Mimeographed Advertising Sent as Printed Matter in 1899

A couple years ago, I blogged about an Austrian postal card incoming to Luxembourg with mimeographed advertising sent as printed matter that was taxed at the postal card rate.  Your will find that December 22, 2014, post here.  A viewer noted that the card was taxed either because the mimeographing looked like handwriting, or because Correspondenz-Karte had not been crossed out and Imprimé or Drucksache added.

Now I've added another incoming Austrian card to my collection.  Shown below, this commercial post card has Correspondenz-Karte crossed out and Drucksache added.  Addressed to the Hotelier at the Hotel Clesse in Luxembourg, the mimeographed text is in light green (front and back).  Only the name of the hotel has been added in manuscript.

 3 Kr. Kaiser Franz Joseph = Printed matter rate

Podwoloczyska, Austria

22 Apr 1899

transit

Luxembourg-Ville

to

Luxembourg-Gare

24 Apr 1899

And here is a photo of the Grand Hotel Clesse, Place de la Gare, taken about 1900.  Howard Johnson's Motor Lodges were never this beautiful!

WW2 - Commercial Use of Luxemburg Franking in the Lorraine

Deutschoth [today: Audun-le-Tiche]

The Hindenburg 'Luxemburg' overprints were valid for use in the Alsace and the Lorraine from 1 Apr 1941 to 31 Dec 1941.  Likewise, the Hindenburg 'Elsaß' and 'Lothringen' overprints were valid for use in Luxemburg during this period.  As of 1 Jan 1942, use of Reich stamps was required.

While philatelic uses abound, commercial uses of the 'Luxemburg' Hindenburg overprints in the Alsace or Lorraine during this 275-day period are scarce.  Unlike collectors, commercial entities presumably had and used only the stamps overprinted for their region, but here is a contrary example!

12-Rpf. 'Luxemburg' Hindenburg Overprint

Deutschoth (Westmark) a

10 Nov 1941

to

Metz

in the Lorraine 

Corner card:

Joh. Bapt. Bouche & Sohn

Möbeltischlerei

Deutschoth 

From the map at the top, you will see that Deutsch-oth [today: Audun-le-Tiche] is on the French side of the border, just a few kilometers from Esch-sur-Alzette.  Thus, it would not be surprising that this furniture dealer (Möbeltischlerei) had and used a 12-Rpf. 'Luxemburg' Hindenburg overprint, as shown here, on a letter to the craft guild (Handwerkakammer) in Metz.  Yes, I believe this cover is commercial.  Many others in my collection aren't.

Now here is another example that probably isn't philatelic, although I can't be sure:

40-Rpf. 'Luxemburg' Hindenburg Overprint

Metz o

28 Sep 1941

Field Post

Special Delivery

to 

Klotzsche [by Dresden]

Field Post, of course, was free from letter postage.  Thus, the soldier-sender from the 8th Battalion only had to pay the 40-Rpf. special delivery fee.

As the surnames of the sender and recipient are the same, this well may have been a soldier's letter to his wife or mother.  Why a 40-Rpf. 'Luxemburg' overprint was used instead of a 40-Rpf. 'Lothringen' overprint or Reich franking is unknown.  In any event, a sole use of the 40-Rpf. Hindenburg makes this cover attractive!

Pricey Precancel!

10c 1922 Precancel Sells
for 371 Euros+!

Luxembourg 22 Typographed Precancel
on 10c Charlotte Definitive

with Luxembourg-Ville postmark
28 Sep 1922

Prifix 128

Luxembourg-Ville to Sarreguemines, France
10c/50g Printed Matter rate to France 

(10 May 1921-1 Jun 1924)

Many Luxembourg precancels are common but uses of any on commercial mail are scarce.  Why?  Well, I believe very little of the printed matter for which they were intended was saved.

We hardly ever see commercial uses of the G.D. Charlotte precancels.  This homely cover with back flap missing is an exception.  Sent by  J. B. Ketten's furniture store from Luxembourg-Ville to France, it sold for 371 Euros + commission on Delcampe in October 2015!

Who has other examples of commercial mail using the precanceled Charlotte definitives in 1922, 1923, 1924 and 1925?  Share your scans with Arsdorf@gmail.com; I'll publish them here.

The 1935 15-stamp Aid-for-Intellectuals semi-postals used on nine covers

The Swartz-Hensgen Correspondence

In 1935, Maury Swartz, the well known stamp dealer from Kayl, corresponded  with Mr. Hensgen, the Luxembourg-Grund prison chaplain.  Over the four-month period from June 25th to September 30th, Swartz used all 15 of the Intellectual semi-postals (they were sold at double face value) on a nine-letter correspondence.  We do not know exactly what the covers contained, but they appear to be more commercial than philatelic.

I corresponded with Swartz in the 1950s, when he was living in Silver Spring, Maryland, but by the time that I acquired the covers in the 1960s from the Fred Wilmar collection in a Wolffers San Francisco auction, I had lost contact with him.  Wilmar served in the United States Army in Luxembourg during World War 2.  After the war he returned to Moraga, California, where he developed a fine collection of Luxembourg stamps and postal history, including these covers.

Here they are to enjoy:

20F+20F
Surgeons

 Kayl,
Registry No. 399
30 Sep 1935
Luxembourg-Ville b 
backstamp

10F+10F

 Educators

Kayl,

Registry No. 248

9 Aug 1935

Faint Luxembourg-Ville
backstamp

 

5F+5F
Lawyers

  Kayl,

Registry No. 175

22 Jul 1935

Luxembourg-Ville b
backstamp

 

3F+3F
Journalists

 

 Kayl,

Registry No. 314

26 Aug 1935

Luxembourg-Ville b
backstamp

2F+2F
Artists

 Kayl,

16 Sep 1935

Luxembourg-Ville III
backstamp

1.75F+1.75F Engineers, 1.25F+1.25F Scientists,

20c+20c Engineers, 15c+15c Journalists

 Kayl,

13 Jul 1935

Registry No. 141

Luxembourg-Ville
backstamp

1F+1F Surgeons & 50c+50c Lawyers

 Kayl,

26 Jul 1935

Luxembourg-Ville
backstamp

 

70c+70c
Adolphe Bridge

 Kayl,

2 Jul 1935

Faint Luxembourg-Ville
backstamp

 

5c+5c (3) Teachers, 10c+10c (2) Artists,
& 35c+35c Scientists

Kayl,

25 Jun 1935

Luxembourg-Ville
slogan backstamp