-Decimal, GB and Colonies, 1840 1 penny reds, Postal Histories
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Post by REL1948 on Dec 19, 2021 3:03:43 GMT
As Covid just goes on and on, laying seige to the whole world, I find a letter from 1870, written in Paris that was besieged by the Prussian army. The letter mentioned incoming cannon balls, the rising price of vegetables, and the frustration of several months of this stress with no sign of it ever ending. News had just come into Paris by pigeon that the Prussians had won a major battle at Chateaudun.
Mail could only go out by hot air balloon, a new technology that only then found a practical use. There was no way of guiding the balloons except by making sure that the wind was blowing away from Prussia.
This balloon, Ville d'Orleans, translated as the Balloon they call the City of Old Orleans, blew into deep fog and over open sea. They threw bags of mail overboard so maybe the balloon might make it to some unknown land. It did. The pilots bailed out, were greeting by wolves, and found shelter. The next morning, some farmers found them. Their unintelligible language turned out to be Norwegian. No aircraft had ever made it so far. Hello greadenWhat an exceptional piece of history from many perspectives. Wonderful description, Thank you for sharing. Rob |
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vikingeck
Member
Posts: 3,264
What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Dec 19, 2021 9:19:36 GMT
Hi greaden just proves that Postal history is not just stamp collecting . Imagine the great loss if some early stamp collector had torn the stamp off for his collection. |
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brightonpete
Departed
Rest in Peace
On a hike at Goodrich-Loomis
Posts: 5,110
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Post by brightonpete on Dec 19, 2021 14:47:47 GMT
Wow, what an amazing cover, with legible printing inside! Thanks indeed for sharing this letter!
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Post by greaden on Sept 8, 2022 1:04:23 GMT
Another legible cover. This one is from the balloon named Torricelli, one of the last. It landed in enemy territory but the pilot managed to escape with the mail and pigeons.
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Post by greaden on Sept 8, 2022 1:07:01 GMT
Shortly after the siege, there was the uprising known as the Paris Commune. Here is a stampless cover (official mail) from the Commission on Labor and Trade.
Those involved in this revolution were mostly executed a couple of weeks after this was sent, or they were shipped off to New Caledonia.
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REL1948
Member
Posts: 583
What I collect: 1840-Pre-Decimal, GB and Colonies, 1840 1 penny reds, Postal Histories
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Post by REL1948 on Sept 8, 2022 1:34:38 GMT
Thank you so much for sharing these historically significant covers. Exceptional as always...
Rob
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