An unusual mixed franking uprating a 5c Allegory Postal Card in 1888!

 

Luxembourg's classic postal stationery ends with the last Coat of Arms issue in 1881; the neo-classics begin with the Allegory stationery in 1882. 

Sometimes -- not very often -- we find the 1880 Haarlem print definitives used to uprate an Allegory postal card, and almost always the card will be from the first Allegory stationery issue.  So you can imagine my pleasure when I discovered this 5c card from the third Allegory stationery issue uprated with a 1c Allegory definitive and a 4c Arms definitive from the 1875 local print definitives.

Judging by the long message on the back, use of the 4c Arms definitive was an act of frugality, and not a philatelic creation.  The card left Echternach on September 1, 1888, between 12:00-1:00 p.m., transited Luxembourg-Gare a few hours later, between 3:00-4:00 p.m., and arrived in Paris the next day.  There is a blue-green Paris Etranger cds tying the two stamps to the card and a Paris (66) R. Meissonier delivery cds.

And there's an added bonus.  This card has an unserifed 'A' before the first address line above 'An.'  This shows that it is from the initial printing of 41,000 third-issue 5c cards.  These were delivered in July 1888.  The 37 subsequent printings that appeared from August 14, 1888 through December 24, 1894, comprising 2,647,990 cards, all feature a serifed 'A.' 

There's really nothing that I dislike about this card. I think even those collectors whose nose takes a downward turn when postal stationery appears will appreciate and enjoy it.