The five Grand Duke Adolphe Reply Cards

 

Introduction

For postal stationery enthusiasts, properly returned reply cards present significant challenges.  There just aren't many available.  So over the past 50 or so years, I've diligently pursued acquiring them whenever they've come on the market.

At an FIAP show in Seoul, Korea earlier this year, I noticed a Nicaraguan postal stationery exhibit in the court of honor.  Guess what -- none of the double cards was shown returned from abroad.  This has motivated me to share some of the scarce Luxembourg reply cards in my collection, hoping philatelic jurists will recognize the challenge acquiring these cards presents.  Many of the great Luxembourg stationery collections (including that of Costerus) have lacked uses of the reply cards.

Let's start with the Grand Duke Adolphe postal stationery that appeared between 1895 and 1906.  You'd think reply cards from this era would be plentiful.  Yet they're not, and those that appeared in 1906 as part of the third G.D. Adolphe stationery issue are among the scarcest in my collection.

The Three G. D. Adolphe Postal Stationery Issues

The first G.D. Adolphe stationery issue appeared on May 4, 1895, consisting of 5-centime and 10-centime single and double cards with the abbreviation “N.B.” (Latin: nota bene) printed in the bottom left margin along with instructions in French and German specifying that the front of the card is reserved exclusively for the address.

In 1903, a second Adolphe stationery issue appeared, this time just with 5-centime single and double cards.  The "N.B." notation of the first issue  is absent.

Last, in 1906 a third Adolphe issue appeared with 5-centime and
10-centime single and double cards that show two lines for the sender's address at the left front margin.

The G.D. Adolphe stationery was superseded on July 25, 1907, by the first Écusson issue.

Postal Card Rates:  1895 - 1909

The 5-centime card paid the domestic postal card rate and the UPU printed matter rate; the 10-centime paid the UPU postal card rate, the treaty postal card rates to Belgium and France, and until October 1, 1902, the treaty postal card rate to Germany.  On that date, the German treaty rate was reduced to 5 centimes.  On October 1, 1907, the German treaty rate was again set at 10 centimes until the rate increases of May 10, 1920.

Luxembourg demonized the G.D. Adolphe definitives as of January 1, 1909.  Presumably the demonitization applied to the stationery as well.

(a) 5c+5c Reply Card -- First Adolphe Stationery Issue (1895)

 

Uprated with a French 5-centime adhesive and returned from Tours-Gare to Luxembourg-Ville in 1898 at the French treaty and UPU postcard rate!

Tours-Gare, France, March 18, 1898, to Luxembourg-Ville
stamp dealer, J. G. Paquelet, received March 19, 1898

 

Returned from Luxembourg-Ville to Kayl in 1900

(a round trip in just six hours!)

Message Card - Kayl, September 24, 1900 (7-8 a.m.)

Transit Luxembourg-Gare (8-9 a.m.)

Received Luxembourg-Ville (10-11 a.m.)

Luxembourg-Ville, September 24, 1900 (12-1 p.m.), to Kayl

 

Returned from Wiltz to Diekirch in 1901

Incoming cancel:  Wiltz, February 21, 1901

Wiltz to Diekirch, February 25, 1901

 

Returned from the Luxembourg-Ulflingen TPO
to Diekirch in 1901

Luxembourg-Ulflingen TPO to Diekirch, August 28, 1901

 

Returned from Clervaux to Luxembourg-Ville in 1903

Clervaux, June 21, 1903

Incoming transit cancel:  Luxembourg-Gare, June 16, 1903

 

Previously posted

Uprated and returned from Tunis, Tunisia to Diekirch, March 8, 1896, here.

Uprated and returned from 's-Gravenhage, Holland to Larochette, July 27, 1901, here.

 

(b) 10c+10c Reply Card -- First Adolphe Stationery Issue

 

Returned from Neufchateau, Belgium in 1897

 Incoming cancel (May 4, 1897)

Neaufchateau, Belgium, May 17, 1897, to Luxembourg-Ville

 

Returned from Arlon, Belgium in 1897

Incoming cancel (May 20, 1897)

Arlon, Belgium, May 20, 1897, to Luxembourg-Ville

 

Returned  from Paris, France in 1899

Paris, France, August 16, 1899, to Luxembourg-Ville

 

Returned from Magdeburg-Sudenburg, Germany in 1900

Magdeburg-Sudenburg, July 16, 1900, to Luxembourg-Ville

 

Returned from Metz, [then in] Germany in 1900

Metz, Germany, August 4, 1900, to Luxembourg-Gare

 

Returned from Wien, Austria in 1901

Wien, August 31, 1901, to Luxembourg-Gare

 

Returned from Trier, Germany in 1902

Trier, Germany, August 30, 1902, to Luxembourg-Ville

 

Returned from Blankenberghe, Holland in 1905

Blankenberghe, Holland, August 12, 1905, to Luxembourg-Ville

 

Returned from Rome, Italy in 1906

Rome, September 25, 1906, to Welcheid
(Post: Ettelbruck, September 27, 1906)

 

Returned from Einsiedeln, Switzerland in 1906

Einsiedeln, Switzerland, December 21, 1906, to Obermartelingen (Post: Perle, December 23, 1906)

 

Returned from St. Gilles, Belgium in 1908

(Very late use)

St. Gilles (Ch. de Charleroi), Belgium, July 21, 1908,
to Luxembourg-Ville, July 22, 1908

 

Previously posted

Returned from Ragaz, Switzerland to Hamburg, Germany, May 31, 1900, here.

 

(c) 5c+5c Reply Card -- Second Adolphe Stationery Issue (1903)

 

Returned from Mulhausen [then in the German Alsace-Lorraine] to Luxembourg-Ville in 1905 at the
5-centime German treaty rate effective in 1902

Mulhouse, December 9, 1905, to Luxembourg-Ville

 

Returned from Clervaux to Mersch in 1907

Clervaux, February 16, 1907, to Mersch

 

Previously posted

Uprated and returned from Leipzig, Germany to Trier, Germany, May 26, 1904, here.

 

(d) 5c+5c Reply Card -- Third Adolphe Stationery Issue (1906)

 

Used from Diekirch to Strasbourg, [then in the German Alsace-Lorraine], in 1909

This very scarce reply card was apparently used as a message card from Diekirch, January 11, 1909, eleven days after the demonitization of the G.D. Adolphe definitives.  It is the only used example I've seen.  There was none in the Costerus collection.

 

(d) 10c+10c Reply Card -- Third Adolphe Stationery Issue (1906)

 

Returned from Longwy-Bas, France,
to Luxembourg-Ville in 1908

A proper use of this very scarce card from Longwy-Bas, July 18, 1908, to Luxembourg-Ville.  This is the only example of this reply card that I've seen.  There was none in the Costerus collection.

 

Conclusion

The first G.D. Adolphe issue was used for almost a decade.  Despite the long usage period, the reply cards are uncommon; however, the diligent collector will almost certainly eventually acquire them.

However, the second issue is scarce, and the third issue very scarce, making the acquisition of proper uses of these three cards problematic.  We do not even know the quantities printed, exact dates of issue, or extent of distribution of these two issues.  The third issue was short-lived, appearing about a year prior to the appearance of the first Écusson issue on July 25, 1907.  Consider yourself privileged if you have examples of one or more of these reply cards in your collection!

The message cards from these five double cards are less scarce.  Apparently, the reply card often was not used, and very few of those that were used may have been saved.