Friday, January 25, 2013

Luxemburg, Luxemburgh, Luxembourg

 

003aa

 

003a

 

Luxemburg, Wisconsin,
17 Dec 1885,
to
Ahnapee, Wisconsin

 

004z

  

In purple; serifed typeface

 

004

 

Luxemburgh, Minnesota
6 May 1884,
to
Dayton, Ohio
 

 

006

 

005zd


San serif typeface 

 

005

 

Luxemburgh, Minnesota
21 Jan 1895
to
Dayton, Ohio
[b/s]

 

009a

 

009

Luxembourg, Wisconsin
27 Nov 1903
to
Milwaukee, Wisconsin [b/s]

The corner card uses the “burg” spelling!

 

Gruss von der Luxemburger Schobermesse -- from Cap to the United States in 1900

 

001

Geh nicht zu nah zur Menag'rie
Scham und ruchlos ist das Vieh!

002

  

Cap,
6 Sep 1900,
to Menominee, Michigan USA

 

Gruss aus cards remain popular with deltiologists, although for some of us they tend to be a tad boring, much like modern-day telephone cards.  But this one caught my eye for its humor in a conservative era! 

The German text instructs:  “Don’t go near the menagerie because the animals are shameless and nefarious!”

I imagine that there are many collectibles associated with the annual Luxemburger Schobermesse.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Mail to G.D. Charlotte’s Aide-de-Camp in Montreal during WWII


004a

G.D. Charlotte in 1942


Addressed to
Monsieur G. Konsbruck
Lieutenant en 1er
Aide-de-Camp de S.A.R.
Madame La Grande-Duchesse de Luxembourg
1305 Pine Ave.
Montreal, P.Q., Canada
 
003

Washington, D.C.
26 Jun 1941
Airmail rate:  6c/oz. x 5 = 30c
Montreal, Canada
27 Jun 1941

If you like large covers, you’ll enjoy this 267x192 mm. giant, not only for its size, but also for its 13-stamp franking and postal history significance.

After the Nazi invasion of Luxembourg on May 10, 1940, the royal family fled to France, later to Portugal, and then to England.  And in November 1940, Grand Duchess Charlotte and Premier Pierre Dupong formed a government-in-exile in Montreal, Canada.  Foreign Minister Joseph Bech and Labor & Social Welfare Minister Peter Krier represented the government in London.  Hugues la Gallais served as Luxembourg’s Minister to Washington.  This cover is probably from him.   The corner card reads:

Legation du Grand-Duche de Luxembourg
 

Washington, D.C.

On the back is the legation’s cachet:
004

Friday, January 18, 2013

Explaining an Overfranked Cover to Japan from the PTT in 1936

 

001a
                             On the front

002a
   On the back

1.75F + 1.25F + 1.00F +10c +10c = 4.20 F

But the UPU registered rate = 3.50 F

 

The Puzzle:  On first glance, this appears to be a souvenir cover sent by the PTT to Japan on December 19, 1936, with a four-color franking of the 1936 FIP Congress commemoratives.  But since the four stamps overpay the 3.50F UPU registered rate by 60c, why was a second 10c stamp affixed to the back of the cover, resulting in a total overpayment of 70c?  And why was the stamp on the back canceled one hour later than the stamps on the front and with a different device?  Strange stuff!

Mysteries like this confuse, confound, and annoy postal historians.  Was the cover overweight?  (No, an additional 20g would have cost one franc.) Was a return receipt requested but not indicated? (No, the receipt would have cost 1.75F.) 

 

001

 

002

 

The solution:  The cover enclosure, happily still in the envelope, is a receipt for stamps purchased by the Japanese sender.  It explains the 4.20F (over)franking.

The sender paid for the stamps he ordered with 20 International Reply Coupons, each worth 1.75 LFr, for a total payment of 35 Luxembourg francs.  Thus, the following arithmetic:

 

Diverse timbres

30.80 (F)

Port

4.20 (F)

Montrant le 20 coupons

réponse @ 1.75 F

35.00 (F)

The PTT rounded up the 3.50F UPU rate to 4.20F, thereby using up the remaining 70c of value of the 20 IRCs after taking into account the stamps purchased and the shipping charge.  Unlike modern philatelic agencies, the PTT preserved the souvenir value of a four-color cover by placing the second 10c denomination on the back, where it was apparently later noticed and cancelled en route to the cover being dispatched to Japan.

001

 

 

Saturday, January 05, 2013

What’s so unusual about this 10c domestic postal card?

 


043

The domestic 10c postal card rate was increased to 15c on April 1, 1921.  Yet this 10c postal card, which was posted on April 9, 1921, wasn’t taxed.  Why?

Well, it has a printed back with no handwriting and is endorsed “Imprimé” [printed matter].  Thus, it qualified for the 3c domestic printed matter rate, resulting in the card actually being overpaid 7c!

044
Sometimes you can learn more about a card by examining the back rather than the postal markings on the front!

An oxymoronic postal stationery card – the scarce “common” 20c large Arms card (Prifix No. 80)

 

Sometimes writers speak of a deafening silence or a mournful optimist.  As a postal historian, I consider non-uprated uses of the (otherwise common) 20c large-size (148 x 104 mm) Arms postal stationery card to be scarce.

This card appeared in January 1926 to pay the 20c domestic postal card rate and the 20c rate to Belgium.  However, that rate, which began January 1, 1926, ended shortly thereafter on July 31, 1926, just 212 days later.  Apparently very few of the cards used during that 212-day period were saved because I’ve only found two in over 50 years of searching.  Yet the card per se is not scarce.  You’ll find many uprated uses—at the 30c and 40c rates to France, Germany, and the Saar, and at the 90c UPU rate.  You’ll also find the card surcharged to 25c (Prifix No. 82).

Even searching through a stock of 3,500 cards from this period, I could not find a single use that was not uprated to pay a higher rate.  So I thought I would share with you my two uses of this card used at the 20c postal card rate: one to Belgium, and the other a domestic use, uprated but only to pay the registry and COD charges.  (The 70c registry fee is documented on the rate schedule shown on the 1926 facteurs’ official calender.)

If you have five or ten non-uprated uses of this card in your collection, let me know; then, I’ll modify this post!

039


Luxembourg-Ville,
21 June 1926,
to Hasselt, Belgium

041 

 

040

Luxembourg-Ville,
22 February 1926,
to Steinfort to collect 16.80 F
(returned to sender uncollected)
Postal card rate = 20c
Domestic Registry fee = 70c
Domestic COD fee = 40c

042


 

Uses of the 1931 One-Franc UPU Postal Cards

 

On December 1, 1929, Luxembourg increased the UPU postal card rate from 90c to 1 franc.  However, the one-franc single and double Arms postal cards did not appear until September 25, 1931.  The rate remained in effect until October 1, 1940.

These cards provide a fine opportunity for the postal stationery enthusiast to collect uses worldwide!  Here are some of my favorites:

 

I.     1-Fr + 1-Fr UPU Double Card

 

Message Card -- Used to Holland in 1937

001

Luxembourg-Gare,
15 Jun 1937,
to Den Haag, Holland

004

 

Reply Card -- Returned from Switzerland in 1933

002

St. Gallen-St. Georgen, Switzerland,
18 Mar 1933,
to Luxembourg-Ville

003

 

II. 1-Fr UPU Card

                   A.  Uses to Asia                    

 

Used to British India in 1938

005

Luxembourg-Gare,
13 Jun 1938,
to Ahmedabad, India,
1 Jul 1938


007

 

B. Uses to the Middle East

 

Used to Egypt in 1937

009

Aspelt,
2 Jan 1937,
to Cairo, Egypt

008

 

Used to Palestine in 1938

010 

Consdorf,
19 Aug 1938,
to Tel-Aviv, Palestine
[today: Israel]

012

 

C. Uses to Africa

 

Airmail Use to South Africa in 1938

001

Luxembourg-Ville,
16 Aug 1938,
to Johannesburg, South Africa
4.50 F Belgian Airmail Supplement

002

 

 

Used to Tanganyika in 1938

 011 

Luxembourg-Ville,
21 Sep 1938,
transit British Post Office, Tangier, 27 Sep 1938,
transit Port Said, Egypt, 5 (?) Oct, 1938,
to Tanga, Tanganyika
[today:  Tanzania]

013

 

C. Uses to the Americas

 

Used to Brazil in 1937

014

Luxembourg-Ville,
3 Oct 1937,
incoming Brazilian postmark 21 Oct 1937,
to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

016

 

D. Uses to European UPU Countries

 

Used to Austria in 1936

015

Mondorf-les-Bains,
27 Sep 1936,
to Vienna, Austria

017

 

Used to Danzig in 1938

035

Luxembourg-Limpertsberg,
20 Jul 1938,
to Zoppot in Danzig

036

 

 

Used to Denmark in 1937

018

Luxembourg-Gare,
14 Sep 1937,
to Copenhagen, Denmark

021

 

Used to Finland in 1932

023

Rodange,
12 Mar 1932,
to Kuopio, Finland

025

 

Used to Holland in 1934

022

Echternach,
14 Sep 1934,
to Zeist, Holland

026

 

Special Delivery to Italy in 1939

027

Luxembourg-Gare,
27 Sep 1939,
Transit Luxembourg-Ville, 27 Sep 1939,
Transit Brescia Espressi, 29 Sep 1939,
to Gottolengo, Italy, 29 Sep 1939
Uprated 3.50 F = UPU special delivery fee


029

 

Used to Norway in 1934

028

Luxembourg-Ville,
14 May 1934,
to Drammen, Norway

030

 

 

Used to Portugal in 1936

004

 

Clervaux,
22 Feb 1936,
to Porto, Portugal,
25 Feb 1936

 

 

Used to Switzerland in 1933 and 1940

032

Echternach,
18 Sep 1933,
to Zürich, Switzerland

034

 

031

Troisvierges-Luxembourg TPO,
4 Mar 1940,
to Solothurn, Switzerland

033